I consider myself blessed to look back on my marathon debut at the 2007 Flora London Marathon with fond memories. At this time last year, I was a little timid of the new and daunting distance I would be racing, to say the least. I think every marathoner can probably look back on their first experience and recall their nerves.

I remember being quite nervous as we ate our pre-race pasta dinner. As I sat with my mom and wife, Sara, my eyes drifted to the 2006 ING New York City Marathon champ, Gomez de Santos, who was finishing his meal quietly nearby. One table over sat another ING New York City marathon champ, Hendrick Ramala, laughing as they chatted casually. It amazed me how relaxed and composed everyone seemed with less than 24 hours before gun time.

I had to get out of there if I was going to keep my composure, so Sara and I headed up to our room. On the way up we shared a memorable elevator ride with then world-record holder Paul Tergat. To break the awkward silence, Sara asked him what he was up to, but he misunderstood and responded, “Tomorrow is going to be fast, very fast.” At that point, I was getting very nervous.

I actually did get some shut-eye that night, which I saw as a bonus. I awoke early in the morning to get in my typical pre-marathon meal of a bagel with Cytomax protein pudding and a cup of coffee, of course. The most nerve-racking moments were the “death march” from the hotel to the bus that takes us to the starting area. Everyone is saying their goodbyes like they are never going to see their loved ones again. I thought I was going to break down and shed a tear after sharing a prayer with my family before my departure.

I did my pre-race warm-up of one mile with my teammate Meb Keflezighi. I was glad to have him around before my first marathon. I felt like his little brother, following him around, mirroring his every step. It was weird to warm up for only a mile but with all the nerves flowing, and some caffeine to boot, I was buzzing.

Finally, on the starting line, they announced the “contenders,” including Tergat, Haile Gebrselassie, Stefano Baldini, Martin Lel, Felix Limo, and Ramala. I was not mentioned, but that didn’t bother me. I was about to be part of one of the greatest marathon fields ever assembled.

The gun fired, and we were off. I must have had the fastest start in the field because I found myself excitedly looking around for Meb, the pacemakers and the big boys. The plan was simple. The front group would go out at world-record pace, and then a second group, that would include Meb, Baldini, Marilson Gomes Dos Santos and myself, would go out about a minute slower through halfway. I was to sit in the second group and “fall asleep” for the first half of the race. By “fall asleep,” I mean I want to spend as much energy as I would sleeping, as if I am focusing on how the first half of the race is going to restore and energize my legs. Sometimes I pretend that the early running is like getting a massage, flushing out all the bad things while warming up the muscles, so that when the real running begins over the second half of the race, they will be as fresh as possible.

There is also a mental component to racing. In a marathon you have to time your mental expenditures so that when your body is weak, your mind will still be strong because you haven’t had to pull on those motivating thoughts which get you through the tough sections of the race. The first half of the race is about relaxation and the second half is about excitement and controlled pushing of ones physical, spiritual and mental limits.

The biggest surprise of the day came in the first two miles when I got to the mile mark and looked down at my watch. I remember hoping that it was a four-minute, 50-second mile, but was disappointed when I looked down to see the split of five minutes, and we were with the leaders. Obviously, some discussion had taken place and someone had decided that the temperature would be too hot for any world record attempts. I was totally unaware and surprised to have our two groups virtually running together through the first half of the race.

Our plan to “fall asleep” the first half of the race was difficult to carry out. The unseasonably warm day, with temperatures in the mid 70s, made for great crowds and noisy streets. I have ridden in the New Year’s Day Rose Parade, and the noise I heard on the streets of London was even louder! I remember going through a part of the course that is notorious for screaming teenage girls and almost wanting them to simmer down because of the ringing sensation in my ears. It was deafening!

When I crossed the Tower Bridge just short of mile 13, I could take the excitement no longer. With the crowds going crazy, I urged the pacers on to catch the leaders. Dos Santos was the only one from our group to come with me, and we gradually made up the nine-second difference over the next couple of miles, bringing us through the half-way mark in less than 64 minutes. This was slightly slower than scheduled, but still relatively fast.

I will never forget catching the leaders. I hadn’t planned on running with them until later on and pictured myself picking guys off near the end, rather than being with the leaders with 10 miles to go. I glanced over at Haile, behind me was Tergat, in front of me was Ramala. Honestly, it was a surreal moment. It took me a couple of miles to make the mental adjustment, but then I snapped out of it and felt like I belonged.

This race was my welcoming party to join the best marathoners in the world. I had watched these guys run ever since I started running in my teens and dreamed of joining them. Now, here I was running alongside them.

I don’t remember at exactly which point I decided to go to the front of the group, but I still think it was a wise move for me. I needed to taste the lead. I run well from the front so there was no reason not to do the very thing that I excel at, even if my competition was the greatest marathoners in the world. However, I do regret was that I didn’t stay at the front. Right around 23½ miles, things abruptly got hard and I decided to try and relax in the back. The back is not the place for me if I am feeling badly because it is easy to fall off the back when everything is burning. It’s easy to come up with excuses, but most of all it is easy to lose hope.

My fatigue began fairly early in the race. I remember becoming aware of unusual tightness in my calves around the nine-mile mark. I decided wisely that there was nothing I could do about it and quickly put the awareness in the back of my mind. However, by mile 24, I could no longer ignore the tightening sensation that was running all down the backs of my legs. The burn got the better of Dos Santos and me as we fell off the lead pack. I told myself to stay relaxed and keep it rolling, which was enough to carry me on to the finish in a respectable time of 2:08:24. I hadn’t totally hit the wall, but the last couple miles were definitely the longest of my life, and certainly not the quickest.

I couldn’t have asked for a better present at the finish line than seeing my wife waiting for me excitedly, just feet past the finish. I pretty much collapsed into her from exhaustion. It was such a sense of accomplishment to have finished. I had done it. I could finally say that I was a marathoner.

I wasn’t thrilled with the time, but I was excited about how the race had unfolded. I had been leading the greatest marathoners in the world at 23 miles. This is what I had visualized as I trained in the trails of Big Bear. I had accomplished my goal. I took a shot, and I was there. I could have won if I had been stronger. And while this day did not belong to me, my career as a marathoner was just beginning.

As I hobbled off to the bus, Tergat caught up to me and looked at me with enthusiasm and a giant grin, exclaiming, “Wow! Wow! That was so good!” as he stroked the back of my head. It was a humbling experience to have the world-record holder excited about my debut performance. It was then that I knew that this would be a special race, one that I would always look back on with a smile.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under ryanhall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.