Arkansas marathon , Booneville, AR, Oct 2022

Arkansas Marathon        
Trying to remember much about this, since it was in early October.

High was 73, low 48, sunny

Friday we got out the door at 7 a.m. to get to Arkansas that evening. We stayed at a very rural air bnb. I didn’t sleep amazing but not that poorly. I kept telling myself that it was just a marathon (at the time I had planned to start training for a 50 miler for March of 2023 after this marathon was done). The last time we had travelled for me to get a new state was in 2012 so it was fun to get this one done. We picked it because my friend Bill, who has done his 50 states 3 x though he can’t run now due to massive heart attack, said it was a good marathon and it was one of his first, in 1985. I read on their website that it was on highway shoulder, but I didn’t think about the camber. It was pretty hilly overall so that ended up being a big factor (the camber).

Saturday morning we got to the commerce building for a very easy packet pickup. I asked how many full marathoners there were; the lady said 40-some for full and half each. We did our bathroom breaks at a gas station a couple of blocks from the start and then got to the start in time for the National Anthem and they said all would start at the same time (different from website but it was so small it didn’t matter, except to the 2 people my husband said he saw 5 minutes later, though it’s chipped timed so really I guess it was OK but I imagine I’d be a little discombobulated if everyone had already started before me like that).

I don’t have my splits anymore but I can tell you I started too fast. I didn’t walk really until mile 9 where there was a very long and fairly steep hill. I decided to text my husband about checking out of the air bnb so I got my phone out and saw 2 texts from work asking me if I could work that morning and if I could check my work email from home. So I replied to both of them that I was in Arkansas running a marathon. I needed a walking break anyway so it was all good. They had 4 aid stations that were “spirit stations” and were competing for a 50 dollar prize or something. They were fine. There was also a man with his large dog who just kept driving to different places to clap and say good job, etc. But basically it was very rural and very small number of runners. Every race was out and back so after the half of the half (mile 6.55 ish) there were very few runners. I didn’t  talk with anyone except for one lady, I asked if the camber was bothering her. She didn’t know what camber was so I wondered if it was a regional word, and said the angle and the shoulder. Yes, it was hard on her too. My knee started talking to me by mile 7 and I haven’t had knee pain in years.  There was little to no shade and even though 70-something might not sound hot after getting through the summer, it was hot enough. My family came to see me around mile 22 and that was nice. Two of my children woke up that morning not feeling well and saying that they just wanted to go home, which was hard, but they seemed peppier by the race.

Random, but there was a small-medium dog who ran with me for almost 2 miles. I wasn’t afraid of him but I was concerned he’d get hit by a truck on the highway.

I walked a ton the last 10K. It was hot, I was tired, and honestly I went out too fast. I walked when I had to, ran when I could , and then within the last mile a couple passed me, and since it was such a small race, I was certain I was the last finisher. I told myself that was Ok, but I was a little bummed. Finally the finish line came and Brian and our children were there. I got my medal and chocolate milk and then a man on a golf cart took me a few blocks to a church with showers, which was ever-so-appreciated since Brian had already checked out of the Airbnb (plus that was farther north and we were heading south). I walked from the church to the race area where Brian and the kids were hanging out. There was some sort of outdoor fall festival going on, so they got free sandwiches and bottled water.

 We headed to Hattiesburg, MS after that for the night then onto Pensacola FL for a family vacation and time to see a dear college friend. Once we got home I put another pin in my state map, and before we got home I thought why not run another marathon for basically “free training” since I had already put the work into it. Which is why I ran Tulsa 6 weeks later (race report to come in a little bit). My overall pace was just under 12:00 and when I got back from my shower there were still people on the course, so I definitely wasn’t the last finisher. I don’t know where I got that idea, except for the fact that I couldn’t see anyone behind me.

Thanks for reading, thanks for the support. It was fun to get out and run another marathon. I would definitely like to work on speed and weight loss, it's just work, and will take time.

I've never run a marathon that small...or that warm.  I would find both challenging I think.

Well done!

Well done, Julie.   Happy to see you getting the states done.

Thanks Nancy and Michele! It's been fun to get back to that goal. It was definitely not the season when the kids were so little but things are quite different now.