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Race Result

Racer: Brad Payne
Race: Marine Corps Marathon
Date: Sunday, October 26, 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Race Type: Run - Marathon
Age Group: Male 35 - 39
Time: 4:59:19
Overall Place: 9794 / 15965
Age Group Place: 1233 / 1732



Race Report:



My race report can be found in "From Fairbanks to Boston: 50 Great US Marathons." Yep, that's right Mom and Dad, the non-PhD dunce of a son finally got published. However, some mean ol' editor cut out one of my favorite passages so here goes:

Climbing the access ramp the 14th St Bridge just about killed me. My quads seized up again, and I had to hobble over to the side to stretch them out. After running on asphalt for 21 miles, the concrete of the bridge was most unforgiving. It reflected the sunlight making it look brighter than it actually was. There was no aid station on the bridge even though I needed fluids badly. To me, the bridge transformed into the 14th St Desert, and I slowly began to battle my mind and body as I surely felt like I had crossed into hell. The bridge seemed endless, and my painful gait seemed to make little progress toward the skyline of Virginia on the other side. My pace had dropped noticeably. 10:00 to 11:00, and now I was doing 12:00 miles. I didn’t think it was possible for me to “run” that slow if what I was doing is still considered running. I was no longer having any fun, and I was obsessed with water. In my mind, I felt like I was alone even though there were hundreds of us suffering across the bridge. We never spoke. We just suffered a misery that fast runners probably never appreciate.