Little Rock Marathon
Little Rock, AR
March 7, 2010
4:08:01
There's a lot to like about Little Rock. The town is beautiful, easy to navigate with interesting architecture. Along the River Market block, restaurants and bars line the street, backing up to a riverfront park and pavilion.
This was the scene for the start and finish of the Little Rock Marathon. I arrived the day before the race, visiting the expo, seeing some familiar faces from past races, and made my way to the starting area. After walking around for a bit, and taking a quick snooze in the sun, I met up with my racing partner and took in some pasta.
The race was small and well organized. The start was hosted by Bart Yasso, inspiring the crowd for the miles ahead. The route travelled along the streets of Little Rock and North Little Rock, (the mayor of N. Little Rock greeted runners on the bridge into his town, and again on the way out), past the Clinton Library, State House and Governor's Mansion (again, the Governor was shaking hands with runners as they passed).
Then, there was a hill. It seemed to start around mile 13, just in time for the half-marathoners to miss it, and climb through mile 16. This was followed by a steep downhill, that reminded my quads they had pain receptors. However, a nice flat stretch along a bikepath and parkway winded out and back for the final miles back to town. By the time I reached 25 1/2, I knew where my time was heading, so I happily accepted a beer from the local chapter of the Harriers.
I chalked this up as another state down, and a good experience in marathoning. My training over the winter was way below where I should be to race or even run 26 miles. I started slow, and held easy 8:30 pace through most of the race. For the last few miles, I knew I was reaching my wall, and didn't want to push into injury as I have in the past. So some long waterstops, shuffles and jogging, I made my way to the finish. Overall, I'm happy about this race, despite being my second-slowest marathon, and I'm looking forward to better weather, more light, more training, and better races this year.
