After climbing nearly 4400 feet and running 14 miles, my old foot injury began to kick in. Matt had already deserted me and for the past two miles I had found myself alone on the course. Very rare in a marathon, but this was a trail marathon, and seemed to happen a lot. I doubted my ability to finish, I was near tears (though I was so sweaty and misty from the weather, I could have been crying without noticing it.) and I was sure that this would be my last marathon. I had hit the mental roadblock. I stopped to walk a bit and shortly afterward saw someone behind me on the course. I was relieved to know that I wasn't alone and it meant I was probably still on the right trail. Well, this man was an angel. He must have noticed that I was struggling, because he came right up to me and started talking about everything and anything. Soon we were both running and I almost forgot the pain. We made it to the aid station at mile 17 and decided to stick it out and run the rest together. I needed someone to chat with to keep my mind off of the old injury and he needed someone to pace him. So we did and I must say it was a very enjoyable final 10 miles.

More hill training.

Did I mention they gave out free beer if you wore your race shirt to the afterparty???

My father and Matt's parents met us at the finish line. We kept moving to cool down our muscles and then ate at a great restaurant in Stinson Beach. I was famished.


I did the bulk of my training while at LE school in Charleston SC. There aren't nearly enough hills there, let alone mountains to climb, so most of my long runs were on flat pavement. My aerobic capacity never let up this race, but my ability to stomach the hills did. If I had trained on terrain similar to the race, I would have smashed the course.


The scenery during this marathon was incredible. The climb to the peak was worth every curse word and drop of sweat that left my body. There was never a dull moment and everyone was so friendly on the course. There were just enough aid stations (4) and they offered a wide selection of food and drink. I would highly recommend this one to anyone interested in an off the beaten path marathon. I can't wait to do it again.