I Survived my Marathon Run with Charlie

OK, at the end of 26.2 miles I wasn’t really sure that I had survived and felt more like the walking dead.  But I did make it and get to check running a marathon off my bucket list.  The most I had run previously was a half-marathon way back when I was a 2LT in Korea.  Yes, I had been practicing all summer, but those runs never got beyond ten miles so that proved wholly inadequate.  It was a miserable last four miles!

I can’t legitimately say that Charlie never broke a sweat.  If fact, he was totally drenched a few miles into the run.  He had used up all his shorts in the previous fine marathons in Athens, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, and Santiago so he was stuck with long pants on a very humid day.  At least the rain the previous night had cooled things down to about 80.  The day before was 90 degrees and I am not sure how we would have survived that!

Charlie didn’t have time to post much since he was either running a marathon or on a plane each of the last five days.  The local news even interviewed him before our run and was pretty stunned at running five marathons, including two in one day, and then going for a sixth.  He raised a fair bit for The Wounded Warrior Project and I personally thank him for that as there certainly is a lot of need for them beyond what Uncle Sam provides.  As someone who grew up with a paraplegic father I can relate extremely well as to how simple things can be very difficult for those who have lost a limb or other capacity.  Charlie should have a lot to say over the next couple of weeks about his adventures, so make sure and check out his blog, Running with Miles.

I’ve got to recover fast, got a jump from a C-17 tomorrow!