2013 MCM 10K

Well, I got another cool shirt and finisher’s medal this weekend.  The Marine Corps Marathon and MCM 10K were this past weekend up in DC and I ran the 10K.  Over the past several years a group of folks have gotten together to run that race, some from Mt. Vernon High School in northern Virginia and sometimes folks from other places.  Due to various reasons the group dwindled down to just me and Teri who always hosts the overnight guests at her home and throws a fun party to boot!

That part was no different with the theme being Oktoberfest.  We had brats and knockwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and too much beer.  I, of course, had the obligatory tequila shot for luck as well.  We had a great time around the fire pit laughing and telling stories before calling it a night and hitting the sack around 11:30.  After all, Teri and I had to get up at 5:30 the next morning because we had a race to run.  Responsible adults.  That’s us.

And that's us on the Metro heading to the race.

Earlier in the day I went to packet pick up and got to enjoy the sunny weather by standing in line outside the big pavilion because they had no power and couldn’t activate people’s bibs.  What normally takes 30 minutes or so stretched to hours, and when I came out with my stuff the line had easily tripled from where I first got into it.  A friend of mine from the Outer Banks said he was there for over 4 hours getting his bib.  Yeesh.

 

I realized on my drive up that I have had the ability to record some of my blog stuff in video and there are the amazing results to prove it!  Exciting, huh?  So I did more.

Here I am at the starting line:

Yes, I wore a suit.  When I did this race a couple of years ago I wore a tutu just because Tina had an extra one and didn’t want it to go to waste, so this year I decided to go the other direction.  You’d think no one had ever done that before with all the comments I got.  I must’ve been called “Barney!!” and heard “Suit Up!!” a dozen times.

Now here are 7,603 runners and one above average singer:

 

Here’s a quick update from the beginning of the race after I’d bobbed and weaved through a whole lot of people who weren’t going to get anywhere near that 40 to 49 minute estimated finish time sign that was next to that area of the starting grid:

 

It was a beautiful day, but much warmer than what the weather was calling for even the night before, so I kind of got hot what with wearing a jacket, tie and running tights.  Yes, I wore running tights.  I didn’t want to find out what sort of chaffing I could get from suit pants.  Still, the Marines along the way were great and so was the crowd at the finish.  I took a few pictures and face timed with my daughter to see what she was up to.  She’s got an audition coming up in Virginia Beach and told me that the Virginia Repertory Theater was doing Tartuffe and Olympus on My Mind.  I might audition for one of those.  It’s been forever since I’ve done a play, but I have to see when the rehearsals and performances will happen before I can jump in.

 Marines on the course.  Gave me a "Suit Up!" and "Oorah!"

 

Water station volunteers

 

Guess where this was taken 

 

 

The last mile

The finish of this race is the same as the marathon and was definitely designed by a Marine.  It’s about 150 meters up the steepest hill on the course with a 90 degree turn thrown into the middle of it.  Still, with the music blaring, crowd in the bleachers cheering, and the Marines urging you on while they line the course, it’s a great way to cap off a big race.  This year the announcer even called out my name as I covered the last few strides.

 

A guy I ran with for the last mile and I traded cameras to take pictures of each other in front of the monument as the official photogs took their shots.  I must’ve been asked a dozen times if had run the race in my suit.  I always smiled and said, “yes” but secretly thought, “No.  I just tossed it on after I finished and pinned my number to the outside of the buttoned front.”  I’ll have to wear a suit more often, though because I got to meet and talk to bunches of people just because I had it on.  One Marine named Mitch came over and introduced himself and told me he thought it was cool and impressive that I did that.  He just ran the race as well while wearing a 40 pound flak vest and pack.

I just said, “Dude.”