4:33:09

Well, it is over. What a day, 9C and rain. The group of us, 40 or so runners, 22 doing the 50k event, lined up and we started right at 6 am. I felt really good, and headed out strong with some of the big names, keeping a solid pace for some 20 to 25 km. I started to feel a little discomfort in my legs around this time so I slowed a little to let the pain subside but it didn't. I passed the halfway mark at just over 2 hours. I worked the next 15km at a manageable pace, feeling pretty confident. Just past 36km, I felt my left calf start to cramp, I tried to run through it but I couldn't. So I started the torturous walk/run that I kept up for basically the rest of the race. Everytime I felt that I could run a little longer my legs would stiffen and I would walk till I felt it loosen up. I ran the marathon distance, 42.2km in 3:42 which is the fastest I have run that in 14 years. The final 8km was a test of wills as much as I am willing to admit as I didn't want to quit but sure as hell didn't want to continue. I finished up at just after 10:30 am, mercifully ending the cramps. My finishing time was 4 hours, 33 minutes and 9 seconds which was good enough for 8th place overall. It was as good as I could do today. I could have run 15 minutes faster quite easily without the cramps. Aside from that I did it. I really did it.