I Hit the Wall! My Resilience Journey in the Eugene Marathon
Overcoming the Wall: How I Conquered the Eugene Marathon
Greetings from Eugene, Oregon.
We’re wrapping up an action-packed week organized around the Eugene Marathon. The race was this Sunday; it was my 46th full marathon.
I’ve always been fascinated by the famous runner Steve Prefontaine. He began his career there as an athlete for the University of Oregon Track & Field team and eventually competed in the 1972 Olympics before dying way too young in a car crash.
So, I was excited about following the footsteps of legends like “Pre” in that Eugene Marathon.
I had planned to run in 3 hours and 30 minutes. Given my recent performances this past year, including a 3:33 in Boston and a 3:34 in San Francisco, that was an aggressive but doable goal. The training miles were in the bank, I was in decent shape, rested and carb-loaded, and the weather was optimal — i.e., light rain and temperatures in the fifties Fahrenheit.
The first half was a breeze. I did my best to contain my energy and not run too fast, keeping my time slightly below eight minutes a mile. I could hear the steps of the 3:30 pacers right behind me as we passed the Simpsons murals in Springfield. There was no margin for…
