In order to get to Abilene, I flew to Wichita, Kansas airport and then drove 120 miles to Abilene. Abilene is immediately off I-70 and is best know for a very famous resident, Dwight D. Eisenhower. His childhood home and Presidential Library are smack dab in the middle of this little American town.
This was the inaugural running of the Eisenhower Marathon, organized by the Red Cross. You certainly cannot get any more mid-America than Abilene and the people were the friendliest, warm and welcoming group I’ve encountered in a marathon in a long time. They were extremely appreciative of all runners and amazed that someone would come all the way from Virginia to run their little marathon. It was very apparent they were all proud of their town.
The night before was a pasta load dinner which was a combination of salad, spaghetti and lasagna all cooked at home by volunteers. It would have been worth the trip just for the food. The atmosphere was very homey and I had a chance to talk to several local runners and listen to some great stories. Volunteers came to our table several times thanking us for coming to their town.
It was obvious that this group did their homework due to the amount of organization that was visible. This was the only marathon that required me to show proof of health insurance before giving me my number.
The morning of the marathon was cold, cold and cold. In addition it was windy, windy and windy but fortunately dry and sunny. (25-30 MPH gust winds). The start was at 7:00 am and a combination of about 300 marathoners and ½ marathoners. I believe 180 finished the marathon. It was an out and back and all I could think of when running was the song “wide open spaces” which describes the marathon in a nutshell. The course was the same that cattlemen followed when bringing their herds to Abilene on the Chisholm Trail in the 1800s. We were all fortunate since the first 10 miles gave us a boost with a real nice tailwind and slight downhill and after mile 2, I took off my sweatshirt. That changed and quite drastically when we turned right on a road at mile 10 and were hit by a side wind that was powerful and brisk. The sweatshirt went back on quickly. As we approached the 12 mile marker, I finally encountered the entire crowd participation which was a young girl dressed as a cow with a real live calf on a leash next to her. I did pass a few “greyhound dog farms” as I passed these “wide open spaces”. They barked showing their support. Once we hit the half-way mark the brisk side-wind that was hitting my right side, was now demanding equal time hitting my left side.
Since I am trying to complete all the states, I’m fortunate to not do this alone. My best friend from Denver does them with me and I hate him. I train hard and he hardly trains and somehow passes me, this time at mile 8. However, I did catch him at the turnaround, where we ran a few miles together; then I finally pulled ahead for good. Though I don’t show it or even mention it, I do get some real personal satisfaction leaving him in my dust. Now I could finally see the road that we turned off at mile 10 and I knew that soon, it was going to be tough. That was an understatement!!!! I hit the head wind straight on and that was the story for the next hour and 25 minutes. To add insult to injury, it was a slight uphill for a few miles.
Finally, when my head was completely frozen and all I could hear was the swirl of wind, off in the far, far distance, I could see what appeared to be the finish line. Though that last stretch took forever I crossed in 3:51 and some change and got my medal. My friend came in 5 minutes later, HA! As soon as I crossed, I had no more than five people come up to me and ask if I was ok, which I was.
So to recap this marathon, it was quite self reflective since most of the race you were by yourself or pacing someone several feet in front of you. I now wonder what my wife would look like dressed in a cow’s costume? Dog’s are not only a mans best friend, they are a runners best friend! The water stops were well stocked with wonderful volunteers. The course was well marked and volunteers at all critical points. At the finish line, there was a community center that had pizza, sandwiches, drinks and cookies and a lot of happy but tired people. A truly wonderful experience and terrific people, a marathon I highly recommend!!!!!
Oh, then the real marathon started, getting showered, in the car to Wichita to the airport to fly home. That is another story for another time!!!!!!