Rebel Runners

6 Rebels ran the full 26.2 miles while 2 others did the half marathon on a chilly morning.

Highlights included Foggy's marathon debut, Lenora's Half debut and some personal records.

Nessie qualified for Boston. Tex PR'd with a 2:49:19. Shaggy shattered his PR.

Official Race Website

Well, what a day!! I had fun (especially once I finished!), so here's my recap:

I had a couple of things go wrong in the morning, which I took as a GOOD omen for my upcoming performance!!! (I learned that from Lori). I forgot my Goodwill jacket throw-away...brrr.... and also forgot to bring any cash. But, we got parked OK in our usual place, which I thought would be free (except I did come back to find we had a parking ticket!!!!!)

Made it my corral just in the nick of time, and we were off. The 3:50 pacer took off too fast, and so he slowed down at mile 3, at which point I kept on his original pace and realized if I stuck with that I would be on for a 3:44 ish. All was good, I got warmed up OK. The hills at Drexel, the zoo, and the park hurt my achilles and I was seriously doubting if I could hold the pace, but as soon as I got back on the flat on Kelly Drive the pain disappeared and I felt a good high coming on. I was so looking forward to seeing the Rebels at mile 18, and you did not disappoint!! It was great to see those hats!!!

Manayunk was awesome, lots of screaming spectators and lots of music. Oh, and I stopped for a beer at mile 19. Yum.

Then it was back towards the Rebs, and on to the finish. I definitely slowed down, but knew I could still qualify, but when I looked at my watch at mile 26 I nearly had a fit because I knew I only had seconds to spare. I literally sprinted. I have no idea how. But there was no way I had come this far and was not getting on that Boston bus!

Other highlights - seeing Austin go cruising past, hearing Adam yell encouragement at me, and seeing Shaggy looking good coming out of Manayunk. Not so nice highlights - seeing one girl totally wipe out on ice at a water stop, and having ice chips in my water. Oh, and coming back to a dead car battery!! But a kind policeman (not the one who gave me a ticket) helped me out with jumper cables.

So that's it. Major kudos to all other marathoners this weekend. Jim - holy crap, that was a fast run. Boston is most definitely in your future. And Scott, you had a major PR. Andy/Austin - waaayyyyy fast!!

Thanks to you all for showing up in the freezing cold...it truly is appreciated especially at that stage in the marathon.

--- Nessie

Selected Chip Times:
Tex 02:49:19
Steeley Jim 03:22:44
Olab 03:24:35
Shaggy 03:43:02
Nessie 03:45:49
Sharon Smarty (half) 02:40:24