Not a pretty day in Houston

How should I start? It was the worst weather I have had in my short racing career. Rain started before I crossed the start line, then stopped about a 1/2 mile into it, only to restart at mile 4. The cold front had come through prior to 3 a.m. It was abour 75 on Saturday and the temperature at the start of the race was about 45 degrees with a 15 mph NNW wind. There wasn't any more rain for the rest of the day, but the damage was done. By the mid-point of the race, I couldn't feel my toes. By mile 20, the balls of my feet were cold and it hurt to walk. The dry cleaning bag I wore to keep the rain off did an excellent job at keeping the whipping wind from freezing my upper body. I ripped it off as I approached the finish line.

I did not have an official time of 6 hours or less, but considering the day so described and the fact that I had a very difficult family time in the fourth quarter, I'm very content with my 6:09:22 time. About mile 18, I figured I wasn't going to make it under 6, but I stopped looking at my watch for anything, except for 30 second intermittent walking stints.

I'm usually very difficult on myself for not attaining a time goal, but not this time. While I did not achieve my goal of an official finish, for as cold as I was and as speed challenged as I was, I have no new aches or pains and I'm content. Thanks for your time.

Sounds brutal, but good job on gutting it out! Hey, you toed the line and finished so big congratulations!!!

Wow, I didn't realize the conditions were so nasty for you out there. Congrats on toughing it out to the end. It's idiotic asinine that they didn't give you an "official" finish for putting up with that sort of weather and still getting it done.

Given your propensity for sucking it up in rotten conditions and seeming to enjoy it, have you ever considered an ultra?

A character building day? It does give you a war story to tell.

Poor oz. This is the 2nd time I am in a marathon, maybe even 3rd, the temperature drops as time goes by. But hey, you met Jerry, got to be happy.

Congrats, Doug for sticking it out! I remember running a marathon back in 1985 with similar conditions but the rain turned to snow and the temperature dropped. I was the 2nd to last finisher (in 5 hrs), and it seemed like an eternity. Perseverance is more than an admirable quality. Great job!

Experience or achievement?

Personally, I am very hard on people who think they have achieved something just by "being there". What you did was stick out a really hard challenge. The official time limit is just arbitrary. Well done making the distance in those tough conditions.

Chris Coleman wrote:Experience or achievement?

Personally, I am very hard on people who think they have achieved something just by "being there". What you did was stick out a really hard challenge. The official time limit is just arbitrary. Well done making the distance in those tough conditions.

+1

Rough day for sure, Doug. Congrats on finishing. And thanks for setting up lunch on Saturday.

Congrats on toughing it out and finishing! I hope the next race you run has ideal weather.

Keep coming back to this and each time I read this, just thought I'd say, screw the race, hope the family stuff has worked itself out.

Yeah, sounds like an ugly day and a pretty good finish, way to tough it out!

Good job plowing through it, it could not have been a lot of fun with those conditions.

Oz, the more I read your race reports and posts, the more I'd like to meet you in person. You have such a clear head and honest evaluations of your performance. You don't give excuses, you just call it like you see it. Congratulations on a rotten run in Houston! No official time...bah!

You toughed it out in those conditions and kept going. At the end of the day that's what it's all about. Congrats.

I admire your toughness for sticking it out to the finish even though you realized you wouldn't meet your original time goal. Unfortunately we can't control the weather, but you still finished it! Congratulations!

Wow, it sounds like a miserable day for running a marathon. I admire your drive to finish even without an official finish. Life does get in the way sometimes but you're doing great!