Reluctant Marathoners
by Walter Burgess

Two marathons in the span of three weeks "What! am i crazy" That was exactly what I was thinking when i decided to "Run" the Mystic Marathon in East Lyme CT 3 weeks after running the Chicago Marathon
    I decided to register for this marathon as a way to help "Pace" fellow PRC member Pam Bashian through it so she could reach a personal goal she had set for herself, but a week before the marathon, she had to pull out due to a nagging injury. I was then faced with a decision, do I drop out myself or go ahead and try to "Run" this marathon.
     During the clubs Saturday morning run one week before the marathon, I found out Jim Sweeney was going to run the marathon, so we started talking about it, then Brian Savage overheard us and said he was interested in doing it also, so at that moment the 3 of us decided to run this marathon. Brian dubbed us the reluctant marathoners. I recovered so well from the Chicago Marathon and my legs felt good, so it was worth a try
     All week long I was wondering if I made the right decision, but as I awoke marathon morning I felt well rested, the weather was good and maybe I wasn't as crazy as I thought I was. I might actually run a good marathon today
     I arrived at Rocky Neck Park (the start of the marathon) an hour early and began to start stretching and warming up, when I met up with Pam. Even though she was unable to run this race, she came down to lend support and cheer us on. I eventually met up with Jim and Brian and after doing some more stretching and trying to get ourselves psyched up for the 26.2 miles ahead of us, we headed to the start line
     After a 10 min delay the marathon was finally underway. The first 3 miles is run on a loop through Rocky Neck Park where we cross over the start line again at mile 2 where we see Pam's smiling face cheering us on. After mile 3 we were out of the park and running through the streets of East Lyme. Jim, Brian and I ran together for the first 14 miles or so, but then Brian was feeling so good that he began to pull away. That left Jim and I pacing each other.
     At mile 16 we came across a great site. Up ahead on the side of the road was Linda Moraski and John Donnelly and they were loaded with Gatorade, Fig Newtons and GU's. Just what we needed to get us through the final 10 miles. After a short break and refueling ourselves, we were on our way
     We hadn't gone a 1/2 mile when up a head we spotted Maureen Larkin and her son Nathan. It was a nice surprise and their cheering help spur us on. At mile 17 the course turns and we start heading back the way we came. We passed Maureen and Nathan again and at mile 19, met up with Linda. This time she was by herself. John had jumped in with Brian to run with him in the final miles
    After a short break and refueling ourselves we were on our way. At this point I was feeling so well, I began to pull away from Jim. I ran the final few miles by myself and arrived back at the finish in 3:47. Brian finished 3:35 and Jim 3:54. Not bad for three people who were not sure if they made the right decision to run this marathon. After meeting up with Pam, John and Linda we decided to go to Mystic Seaport and get something to eat. It was a nice way to end the day
    A big thank you goes out to Linda, John D, Pam and Maureen for their support during the marathon. It was greatly appreciated and a big help