the Gauntlet

I would say, "I made my decision on a Fall marathon", but that would only be partially true. 

Chicago did not want me. New York City as well. That ended up leaving a few options of which I previously mentioned:

Minneapolis. Indianapolis. Columbus. Philadelphia. Detroit. Marine Corps (DC). 

All promising, but each with challenges. 

Minneapolis is first week in October. That would be a challenge to run with with losing at least three weeks of needed training. Indy conflicts with a wedding which we are attending. Columbus I'd love to do again, but not just yet. Philly is late late, but it conflicts with a half-marathon relay to which I've agreed, Detroit was sold out. 

That left MCM. 

But I fucked around on committing and lo and behold, it sold out too. 

It's one of those things - you weren't sure you wanted it until it was gone. So for both Detroit and MCM, I trolled FB for people wanting to transfer bibs. And lord, people are nuts. Well, not nuts........but nasty and devious. 

Most big marathons have an official bib transfer process (assuming they allow it at all). All warn against scammers. And I had more than a few try to get me.  

As I am smarter than your average bear, I caught on early, and often, to their jive. Each one joining the marathon FB page that same day. You can see how many other people they messaged. And the second you had any credibility in what you were talking about, they ghosted you. 

I did my share of reporting to the site administrator. One poor woman messaged me saying she saw Ms X messaged me and not to deal with her. She had lost $200 in a venmo-like transfer, only to find out there was no bib. Never was. 

But another woman responded to a very specific post of mine, which said, if you're not willing to give me the registrant name and email address to verify with the MCM folks, don't bother me. That kept the scum away. 

Though this nice woman really wanted to swap. I got her 4-1-1 verified at the site. She set forth in motion to start the transfer and kept me up to date. She didn't even consider that I would not just pay the reg fee, but also the transfer fee. It took two days for MCM to do their part, and bing bang boom, I was a few hundred dollars poorer and now registered to run 26.2 with / for the marines. 

FUCK. 

That was my immediate reaction after registering and paying her. Now I have to actually run the 50th Marine Corp Marathon.

710 says it is good for me to have goals, and he is not wrong. It will not be easy, but I know I can finish. If I can finish with a personal record, who knows. 

I have two goals now - three, I guess.  

1. Do the training. Which is going to consist of some 16, 18 and 20 mile runs.   

2. Finish the marathon.   

3. ....and most importantly:  don't get injured between #1 and #2. 

hehehehehe........number 2. 

This will be my largest event yet. 40,000 runners. All doing the marathon. There is no half. So there is no lessening of the crowd after 13.1.  This could be good in terms of camaraderie, as usually you're running by yourself after the half-marathoners peel off. 

It's a bit humbling to know even if I'm in the top half (which has yet to be determined), that I'd still be like the 19,873rd runner to finish. 

As far as I know, I'll know (or know of) three other people doing this race. 40k folks, so I don't know I'll connect with them while there, but maybe we can make a concerted effort for a pic before or after.

This is military driven, which isn't a huge draw for me in best of times, less so now. Lots of flags and shit, and me feeling extremely unpatriotic.  Getting my Gatorade from a 19 year old in Marine camo at Mile 17 isn't the porn origin story I really want.  

.....now, if it was their dad............

Come late October, I expect to hear "OORAH" more than I ever have, and more than I ever want. 

(those in DC, perhaps I'll see you as spectators????)  

Song by: Dropkick Murphys