DATE: November 28, 2010
LOCATION: Seattle, Washington
It was the final day of the first ever Seattle Qadzilla. It was also my much anticipated 100
marathon/ultra. For months I had been
planning this milestone. It meant I had
to pass on some marathons, so the schedule would work out.
Being the four day in a row of running marathons, I was in unchartered territory. I had run a number of triples, but never had
I run a quadzilla.
Saturday I had a great marathon at Ghost of Seattle. I ran an unexpected 3:31:46. I had no real time goal for this one. My goal was to have fun and enjoy it.
When I picked up my packet at the Expo on Saturday, they gave me bib
#100. I had requested it months earlier,
but had never heard back. I later found out it was a first come first serve biases. Yolanda Holder was completing her 100th
marathon of the year at Seattle. I was
told she also asked for bib #100. I got
it because I requested it sooner.
I arrived at the starting area of the marathon, pretty early. The Seattle Marathon is always a lot of fun because
of all the friendly faces I get to see of other Maniacs.
Many of us Maniacs met at the gear check to socialize. A few minutes prior to the marathon I walked
down to the start line. Everyone gathered
together in the corral. The PA announcer
was making a few announcements. One was
a shout out to me. They said "Steve
Walters is running his 100th marathon today". That was very cool to hear.
I started the marathon off running pretty fast. I felt great and was willing to push a bit
and see what I had in me. I jumped ahead
of the 3:30 pace group. I felt like I
was in a good spot. I figured if they
passed me that would still be fine.
I hit the half way point and was still humming along really good. I just kept pushing and felt great. The weather was perfect. It was cool (40s-50s) and mostly sunny. It felt great.
Coming down the stretch I pushed hard knowing I had a 3:30 marathon in
the bank. Upon crossing the finish line
I was so happy to have run a good race.
It was my fastest of the Quadzilla and my fastest marathon on the
Seattle course.
I grabbed my finishers medal and my Seattle Quadzilla medal and picked
up my gear and hung out for a long while.
It was neat to see Yolanda after finish finished. Since I was unemployed, I didn't have a job
to go to on Monday, so I spent the night in Seattle.
That evening I went to church at Mars Hill Ballard and drove home on
Monday morning. It was a great way to
cap off a great weekend!