I decided to do the Long Beach Marathon as a tribute to my good friend Win. This was going to be my last marathon. I decided that I would start with the walkers at 6:15 AM and just take it easy.
There were only a couple of hundred walkers huddled together in the dark. I thought of Win and all the races that we had done and knew he was with me. The race started out well and I fell in step with 2 girls, Melissa and Jennifer, from Phoenix. They were planning on walking the entire marathon and I decided to join them. I wasn’t concerned about my time and haven’t been for about 3 years. We completed the 6 miles about the time that the marathon/half marathon started. At that point, I saw Marsha, Win’s wife and his sister Gail and gave them both hugs. We passed Bernard on the bike path who was yelling “A - R - E - C”. Scared the crap out of me. I kept looking behind for Brian and Greg, who passed us at mile 10. I saw other AREC runners and walked a little with Inger after she completed her half of the 4 hour pacing group. Kristen passed me by on Studebaker and Staci Shourt caught me on the 22 Freeway bridge. While I was talking to her, I felt a little out of breath.
Colleen and the Medics
And then it hit me, at mile 18.5, I couldn’t breathe and felt like my chest was collapsing. I don’t have asthma, so I had no idea what was wrong with me. My first reaction was panic. I was gasping for air and Melissa and Jennifer tried to calm me down and got a policeman who called for police back-up (I am not quite sure why) and the paramedics. Melissa called Rich’s cell phone, who didn’t answer it since he didn’t recognize the number. The paramedics responded within 5 minutes. Then I saw Bob Beachler who had come over since he saw the bright yellow AREC singlet (do I still get the points, Emmett?). But since there were 4 policemen and 4 paramedics hovering over me, he couldn’t get close enough to see who it was. Just as he was turning away, I saw him and told the police to stop him. He came up and said Rich was 5-10 minutes behind. Bob ran back to find Rich, who ran up to me and announced to the police and paramedics “she’ll do anything to get out of running a marathon.”
I was taken to the hospital and the tests results were normal. I called Melissa from the hospital and told her that I was fine. They had just finished and wanted to know if I was going to the beer garden.
Afterwards, I found out that Roberta waited for me until the City removed the barricades. Bernard called later that night and wanted to know if I saw the bright light at the end of the tunnel.
I agree with Win that 26.2 miles is a stupid distance.
While he questioned his sanity at mile 22, I didn’t get that far. Once my doctor clears me, I am finishing the final 8 miles of the Long Beach marathon. The crowds won’t be there, I won’t get a medal, or time but I know Win will be there finishing with me.