The Baltimore Marathon

Date: October 15, 2010

Location: Baltimore, MD

I decided to run the Baltimore marathon in 2010 because I ran the half marathon in 2009 as a junior at Hopkins, and when I finished I thought, I could totally run that again. So, I made a promise to myself that I would run the full marathon the following year. I found a 16 week training plan, and stuck to it. I was very loyal to that plan. As an engineer, I’ve always been systematic about these things. Sticking to a plan generally guarantees success. And for me, failure is never an option.

Since the marathon was in October, most of the training was during the summer. And summers in Baltimore are HOT and extremely humid. You walk outside and immediately you are covered in sweat. Because of this, my body was well prepared by the time the marathon came around. And training in Baltimore also made me prepared for the hills. This course is considered one of the toughest because it’s so hilly. If I had trained somewhere else, it could have been a completely different story. 

On the day of the race, I was excited, and very nervous. I’ve never run track or cross country competitively, but I’ve always felt nervous before any type of run where I’m being timed, even if it’s just a fun 5K. It goes back to the timed mile in middle school when I was aiming for the presidential certificate. Because when I race, I’m not competing against other people. I’m competing against myself. But I welcome those pre-race jitters, because the day they’re gone is the day I no longer find races exciting.

As soon as the race started, I left my nerves behind. It was exhilarating for me to be a part of this race. It was the culmination of months of hard work. All my friends thought I was crazy, but now I was surrounded on all sides by other people who were equally as crazy and had shed just as much blood, sweat, and tears to get here. I felt connected to them in a way that I can't describe. I was also just so happy to be running through the streets of Baltimore - a place that had become my home over the past few years.

During the first half of the course I could notice and appreciate certain aspects because I wasn’t in pain yet. We immediately headed north out of the downtown Harbor area. I remember how nice it was running through Druid Hill Park past the zoo. It was a quiet and beautiful oasis compared to the craziness of downtown. After that we ran by one side of the Hopkins campus - an area that I could practically run with my eyes closed. It was here that one of the relay transitions was located so it was insanely packed with cheering runners and spectators.

Speaking of spectators, I could hardly believe how many people came out to watch and support the runners. In my opinion, that’s one of the greatest things about city marathons. Everywhere you look there are people holding motivational signs like ‘Pain is temporary, achievement is forever!’ Families are sitting out on their porches cheering the runners on. At every turn little kids are lining the street reaching out their hands for a high five. I think it’s a beautiful thing how everyone can come together for an event like this, and support people they don’t even know.

By the time I was back in the Inner Harbor – about halfway done – I felt like I had hit “the wall”. Marathoners always talk about this wall as the point where your body runs out of its glycogen stores and running suddenly becomes 10 times harder. But for me, it was more of a mental thing than a physical thing. I just remember thinking, I feel so horrible and drained of energy… and I still have SO much of the race left! How am I going to finish this? My knees were also killing me (I have always had knee problems), but I knew I had no choice but to run through the pain.

And then, just when it all felt hopeless, I got the greatest boost I could have asked for. A bunch of my friends were volunteering at the marathon, and there they were, at the edge of the crowd, calling out my name and cheering me on! Just seeing their faces and hearing their voices was all I needed. It made me feel 10 times lighter and faster. I’m pretty positive I ran the next few miles looking like a fool with a huge smile on my face.

Things got rough again around mile 16 when my knee pain was so bad I could barely keep running. We were on a downhill too which made it hurt worse. I really wanted to stop and walk, but I kept pushing on, because all that mattered was crossing that finish line.

I only have a few hazy memories from the next few miles. I think I entered a different form of consciousness, trying to put the pain I was in out of my mind. Then we got to lake Montebello at mile 20. I remembered this part of the course vividly from running the half (the half marathon is the second part of the full marathon course) and I knew that I was SO close to being done. Maybe it was because I could practically taste the finish line, but that was when I got my second wind. And from there, the rest of it felt like a breeze! Even my knee pain magically disappeared. After the lake, we passed my house on Guilford, and it was just 3 miles of downhill from there to inner harbor.

The very last stretch through Camden Yards seemed to take forever. There were people EVERYWHERE lining the stretch to the finish, and cheering all the runners on. All I wanted was to cross that line. It was literally all I could think about. Such a simple, singular goal. Then finally, FINALLY, I was there. That beautiful orange strip of paint on the pavement, and the blown-up arch over head. I could practically hear a choir singing "Haaaallelujah!" as I crossed the finish line. I vaguely remember registering the time on the clock: 4h31m. (Not bad… I wasn’t really aiming for a time… just to finish). Someone handed me a medal and a foil blanket. And then I saw my friend Jesse who was handing out water bottles. I hobbled over to him, threw my arms around him and – I will never forget this moment – screamed “I JUST RAN A MARATHON!” And then I started crying. There were so many emotions going on inside, and I was too exhausted to try to understand them. So all I could do was cry.

I can't really come up with words to describe that feeling of finishing something that has taken so much out of you. Just knowing that you’re physically and – more importantly – mentally tough enough to get yourself through all 26 miles and across that finish line. It’s a feeling so great that it makes you forget the pain and how horrible you felt just minutes ago. And it’s a feeling so great, it makes me want to run at least 50 more marathons.