Midnight Sun Marathon-Anchorage

 

I had always wanted to run a marathon. One evening I attended a fundraising meeting for the Leukemia Society of America which gathers volunteers to raise $3000 each in donations and trains runners to make it to the finish of a marathon. I signed up and with six months before the actual run was provided a training schedule, running coaches and organized runs. The program was excellent about getting the volunteers in shape and keeping injuries at a minimum. I followed the daily run requirements and attended all the group runs on Saturdays and after miles and miles of running was ready for the Anchorage Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon in Alaska. I flew to Anchorage with my family and the next day was standing at the start line with a goal of completing the 26 plus miles in four hours. The course left the streets of Anchorage and moved to a gravel road in the countryside. The day was overcast and somewhat drizzly. I kept a steady pace until mile 23 where I hit my wall. I walked a fast pace for a mile then began to increase to a slow plod the last few miles. The course ended with a steep hill climb then a lap around the local high school track to the finish. I crossed the line at 4 hours 20 minutes. At that point I really did not care that I missed my four hour goal but that I had actually finished. My daughter ran up and gave me a hug. It was a wonderful moment. The next week was spent visiting Kenai Fjords, Portage Bay, the town of Seward and Denali National Park. My best memory was my bored daughter on the Denali bus tour. The bus driving guide would point out wildlife along the way….which seemed only to be caribou. Hillary by the end of the day said in a tired impatient voice, “caribou, caribou, caribou”. Alaska