Mission Accomplished

Back in December 2010, I sent out a message to friends and family proposing that if I could get 26 people to donate enough food for a family of 4 to a food bank, then I would train and run the Kansas City marathon in October 2011.

I never expected so many generous and thoughtful people to come and take me up on the offer (those people would be Amy H., Kacy, Jennifer, Kurt, Patti (donated for 2 families), Mrs. Mel, Kim, Cassie, Kellie, Darcy, Cheryl, Michelle (donated for 2 families), Sissy, Angi, Katie, Amy R., Caleb, Alysia, Tom, Brad, Curtis, Erica, Tania, and Adam).

Instead of the Kansas City marathon, we decided to go for the Niagara Falls International Marathon. As much as we love Kansas City, we simply do not love the hills. Plus, if we have the opportunity to travel and run in two countries in the same day ... count us in!

My primary goal in December was to benefit 26 families. I never once expected my own life to change in such a significant way. Running a marathon is life-changing and one of the best experiences of my life (for me, it ranks up there with getting married and graduating college).

It's so incredibly difficult to even begin to describe the events leading up to the marathon and the actual marathon itself.

Waking up at 4:30 a.m., we were ready to go (I had ten hours of sleep; Adam only had 7 since he had to watch the Missouri game). The marathon start time was 10 am, but we had to catch a bus at 7 am to clear customs and then we headed to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo to wait and wait and wait. However, it wasn't time wasted because it gave me a chance to talk to Dale. It was his 9th marathon and he offered some great advice, explaining that mile 17-22 would most likely be the hardest, and that we just needed to work through it mentally and physically. Uh, great advice, but I wasn't looking forward to it.

Standing in the line with a mass of 1,065 other marathoners, I was surprised that we didn't feel anxious or nervous. We both felt well prepared and thrilled for the adventure ahead. We were standing close to the back (there couldn't have been more than 50 people behind us) and had to consciously be aware to start out slower (I wasn't going to be that fool that started out too fast and use all of my energy in the beginning). Plus, it always feels much better to pass people towards the end than to be passed at the start.

From here, it's probably easiest to describe the highlights from the run.
-The churches in Buffalo are breathtaking. We ran down a street where it seemed there was a church on every corner. They are incredibly large and just exquisite. Absolutely gorgeous!
-Children wearing shirts that read, "Run", ringing bells, giving high-fives (I read that it's important to high-five a child if given the opportunity and I did).
-Miles flew by. Every time a mile marker came, I seriously thought, "A mile marker already?" Except for mile 23 to mile 24. That was the longest mile of my life.
-The scenery was stunning. Fall had definitely arrived in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area. Colors of orange, yellow, and brown surrounded us and made for such a magnificent view.
-I had a police officer yell, "Go, Marena, Go!" We hadn't even gotten to the first mile marker, but his loud, enthusiastic voice stayed with us.
-Pacing ourselves. I can usually predict our pace based on how easily I'm breathing and able to have a conversation. If I can do both, then I know we're running around an 11 minute mile. If I'm having a harder time, then I know it's around a 10 minute mile. I've never ran a 9 minute mile, so I'm sure that means I'd be dead.
-Spectators commenting on our smile ("Must not be so bad; they're still smiling). My jaw and cheeks hurt so much from the pure joy and excitement. I still can't believe I was happy while running. What happened to me in the last ten months?
-Running across Peace Bridge and crossing into Canada. The view from the bridge was gorgeous and so serene with the water and trees. It was the only real incline of the entire marathon, yet we didn't feel a thing because we were taking in the view.
-Around Mile 5, we started running next to a man with change in his pocket. Not just a quarter or two, but it sounded like he had a good $7.00 in quarters. We called him Mr. Jingles. At first, it was funny because he was doing some running/walking combination, but not even consistently. Sometimes, he would run for 10 seconds, then walk for a minute, then run for 30 seconds, then walk for 10 seconds. I'm pretty sure he was using us as his pace group because he stayed with us for 5 miles. What was once funny became pretty annoying because all we could hear was "jingle, jingle, jingle... stop .... jingle, jingle, jingle ... stop ... for five miles. Oh, so glad that we finally lost Mr. Jingles. That Saturday night skit needed to end.
-Singing "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys with Adam. A lady ran near us with a radio. As soon as we heard the chorus, it only felt natural to sing. The lady even joined us.
-Every water station had a different theme (cowboys, chain gang, hornets, zombies). We never knew what we were going to get. At one station, the crowd was pretty tame, so I shouted, "Come on, let me hear you!" and they erupted. Is that what it feels like to be Oprah?
-Living in the moment ... for 5 hours. I have no doubt that it helped make the miles go by so fast. We were taking it all in and enjoying the adventure.
-Running behind a speed walker that was "walking" faster than we were "running." It was his 80th marathon (very clearly could read the sign on his back as we were running behind him for so long).
-Being so grateful to see a water station (one at every mile marker from 6-25). It wasn't the water, but the walking we experienced while drinking the water. I discovered I was picking up an extra cup towards the end just so I could walk a bit longer. However, after about Mile 21, it became very difficult to start back up. At that point, I was running like I had been shot.
-People sitting on porches cheering us on. My favorite was a group that reminded me of the Golden Girls (I have a soft spot for any lady white pure white hair). I waved and they cheered.
-Running along Niagara Parkway with Niagara River beside us (connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario). The most beautiful run in the last 10 months.
-Rain at Mile 10. It started to sprinkle and was so refreshing. Rain had been in the forecast and once it started, I was certain it would be with us for the remainder of the marathon. It only lasted about half a mile.
-Feeling so emotional. We'd spent the last 10 months training and it took quite a bit for me not to cry just thinking about how far we had come.
-Expecting to the hit the wall and being continuously surprised how great I felt.
-Being Adam's cheerleader. Adam just doesn't complain if he's sore, tired, or in pain. Instead, he just works through it (I'm a bit of a different story - I let him know about every ache and pain). Around Mile 17, I could tell he wasn't feeling 100% and, for once, I got to encourage him. Like I said, "Adam, you've been the one encouraging me for 10 months. It's only fair that it's my turn." He took Dale's advice and worked through it.
-Thinking of all the friends and family back home cheering us along. This journey would not have been as great without the tremendous support we received.
-Seeing the mist from Niagara Falls and knowing that we were getting closer. Yet, we were still so far away (3 miles to go).
-The last water station had a sign that read, "Home Stretch." It's been what we've always said while running the last mile during all of our long runs ("Only one mile to go. We're in the home stretch"). It only seemed fitting that we would see it there.
-As we came around a corner, I saw the finish. This level of pure excitement overwhelmed me and, although, we still had a couple of corners to go, I couldn't believe that we were near the end of a 26.2 mile run.
-As we were coming towards the finish line, the announcer said, "Marena Mitchell from Merriam, KS and Adam Mitchell from Merriam, KS ... who will win?" In that second, we both took any ounce of energy we had left to beat each other to the finish line. Coming across that finish line is such a sense of accomplishment and absolutely surreal (even two days later, it doesn't feel like it actually happened). I finished in 5:06:45.9 and Adam finished in 5:06:45.6. We came in 844th and 845th place.
-Walking back to our hotel, as we got further and further away from the other runners, we had two different women stop to ask us if we won the marathon since we were wearing our medals. We joked that we wanted to tell them yes, but, in reality, everyone received a medal. I'm thinking our pure joy must of made others think we had won.


Our goals for the marathon were to (1) Have fun (2) Not lose our passports (3) Finish (4) Never say we're going to run another one. I can happily report that we accomplished our goals. Yet, there is a part of me that wonders what it would be like to set a time goal and run another marathon ...

As it turns out, we're going to keep running. We still have a couple races we're going to do in November and December. It's the end of this journey, so this will be the last blog post.

Thanks to every single one of you who supported and encouraged us along the way. We have some of the most incredibly loving and thoughtful people in our lives. Completing a marathon wouldn't have been possible without you.

Remember, you can do more than you ever thought possible. You just have to start. 10 months ago, I could only run for 60 seconds at a time. On Sunday, I ran a marathon. Anything really is possible.