THE RACE IS DONE, THE COURSE COMPLETED.

This is a picture of Mark and the finish of the race. Loki, the man he ran with is just to his left.
(He doesn't look that miserable to me. Actually pretty happy! Grandma)

Here's Mark's description of the race.

On Saturday night, I laid low in preparation for the race, but extremely scared/anxious to get the race started. That evening, I put my race bib on my shirt, laid my clothing out and set my alarm for 2:23AM. I woke up with surprising energy and ready to start the race. We got to Ala Moana Park at roughly 3:15AM where I waited for the marathon to start at 5AM. I prayed tirelessly the night before that I could find some peace, lessen my anxiety (typically I am not anxious or nervous for anything, but this whole marathon thing was out of my league) and to be able to finish the race. At 3:45AM, a Japanese man (Sam) sat down next to me and began talking to me in broken English. He was in Hawaii with 20 high school classmates for their 40th high school reunion. He said that he hoped to finish in 8 hours where he’d probably walk the entire race. That was an answer to my prayers! I realized that I was anxious and nervous before the race because I always excel in any athletic event and I felt overmatched by a marathon. But after this five minute talk with Sam, I gained a large amount of confidence as I knew that I would beat 8 hours and that I wouldn’t walk the whole way – this talk gave me perspective and help me realize that I would not finish last. At about 4:30AM, I found my way to the 4-5 hour projected time marker. I sat down and struck up a conversation with a man named Loki – a native Hawaiian who was running his fourth marathon. I told him that this was my first marathon, so we talked marathon strategy – how to pace, when to drink water, etc. He told me to drink every water station, walk as I drank so my body could take in the fluids, don’t get excited like others in the first three miles as I’ll lose precious energy, walk if I need to and to just enjoy the scenery. Another answer to prayer! This was no coincidence – he calmed my nerves even more and I felt like I could do this race – finally peace came to me. I went from being nervous and not happy, to realizing that I was in Hawaii and in roughly five hours, I’d be a marathon finisher!

Loki offered to run the marathon with me – which I was grateful for. When the gun went off, there was a HUGE firework show that was fired from a boat from the ocean. I was so impressed by the fireworks that it got me even more excited to run the race. We ran through downtown Honolulu and the great people of Hawaii were cheering loud for us (even at 5am). Loki explained what he did for a living and why Hawaii was such a good place to live. I listened to my friend Dan’s iPod (as I lost mine a few weeks ago) which just had country and Christmas music on it (not my first choices, but beggars can’t be choosers). I recalled people walking after one mile which made me realize that I would not finish last out of 25,000 runners. We came to the first water station (mile 1.5) and felt amazingly well. People were just chucking their water cups all over the street so I did too (really fun actually – I had seen it on movies, but now I was able to do so too). Miles 3,4,5 came and went. I came upon the next water station and drank water and Gatorade. I felt sick to my stomach as I had consumed so much liquid that my body was giving me a warning to get rid of it or I’d do it for me. I found a bathroom at the 10K mark (6.2 miles) and felt much better. The port-o-potties were absolutely disgusting and with no hand sanitizer. But I knew that I was in a marathon and today was a different day where I knew that it would be a “gross” day. At this moment, I felt fantastic with my conditioning. I only had 20 more miles to go – the weather was perfect and nothing really hurt.

At mile eight, I came to Diamond Head. Many people were walking as we approached, but I tackled that mountain with ease. The views were spectacular as I watched the sunrise with the waves crashing down atop the highest point on the shore (on top of Diamond Head). I ran down and before I knew it, I was through ten miles! Before the race, in my mind, I said that if I could make it to mile 10 without injury and exhaustion, I could finish the race (little did I know that 10 miles was really not that far in a 26 mile race. Little did I realize that 16.2 miles were a lot more than one realizes). We ran by the golf course where the PGA tour holds the SONY Open where I saw amazing views of the lush green hills and white poufy clouds that Hawaii has to offer. It rained a little as I reached the 13.1 mile marker – half way! In all honesty, I was starting to feel the “hurt” at this moment. At this point in the race, I had not walked (except as I would drink at the water stations). At this time in the race, runners were coming back the opposite direction (they were on mile 21 heading back to Diamond Head). I really wanted to be them! For miles 11-14, every part of my body was hurting (my left pinkie toe, right calf, right quad, etc). I had to take about a ¼ mile walk-break where I felt refreshed. The weather was getting hotter and due to the rain, the humidity was high. I stopped at mile 17 to use the port-o-potties and as I came out, my right arch on my foot was on fire! It felt as if my shoes were cinched tightly, but after I loosened my shoes, it hurt just as bad. I could not believe how much pain was coming from my pain. Loki was hurting too and he explained to me what I would see for the duration of the race – people’s bodies hitting the “wall.” He said that from about 13 miles and on, runner’s bodies start deteriorating. It is hard to explain, but simply put, the body shuts down and can go no longer. I started seeing runners (many grown men) drop in agony, not be able to get up and some needing assistance right away. After seeing this, I took it easy by walking a lot of the rest of the race as I could not run that well with my right arch in so much pain. Every step would hurt my right foot in the worst way (walked a lot on my heels), but it was one step closer to completing the 26.2 mile course.

At mile 24, I reached Diamond Head. I knew that once I hiked over the mountain, I would only have one mile to go. Many thoughts went through my head – that my friends and family would be excited that I finished, personally be proud of myself, be able to take a shower (wash my hands too) and be able to take a nap. When I saw the finish line, adrenaline kicked in and I forgot about my hurt arch. I ran/hobbled the final 1.2 miles. When I crossed the finished line, I gave Loki a huge high five and was so happy that I finished. The race officials gave me a seashell lay, a finisher coin and tee-shirt.

In summary, I am glad that I ran the 2010 Honolulu Marathon. I ran well through 17 miles, got hurt and had to walk/run the last 9.2, but I finished! It is one of my greatest achievements of my life. It is now a week later and my right arch still hurts (but I finished so it was worth it). The next morning after the race, I could not walk to the bathroom to take a shower – yes, I was that sore. I walked like a penguin until Wednesday, could get out of bed normally by Friday and as of this morning, all of my soreness is gone. It was definitely an amazing time and you all should run one as well. I am planning on competing in the 2012 Honolulu Marathon.

PS - I forgot to add that I finished in 5.5 hours. I was on pace for just under 4 hours through 30K, but with the right ankle injury, I was definetely slowed