Louisiana Marathon 2014

The Baton Rouge Marathon was the 2014 Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics Reunion Race for 2014. I departed the DC area on Saturday morning and was a little nervous about having a connecting flight out of Atlanta due my experience with delays after delay the previous weekend. After picking up rental I checked into the Hilton Garden which was ½ mile from the expo and the Marathon Maniac and Half Fanatic meeting. I wanted to see if there was any rooms available since it was 1 ½ hours to check-in time. I was in luck and they had a room available; it was $17..00 per night to park in the parking area in front of the office; $9.00 to park in the garage or free to park on the street only exception was the cars had to be moved by 7am on Monday morning. I selected the free option. 
 
On my way to the expo I ran into Angie who was on her way back to expo to help the Main Maniacs with the reunion bling; which consisted of your press pass (pictured below) still don't know the significance of the Marathon Maniac Press Pass; the new MM beanie and the wrist band to get into the reserved Porta Johns reserved for the MM/HF; VIP Gear Check and access to the Maniac finish line food tent. I walked around the expo for a bit before making my way over to the Gear Guy table (Ray Shaw). 

                      
 

After returning from the expo and while getting things in order for marathon I went into a panic when I discovered I didn’t pack any running shorts. Back to the expo we go and after walking around for about 10 minutes it became obvious that none of the vendors were selling running shorts. It was during this time that I ran into Cara and Rich at the expo. After explaining my predicament to Cara she said I could borrow one of her running skirts. Lucky I found the Fleet Feet Vendor and asked if she knew where I could buy a pair of running shorts and she gave me the address to the local store. On the trip to Fleet Feet I was able to get the shorts and also there was a small grocery store across the street so I was able to buy water and PowerAde and some yogurt for my pre-breakfast meal.

The reunion meeting started around 4:15. The Main Three (Steven, Chris and Toni) gave a little background on where and how the club started 10 years ago and gave out some prices and presented the club awards. When it came time for the Ambassador of the Year everyone was wondering who was going to win it this. Steven announced that after reviewing all of the nominations that Angie Whitworth Pace had won it for 2013. After wrapping up the club business we headed over to the Hilton for the Pastalaya Dinner where Bill Rogers and Matt Long were the speakers for the evening. Matt Long story is very inspiring; you read a little about his story at http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/second-life.

After dinner went back to room to relaxed a bit before bed and make sure I had everything I would need for the marathon the next. 

I woke up sometime around 3:45 and had my usual pre-marathon breakfast – instant oatmeal with brown sugar, banana and half a bottle of PowerAde. Around 6:15 I text Cara to let her know I was on my way over to the State Capitol for the Marathon Maniac picture. 

The Maniac pre-race picture was going to take place at 6:30 on the steps of the Capitol. Seems like no matter how many times the location and time is posted on the Maniac Facebook page there are few that shows up late for the picture.

                     

At the start we had our own VIP gear check (which was right next to our food tent), porta potties.  It was funny watching non-Maniacs try to get in line to because they thought those were the porta-a-johns everyone was passing by to go use the ones at the opposite end. The security guard was very polite and informing them unless they were Maniacs or Half Fanatics they could not use the reserved ones. 

Cara and I decided prior to arriving in Baton Rouge that we would run the Louisiana Marathon together no matter no if one of us were not feeling good or bad about the marathon. Somewhere around mile 4 1/2 I told Cara that at the next water stop I would stop to use the bathroom and she could keep going and I would catch her. While I picked the one of the longest bathroom stop ever (12 minutes) which meant I would have to run all out to catch her. 

 

While standing in line I saw two of my local running friends (Tee and Donna) running past as I was waiting in line. After the longest stop I proceed to run to see if could catch back up to Cara it took a while but eventually I was able to run up behind her before mile 9. The good thing was we were running around the lake and I could see just how far I had to go catch her. 

Cara posing at Mile 10

As we approached Mile 11 Cara said this is our moment of choice we can stay to the right and head back to the State Capitol or continue on. It was not really a choice because we both knew we would continue on for the rest of the marathon. As we continue to the right we began this long out and back through some neat neighborhoods. As we approached Mile 15 or 16 we saw Gary who was leading the Marathon and right behind him was Marathon Junkie Chuck. At this point of the race we were still enjoying the course and the few spectators that were our giving out encouragement also it was starting to get warm.

                                                             Maniacs on the course

At point all we could think about was the finish line. Cara suggested that at the next aid station I should see if they had any chocolate for her and if so grab her a few pieces. This is a running joke from the Tacoma Washington Marathon last May. One of the aid stations there had a good selection of chocolate and snacks.

The last few miles were going by so slowly all we could think about was finishing and relaxing with our fellow Maniacs. But we also forgot that we had the bridge to conquer since it came so very early in the race the first time (mile 2 1/2) and now we were crossing it at Mile 24. Those last two miles I believe we were both pushing each other to just finish with a smile. The finish line was a welcoming site for me. It was the culmination of a goal I set last June.
 
I still cannot believe I completed 3 states, 3 marathons, 8 days.