About seven months ago I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and was giving two to sixth months to live without successful chemo treatment. That news initially crushed all my hopes to run Grandma’s marathon. How can I overcome the devastating effects of chemo and be in condition to run 26.2 miles? Then I read stories about others who have beat cancer and chemo with endurance training. These people showed us that the human body and spirit are capable of imaginable accomplishments while battling one of the most dreadful things. At first I really didn’t expect I would be running a marathon shortly after chemo and there were times during my training I had doubt. Now I wish I was a writer, so I could express in words how I felt last Saturday while running Grandma’s marathon. It was glorious.
At about 6:45AM I arrived at the starting line on one of hundreds of school busses shuttling only runners from various places. There were thousands of runners already there and thousands more coming in a constant flow of school buses. Rock & roll music was playing loudly and there were decorations along the starting line which had two long fences on each side to corral the runners on scenic highway 61. There must have been hundreds of porta-potties; but not enough to keep the lines short. I’ve learned the first thing a runner should do when arriving at a marathon starting line is to get into the porta-potty line. You can tell first time runners, the ones that make a stop at the trees shortly after the race has started.
The North Shore Scenic train arrived with its whistle horn blowing and then stopped on the tracks that ran alongside the starting line. My wife and two boys, my parents and my brother and his wife were on the train. The train passengers got out and walked on the tracks to check out the sights and look for their runner. I’m very fortunate to have family sharing the experience.
When I arrived at the starting line the temperature was cool in the lower 50s, but as soon as the sun rose above the horizon the temperature jumped up quickly. The humidity was higher than expected too. It turned out to be on the warm side for a marathon, but not devastating heat like there was during the TC marathon last year. The winner of the 2007 TC marathon said that he kept as cool as possible by pouring water on his head at every water station. So I tried that at Grandma’s and it worked very well. Every water station I would grab two cups of water, drink one then pour one over my head. Then grab two more before leaving the water station. Volunteers were also handing out white sponges soaked with cool water. I quickly learned to grab those too. After each water station I was soaking wet. But that combined with a breeze had a tremendous cooling effect.
The energy at the starting line was just amazing with 7,103 runners lined up and rock & roll playing over the loud speakers. Then there was a moment of silence for last year’s Grandma’s winner Wesley Ngetich who was killed in his home country of Kenya during a peacemaking situation that turned violent. After that there was the national anthem and then two F-16 fighter jets flew over. I didn’t hear the horn that signals the start of the race. But when the train blew its whistle and started rolling I knew the race had begun.
Guessing by where I was in the starting line, I would say there were about 4000 to 5000 runners ahead of me. Unlike the TC marathon, Grandma’s has some long stretches where you can see the course ahead for at least a mile. It was an awesome sight to see scenic highway 61 packed solid with runners out to the horizon. I had no problems starting out at a good slow pace, because I had no choice for about the first two miles. After that the runners were spread out just enough for a little wiggle room. But it wasn’t until about 5 miles that I was able to really set into my own pace.
I did exactly what I had planned to do, set my pace to keep a good heart rate rather a pace to finish at a specific time. During the first few miles I maintained my heart rate in the mid 150s. At about mile 10 I let my average heart rate reach 160. My heart rate would vary between 157 and 162, depending on if I was going up hill or down hill. I monitored it very closely by checking the heart rate monitor on my wrist about every minute or so. I crossed the halfway marker with an elapsed time of about 2:04, which made me to believe I was in striking distance to break the 4 hour barrier at the finish line. However, I stayed to my plan of maintaining a heart rate of 160 or less. At about mile 17 my pace had to start slowing to maintain a constant heart rate. By mile 20 I knew that a 4 hour finish was not obtainable and I stuck to my plan. If I would have tried for a faster pace, I most likely would have succumbed to exhaustion and retreated to walking much of the last few miles. But my planned worked out and for the first time ever I was able to complete the entire marathon without walking.
About the last 6 miles of the marathon runs though Duluth and was continuously lined with spectators cheering on the runners with words of encouragement. My favorite part of the race is the interaction with the crowd, high-fiving and screaming victory cries. But after mile 23 all I could muster up was a little nod and a squeak. About the last mile I was starting to get a little delirious. All I could do was focus on the finish line.
I had absolutely no problems with tendonitis I had a couple of weeks ago in my foot, but at about mile 23 I was feeling a lot of pain in my thighs. Every little hill was a challenge, but rather than reverting to walking I adjusted my gate to short but quick running steps. Not only does this help maintain a good pace, I’ve found that maintaining some type of running gate is actually less painful than walking.
I crossed the finish line in a gun time of 4:23:09 and a chip time of 4:19:54. Gun time (official time) is the time from the start of the race to when a runner crosses the finish line. Chip time is the time from when the runner crosses the starting line to when crossing the finish line. With thousands of runners in front of me, it takes a few minutes just to cross the starting line. My original goal while going through chemo was just to finish under 6 hours; after that they close the course and pick up stragglers with buses. Even though my time wasn’t a personal record, I felt the best about my performance at Grandma’s. On my previous two marathons I regretted some of my decisions on strategy and execution. This time I had absolutely no regrets; I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
I was glad that I had printed on my running shirt “Chemo-Man” on the front and “Run Chemo-Man Run” on the back. That was all that was needed for spectators and runners to know my story, which most people have felt in their lives in some way or another. Many runners pulled up beside me to ask about details. Spectators were constantly waving, giving a thumbs-up and yelling out things like, “way to go chemo-man”. One elderly woman sitting in a chair along London road in Duluth yelled out, “Chemo-man, I’m a chemo-man too”. There were times that I got choked up with tears. Just about everyone has known the pain and devastation of cancer and what one goes through to fight it. It not only wreaks havoc on the patient but family and friends too. So those times when we win the battle calls for a joyous celebration. My victory is not a personal victory. I did not do this on my own. There are so many people to thank, millions of people. My wife, family, friends, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, volunteers, those who have donated money for cancer research and those who have sacrificed their lives are all a part of my victory.
Now what’s next for Chemo-man? I’m signed up for the Twin City marathon that runs on October 5th. Do I go as Chemo-man? Do I keep updating my blog? I’ve heard through the grapevine that there are people that read my blog. My hope is that my story will inspire others to use physical conditioning as a way to fight cancer, the side effects of chemo treatment, or whatever troubles they may have. I would like to hear from you. Please click on the comments link at the end of this post. You can remain anonymous. Or send me an email at: runchemomanrun@mchsi.com. There is also a voting button at the top right of my blog.
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