On Sunday July 14th, I hit double digits in my 50 States Marathon Challenge by completing State #10 at the Missoula Marathon in Montana, and it was awesome! I had a very tight schedule of flights, and was running on only about 2 hours of sleep (due to flight delays), but I made it to the finish line for my cause.
The Missoula Marathon was one of the most beautiful courses I have run - the views were incredible, and everyone involved in the race from runners to volunteers to staff were awesome. We started bright and early at 6:00 am, and I was feeling great, even with only two hours of sleep.
Despite the heat wave, it was much chillier than expected at the start - only in the 40s, yikes! Thankfully I had packed a set of arm sleeves, and I had my marathon race shirt for an extra layer of warmth while we were waiting to start. I met some of my friends from the Marathon Maniacs at the beginning, which was a great way to start the day.
I was a little worried about the elevation for the race, but having spent a week in Denver prior to the race, it didn't seem to be much of a problem. I also decided to go partially "tech free" by not wearing any kind of watch for the day (I couldn't let go of my tunes though, hence the partially tech free comment!). I planned to go without a watch well in advance, so I wasn't too worried about it - I just wanted to take in the experience without worrying about time, and let the cause take me to the end. And it was great!
The course was relatively flat except for between miles 12-15ish, where there were some challenging hills, but we made it through. The hills were where some of the most amazing views were though, and so I tried to just enjoy the scenery and think about my cause. Looking back at my time splits that were posted online after the marathon, I was actually running faster than usual for the first half of the marathon, but once we hit the hills I slowed down and ended up finishing at right about my usual time. But I had no idea what my time would be until just before the finish when I could see the time by the finish line – I was surprised to see that even without focusing on time, I still finished right at my usual finishing time, which was great (especially because I had to finish in under 5 hours to catch my first flight heading home!). It was fun to hear my name called as I crossed the finish, as I don’t think there were too many Vermonters there that day. I was proud to finish my 10th State and my farthest marathon from home yet for the American Stroke Association at the Missoula Marathon.
I can’t wait until State #11 – right now that is Chicago, but I’m hoping to fit at least one more in before then!
Race highlights
This is an absolutely awesome marathon!
Views are incredible
Staff and volunteers are excellent and super helpful
Very easy to get to the start with shuttle buses
Free photos after the marathon!
The medal and shirt are very cool ☺
I hope I will get to run this one again some day!
#1 Song that got me through a tough patch:
“Cups” – Anna Kendrick
