Umstead Marathon 2009
So y'all probably think I am insane. I ran 26.2 on hilly, rocky, roots everywhere terrain with named hills like "The Wheels Fall off" and "Devil's Spine". That was the 6th annual running of the Umstead Marathon. It's not a qualifier because it generally takes even elite runners more time to get through the hiking trails and up and down never-ending hills. And this was my first marathon. Prior to running a marathon I never considered myself a runner. An athlete, yes, but I only ran if it was after a ball (soccer and field hockey), someone was chasing me (soccer, field hockey, tag) or it started raining when I was on a walk. It just didn't really interest me that much. Then, when I got into triathlons I began running a very minimal amount. Everything was in 5k races, so I only had to go 3.1 miles. the first time I ran that far without stopping I definitely felt it. Now I think of that has a mere jog in the park. I started training for this in Novembe