Read Karen’s account of her journey up to Bar Harbor, Maine, this past weekend to run in the Mt. Desert Island Marathon.  It’s an inspirational story with a very happy ending.  For those of you who may have never run a marathon before, it’s only a matter of time before you will.  Read Karen’s report to get a real “taste” of what the experience is like.

Jim and I arrived in Bar Harbor in the late afternoon on Friday. We spent Friday and Saturday enjoying the town’s shops and restaurants and just relaxing. Businesses all throughout the island had signs that said “GOOD LUCK MDI Marathoners” placed in their windows. It was very welcoming! There was access to Acadia National Park from our motel property, so we went for a nice walk on carriage roads in the park. It was post-card beautiful!

At the pasta dinner Saturday night the race director, Gary Allen, made us all feel very at ease with his humor. He talked about the hilly, challenging course and urged us to make sure that our goals for race day were realistic. He then introduced the first guest speakers, Stephanie Tait and Matt Hill of Run for One Planet. These two very interesting people run a marathon each day as they make their way across the continent to gain support for environmental causes, one step at a time. You can check out their web site to learn more at www.runforoneplanet.com  

Stephanie and Matt will be running right through Salem next weekend!

Then Sheri Piers spoke. She was the 16th finisher in the women’s marathon trials, and lives in Maine. Sheri is on the cover of the May/June 2008 issue of New England Runner magazine. Very inspiring speakers! The evening finished with Gary telling us all to “Go to bed!”

Marathon morning was chilly. I was quite cold at the start, glad that the race is so small that Jim was able to stand right with me until the end of the National Anthem to keep me warm (and to take my fleece when it was time to run). The race started and so did the rolling hills. I like my hills “rolling” so I was pleased with the terrain. My kind of race! The scenery was unbelievable! The sky was the brightest blue, and the foliage brilliant oranges and reds. There are mountains and water everywhere in MDI; ponds, lakes, streams, and many coves and harbors along the coast. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the camera!

The first half marathon zipped by as I enjoyed every bit of scenery. I had been keeping pace for a 4:30:00 finish (My “ambitious” goal!) I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold that pace in the second half of the race. At 18 miles I was STILL on pace for 4:30:00, and I was still feeling good. But I also knew that miles 19 through 25 were mostly uphill. In my mind, I was expecting “HILLZILLA” or something. (Yes, running Lake Winnepesaukee was still fresh in my mind!) I was relieved to find that the hill wasn’t as bad as all that! I was running pretty strong, and then I hit a rough patch after mile 23 for about a half-mile. I just focused on getting to mile 24 for some Gatorade, and when I reached it I realized that I was only a little over a minute behind 4:30:00 pace! I decided that I was gonna go for that 4:30:00 finish. I picked up my pace and began passing people, which gave me confidence to keep it up. As I came past the 26-mile marker, there was Jim with a rather surprised look on his face. We had figured I would be finishing closer to 4:45:00, so he wasn’t expecting me so soon. He yelled for me to “GO!”

Somehow I managed to make up 2 minutes in that last 2.2 miles!

As I crossed the finish line, a volunteer wrapped me in a Mylar blanket then led me to a chair where she took the chip off my shoe as another volunteer gave me a cup of water. A high school boy placed the medal around my neck. Another nice volunteer gave me my “Finishers” tee shirt, then led me to the tent with food. I grabbed a few nibbles and met up with Jim.

I was feeling so proud of myself! I exceeded my best-case goal, finishing in 4:29:08, which is a huge improvement over my Carlsbad marathon finish time of 4:47:52. I left Mount Desert Island with a very satisfied sense of accomplishment. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been able to run in such a beautiful place, and grateful that my body (and mind!) stayed strong. I know it sounds really sappy, but it really did feel like a journey of sorts. I look forward to doing this marathon again. Next time we plan to bring the family and stay longer!