Tad ran the Washington marathon on March 24

Dan Gordon:
Dear Tad: Well? What happened in D.C.? Dan

Tad Sperry:
You'll be sorry you asked! What a logistical nightmare! I finished in 4:19 or so, chip time, and then had to stand in line for 1:45 to retrieve my stuff!!! If they'd had bad weather, say wind and rain and cold instead of the balmy 65-70 they were blessed with, there would have been a riot! Or some serious hypothermia, or both probably. And then there were a couple of other logistical problems. Like, there is a place on the course about mile 6 or so where the road changes from wide to narrow, and there were lots of cars parked on the street. If they had had any more than the 8000 or so runners the got, it would have backed up badly. As it was, it seemed to me I was suddenly back at the start again, trying not to run over all the people crowding around. And then the finish was just stupid: the exhausted runners were coming in and were handed first a mylar blanket, and then, if you could see them through all the billowing blankets, a medal. And then all the food was on tables jammed within maybe 20 yds of the finish line. The idea was to pass through them grazing, and then circle around, and go back the way you came, and exit going out next to the finish line going in the opposite direction. Well, since there were no bags or boxes for the food or drink, everyone was just standing. The finish area filled up and there was no flow in any direction, just more runners pushing in from the finish line. And no directions as to how to exit, or where the belongings tent was or anything. Belongings were a ways away, and that night mare was just unbelievable. Evidently no one had thought to order the bags, they were just in piles randomly in the tent, and there were a few haggard volunteers trying to sort through bags to find each bag. Hit me with a stupid slap if I ever mention this marathon again.

As for the run, it went okay. I was strong throughout most of the first 20 miles. I did pop a huge blister on the ball of my right foot about mile 10 which I tried to put something on about mile 13, and basically just suffered through with. My knees really ached the last couple of miles - something I don't remember happening before. And there was this one steep downhill about mile 24 that reallllyyyyy hurt my quads! But, I survived, and haven't thrown my running stuff out. I flew out to CA Sunday night and back here Thursday and I have been suffering with an ugly cold the last few days, probably due to post marathon immune system failure. But, I hope to be up and running real soon.

Guess Wet Hen had a good run, but didn't like the race itself any more than I did??

Hope to see you Saturday,

peace.ts

Additional reports and news stories