Strava Marathon (Holliston, MA)
Finish Time: 4:08
Pace: 9:28
Temp: 57
Conditions: Sunny
Run For: Cara
Recap:
The marathon today was run for Cara. I first met Cara when she signed up to run the Falmouth Road Race a few years ago with Team Challenge. This is one of my favorite races on the cape in the summer here in New England. If you are a runner here in the Boston area you know all about this iconic 50-year-old race on the roads in Falmouth.
During some of our conversations leading up to the race, Cara told me about her battle with Crohn’s Disease and I got to hear some of her story. She was a runner and had done races before, but this would be her first time running for Team Challenge. She would be running and wearing that TC singlet for this one and I was so happy for her.
As a coach, I do hear stories from participants often throughout the years (the whole reason behind 26.2 For You) and I felt for Cara and the struggles that she had been dealing with for quite some time before getting diagnosed. I feel sharing Cara’s story is important because it is not only inspiring to others, but she is setting an incredible example for her young daughter.
From Cara:
“For me, fighting for a cure is about modeling for my daughter, how I hope she will face adversity in her own life, and it’s also about ensuring a future in which her generation and generations after don’t have to struggle with IBD.”
Cara has been a part of the Team Challenge Falmouth Team for the past two years and is a part of this TC family which is filled with just the most inspiring people doing some amazing things.
I channeled my inner Cara for this marathon, which turned out to be a struggle near the tail end of my 26.2 miles. With running, things can be going really well, until they aren’t!
For the first half, I ran entirely on the treadmill and felt great the entire time. The pace was pretty consistent, the effort felt good but not hard and my body was in a good rhythm. My mind was right and my body was responding as I pretty much cruised through 13 miles.
For the second half, I transitioned to the roads/bike paths of Holliston where I met up with friends, Alex and Julie, joining them for a portion of their long run. Both of them are on the Team Challenge Marathon Team training for the London Marathon. The weather was perfect for running outside so having some running company was nice.
We met up and things were still feeling good, however around mile 20 I could feel my energy beginning to dip. I’ve been running for a long time and feel like I’m tuned into my body pretty well. This feeling was one I’ve dealt with before, many times, like every runner, and knew I was in for a tougher finish than I wanted.
Now, at mile 22 for me, I was feeling zapped and it was a struggle to keep running the same consistent pace. With running, things go well, until they don’t… things were now not going well. Running at this point just felt harder than before so I took a break and walked for a couple minutes, being smart and listening to my body. Sometimes you walk during a marathon and that is totally ok. They all don’t go as planned. The remaining few miles were slower and a little harder, but the wheels didn’t completely fall off (I’ve been in much worse places before). After a well-timed quick pep talk call from Sharon, I was able to finish up the last mile.
Despite the low energy resulting in the last few miles being a little tough, overall, it wasn’t that bad and I’ll recover over the next couple days. Having company on part of the run was nice and being able to run for an IBD warrior like Cara helps for sure. Not all of these marathons are going to be pretty, but a little adversity is good and keeps me on my toes. Running a marathon is tough, but we are humans and humans can do hard things.
On a personal side note, running a marathon this weekend was fitting considering I ran my very first marathon 20 years ago on February 29th 2004. The Hyannis Marathon was my first 26.2 of 77 official marathons and 51 virtually run marathons over the past 20 years. I’m happy to say a majority of the marathons I’ve run, I’ve done so wearing that orange singlet with Team Challenge printed across my chest. Without a doubt it has helped push me through so many races.
I was honored to be able to run this one for Cara, on such a nice day. Thank you for allowing me to share your story and run 26.2 for you. I can’t wait to run with you again and look forward to seeing you crush it at another road race soon.
Update on Cara’s story: As of just over a week ago…
“My Crohn’s Disease is in remission, about 10 months after I first went to the ER with an obstruction. Salads are coming back!”
26.2 FOR YOU 