Mission: Accomplished (Afterword)

Both of our families were waiting at the finish line, and we spent a few minutes celebrating.

We got the thermal blankets as soon as we finished.  The race volunteers were literally tearing them off of what looked like giant boxes of aluminum foil.  After a few minutes, I was mighty glad to have it in my rain- and sweat-soaked clothes.  It was maybe in the mid-fifties at the end of the race.

I grabbed some free food to start replacing the 3000-plus calories that I burned during the race.  I would later eat a bowlful of pad thai noodles, a salad, a Steak-n-Shake guacamole burger, and a bowl of spaghetti before I went to bed that night.

And, then, since I was shivering and body pain had begun setting in, we walked (well, I hobbled) back to the car to return to the hotel for my hot shower.  After lunch at a great little place called Noodles, we headed back home.

The Quad Cities Marathon was in the books!

I would like to say a few more words about this marathon, as a few of you out there might be interested in running it one day.

1.  It’s a very well-done race.  There were water and Gatorade aid stations at least every two miles, and there were four GU stops, which made it nice as far as what I needed to carry with me.  Spaced out further along in the race, there were candy and fruit, Vaseline, a wet sponge, and a dry towel.  The volunteers were terrific.

2.  The hardest part of the race, aside from the rain which is not always going to happen, was running up on to the bridges.  The inclines are steep, and a couple of them are fairly lengthy.  The ones early in the race are not terrible, but the one crossing off Arsenal Island between Miles 19 and 20 is like a bad joke.  And the inclines back down off the bridges are hard on the knees.

3.  It’s a fairly easy race for family members to navigate.  Jeff decided to meet us in two places, mostly because lugging two kids and a toddler around alone is not fun, but he had mapped out a couple more that would have worked, too.  As none of the bridges close during the race, it’s not bad scooting back and forth around the course.

4.  There are lots of clocks on the course, and mats mark the first 10K, the half, the 20-mile, and the last 10K, which are kind of cool splits to have.

All in all, if you are looking for a smaller, well-done marathon, on a relatively quick, flat course, the QC Marathon would suit you just fine!