Saturday was not his day

I had hoped that we would return victorious, planning for a trip to Boston. Wayne was hoping this even moreso than I.

But that was not to be.

A strong headwind, high humidity despite cool temps and calf cramps starting at mile 16 all destined him to try again, at a later time and venue, to make his goal of a Boston qualifying marathon time. He needed to run 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 35 minutes (they are given a 59-second window after the needed time, so he really needed a 3:35:59.) His final official time was 3:53:45.

He was pacing well early on until he hit the aforementioned mile 16. His slower pace the latter half of the race could not be made up. For his detailed results, click here.

In typical competitive athletic fashion, Wayne is disappointed with his time, frustrated that his body could not accomplish what his mind had set out to do.

And yet, I am incredibly proud of him.

He finished 1,452 out of a total 5,597 runners, and finished 97th in his division (out of 339 runners). That puts him in the top third of runners.

More impressive still, he has joined the approximately .13% of the US population that has ever finished a marathon. Grandma's marathon this year had over 7,000 runners expected, but only 5,597 showed up on Saturday.

Not only did he show up, he finished.