Berryman Marathon and 5/14 to 5/20 Weekly Recap

37.81 Miles, 6:01:11, 9:33 Pace
3:00:00 - Gym Crosstraining
Another great event put on by David and Victoria White. Since Mindy graduated law school on Friday we weren't able to head down Friday night and woke up Saturday morning at 4:00 am to make the trek to Berryman, MO. It was a bit chilly and highs were predicted in the 70's; what a great day for running! We arrived about 30 minutes before the start, picked up my packet, said our hello's and made a few last minute preparations. Before I knew it 7:00 am arrived and we were off! My plan was to run a consistent pace the entire race and to take it pretty easy which I did. I wanted to practice my eating for the 100 miler but unfortunately ate too much pasta the night before and was filled to the gills! I ran with Deanna Stoppler for most of the marathon and she went on to be the 1st female winner in the 50 mile race (8:51:05). I crossed the finish line in 4:29:50 placing 19th out of 84 total runners. All in all it was a good race; no falls, sprained ankles or major damage done.


I hung around the finish line for a while as I wanted to see the 50 mile men's winner cross the finish line; the winner ended up being Eric Grossman setting a new course record in 6:33:27. Absolutely amazing!
A short time later my Dad returned from Mindy's aid station to fetch some burgers for the girls and to take me out to the aid station. This was the first time I have volunteered and I had a great time helping the runners and talking with them about how they were feeling and giving them tips to help ensure a strong finish; now I know why Mindy likes volunteering so much, it's a blast! Hanging out there for a while you hear some really inspirational stories. We met one gentleman named Larry Snowden from Cincinnati, OH who told us about how he and his wife have partnered with Jeff Galloway in helping people in the Cincinnati area to complete their first marathon or ultra. They had brought a group of their runners down to tackle the 50 miler; his wife was running with the group while he shuttled around the course in a van helping out. There was also another group of 21 runners from a Lees Summit, Missouri company (Genesys). The owner (Pat Perry) had paid all of their entry fees and put together a marathon training program for employees that wanted to participate. Most of the runners were first time marathoners and one gentleman has lost 50 lbs. since starting the training program; wow what an incredible thing to do for your employees! Mindy and I were so inspired by these two groups that I am going to reach out to Larry and his wife, Suzelle, about starting a Jeff Galloway group here in St. Louis. I know that is my true calling in life; to help others achieve what they once thought was impossible and helping people change their lives! I plan to contact them this week to find out more.


Taper, Taper, Taper... This week and next for sure! Keeping the mileage around 25-30 with the majority of my workouts at the gym crosstraining. BTW, the right shin splint is gone. Last week I began doing exercises at the gym using their Dorsiflex Hammer Strength machine (3 sets for each leg) along with cross training using the Precor elliptical and I seem to be cured; NICE!!!!

Less than 2 weeks until Kettle, the butterflies start every time I think about it!

Happy Running,
Carey