- When:12/10/16
The Unofficial Kiawah Marathon Backblast
The idea for the Kiawah marathon began late last year with Bratwurst sending out a pole of perspective runners and their thoughts about where they wanted to run. Kiawah was the answer.
Over time more and more guys signed up once Hot 4 Teacher secured a sweet $55 dollar entry fee. The official training started before the BRR but got kicked into high gear after the BRR.
Many of us cross trained and several only did the running program that our leader Brat formulated. Brat could have told us that we were going to run through creeks and I do not think anyone would have questioned it. Brat was the spearhead to all of this madness and was a great leader throughout. He made it simple, straightforward and allowed the rest of us to not have to think about what the plan was each day we showed up. It would be impossible to thank him enough and he is too humble to accept too much praise.
Most of us trained and silly times often way, way before a normal workout would start. Almost always no one had to train alone because no one wanted to let each other down. There were setbacks, injuries and illness throughout the season. We lost Thin Mint and Gumbo to injury and were not able to make it back unfortunately. Bunker fought a cold the last two weeks of the calendar and Brat was sick while he was running the race. Most of us made it intact to the start line.
There is no way to quantify what it means to be running with your friends on race day and to have friends in the crowd cheering you on. It means a lot each day we show up for a workout but even more when you compete in something grueling where you do not know how it is going to end.
We pick each other up, make fun of one another and encourage one another. It makes the time pass and the pain less. I know there are many accounts out there and I hope you sound off. Mine is this.
Brat was his ever positive self at the start line. He was patient at the start weaving his way through the crowd for the first mile while I tagged along. At one point he said he was not feeling that well and then at mile 16 took a break. He was able to get it back together and picked his pace up. We both had the goal of sub 3:00 but it was not meant to be today. At one point on mile 25 he and Honey Bee caught me. Brat said “come on I’ve got Honey Bee with me” and Honey Bee followed it up by saying “Let’s finish this thing.” It caused me to pick up the pace and make it in for 3:11.
I know several of us did not reach our goals but there were a ton of PRs and Boston Qualifiers. Honey Bee PR/BQ 1st F3 SOB/Area 51 and fastest out of the parking lot, Haggis PR, Turkey Leg PR/BQ, Hairball PR, Brat BQ, Tolken PR for his age. The half marathoners also were awesome. Maria PR, Wingman PR, Tuck PR, Outback PR and Bean PR. I would say and I know no one would disagree that we can thank Brat for our preparation and coaching.
Spackler gets the award again for the best F3 cheerleader. He was all over the course cheering everyone on. Not to mention being a great host again.
I know it is early and the body is not healed but you can sign up for 2017 until tomorrow for $40. Those that have run this race know it is a great race and those on the fence get off of it and sign up. Anyone can do a half marathon given enough time to prepare. The second F as usual is the best part of F3 and you get a full weekend of it. Here is the link for the marathon. I am signing up. https://secure.marathonguide.com/register/KiawahIslandMarathon/
Frasier author
Well said Frasier. I encourage everyone to participate in he half or full next year, or come down and do some reckless golf-cart off-reading with Spackler.
Forget the race, I had a great time with my F3 Brothers training, day in and day out, and being part of a shared vision/goal. And I believe all who raced feel our individual results and accomplishments would not be possible without the daily support of everyone who was there to encourage us and make us better.
A special shout out to Mr. Brady, Gumbo, and Thin Mint who were unfortunately unable to toe the line this time after such hard work. We will be there for your recovery and to support you on your way back.
Thanks for the write-up Frasier. Thanks to you and Brat both for pushing the rest of us. It was a great day. Two things:
1) Mine wasn’t a PR in the end, but it was a lot better than I expected.
2) Even though I was never remotely close to catching him, the thought of Tolkien up ahead of me was the most powerful motivator of all!
Got a 4 hour therapy session for free riding down to Kiawah with Frasier – HIPAA covers that, right? We got in after dark and had a great Italian dinner with a few other dudes. After an adequate night’s rest, we got a personal escort from the Libated Camel the starting line. It was great to start together as a group – 8 or so F3 guys taking off around the same time. We had a pack of 5 or so A51/SOB guys for the first 7 miles. Big help on a cold morning where it took a while to get warm. Ran with Seahawk from Metro for 3-4 miles around mile 7 – cool to meet new faces out on the course. Lost TL to a business call around mile 9. Lost and found Tolkien several times through mile 18. This was a big mental race – I felt awesome through mile 18 when the legs started getting heavier. Trusting the training, picked up the pace a little to try to carry me through. Hearing support from Libated Camel along the way and several F3 guys who had finished the Half, around the Sanctuary was a huge boost. The last 5K was a grind and a blur, on shaky legs. Turning into the chute and crossing the line with a new PR was an awesome feeling that I owe a ton of kudos to Brat for putting together a rock-solid training plan and to all the other dudes who pushed me both in training and in the race. Lots of gutsy efforts and PRs out there in both the Half and the Full. Strong work, gents. Looking forward to the next one.
I, along with many others, owe a debt of gratitude to our fearless leader Bratwurst. Thank you for setting up so many of these runs during our training. You kept us all motivated and driven towards the goal. I was talking to my M about this entire event…the training, the race, and the 2nd F. Such an incredible adventure with you guys…to think I haven’t even been a part of F3 for a year yet. The training was grueling and awesome at the same time. No one was left behind…no one needed to run alone. I’ll never forget the guys volunteering to run 20 miles with me on a Thursday morning before work. That is dedication and friendship. The race itself was an adventure in and of itself. It was awesome to run the first 13 miles with my training partners…you guys were killing it and while I couldn’t keep up the 2nd half, you guys were what kept me going. I knew everyone was suffering ahead of me and going through the same pain and I knew everyone would be there at the finish line cheering me on to the end. The 2nd F afterwards made it all worth it. I am definitely training for another one next year…it may not be Kiawah, but if some of you guys are doing it, I will be there to cheer folks on. I want to run the Marine Corps next year…maybe I can convince a few of you to do that with me.
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