Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon, 21 Feb

Finished the Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon yesterday! My Garmin timed it at 5:59 but the official result showed 6:00:53. This was the smallest marathon I have ever participated in, with about 520+ runners in the marathon and approximately 1,650 half marathoners. There was also a wheelchair race and 5K. The expo and race package pick up, inside a shopping mall, was very small.

The starting time weather at 6:00 AM was great, but it got progressively warmer as the morning turned clear and sunny. My first half was great, I ran with the 5:30 pace team and found a running buddy Tom from Tennessee, doing his 2nd marathon. He did a 5 min run, 1 min walk routine, and I went along. It was nice to run with a group, we had "running conversations" which made the time and distance pass quickly. At the turn-off for the half marathon at mile 9, we suddenly found the route empty in front of us, as the majority of the participants signed up for the half. After doing marathons with thousands of people in front and behind me, the rest of the course was a lonely experience.

Unfortunately my lack of distance training started to show just before the halfway point and I fell behind the group. Still, I completed the half in 2:45. The 2nd half was very slow, with walking breaks as my right leg started to cramp up. There were plenty of drink stops, but very little food food, other than granola bars (!). I really missed the gels esp, after mile 18, and had to ration the few packs I carried with me. By mile 21, the roads were partly opened, and the remaining runners (not too many of us left) had to keep an eye on approaching traffic, including a few cars that strayed into the half of the road that was supposed to be closed for runners. At one turn, I ran straight instead of turning, there was no sign and I just followed the coned off road. Fortunately at the next intersection I saw the water station on the parallel road to the left and turned then.

Crowd support? What crowd support? Other than a few people who shouted encouragement, fellow runners were the most vocal supporters. In general people who were doing their morning walks/jogs/cycling just ignored us. There were only a small handful of people cheering at the finish line where my husband and son were waiting with the video carmera. Besides the medal, I was given only a bottle of cold water. Not sure if the food ran out for the slow runners or if there was none to begin with. No attention was given to the late finishers, in fact I have to ask where to go to get my timing chip removed. Despite the flat course, the view of the beach at the beginning and the end of the route, this is not one of my favorite marathons. But the finisher's medal is indeed unique, a scallop shell that opens with the name of the marathon inscribed.