King's Mountain Marathon

King's Mountain Marathon

Time: 5:01:14  (# 65/94 Finishers)
Marathon: 11  Marathon/Beyond: 13
State: 9 - South Carolina - King's Mountain National Park
Link to King's Mountain Website

Race and race day turned out to be much better than I expected coming into the King's Mountain Marathon.  There were *more* people than I expected - that is, it looked like there were more since I generally had people around me, unlike some marathons I've run with more runners and still being by myself for miles on end.  The weather was threatening rain all day and we only saw the briefest of sprinkles during the race.

And, the company couldn't be beat.  Which partially explains my slow time.  My mom and I were running this marathon together this time (that is, we were both participating- we never run the whole thing together since we have different paces).  We met a very sweet girl, Allison, around mile 2.  Soon she was joined by a guy named Tim, equally nice and fun to talk to.  Our little foursome continued on this way, chit chatting at an *easy* (really easy for me, I kept slowing down to make sure my mom could stick with us as I could tell she struggled a bit up the hills) pace until around mile 12.

 Elevation chart for the marathon - note the scale:

At that point we ran into the first of two port-o-potties on the course.  Yes, there really were only two.  We carried tissue paper in case of emergencies.  It's pretty normal for me to go at least 3 times during a marathon...luckily, my stomach held out and I was fine just using the two on the course.

After mile 12, I was on my own for about 3 miles until I caught back up with Tim (I had to stop and wait in a nice line for the port-o-potty).  We hung together until around mile 20, chatting away at a compromising pace (slower for me, faster for him).  The scenery along the way was nice and rural (my favorite kind).  The landscape during the entire race was very hilly.  And these were steep hills.  I'd be interested in knowing the total elevation gain, as I expect it was high.  Additionally, there was a Very significant portion of the race (I won't guess at the miles as I didn't pay close enough attention) run on gravel.  I am not experienced in running on gravel, but suffice it to say, it's much more difficult than paved road.

In any case, pretty, but difficult course.  The people couldn't be beat.  Made great friends out there.  There was one woman that finished the marathon with her dog!  A little terrier (couldn't have been more than 25 pounds and he ran the whole way without any problem!).  I'm happy to say he also got a medal.

Before I finish this up, just a couple of more notes about the logistics.  Race day packet pick-up was available (which we did).  Major plus.  No marathon cut-off - major plus for my mom, who doesn't like the pressure of finishing in a certain time.  Cotton shirts, not tech, but it was a small low-key marathon.  I'm happy with my shirt, which is a girl's cut and has a v-neck (which I really like).  Medal was hand crafted - fits the theme of running in a rural area and in a national park, as it is a piece of bark with the name and race burned into the wood.

This marathon takes the cake for the slowest marathon I've ever run.  Not something I love to say, but it was also a lot of fun.  Additionally, I'm confident that I could have run it faster if I had wanted to, but socializing was so much more fun.  I split up with Tim at mile 20 to try to gain some speed and get under 5 hours.  Too little too late, I suppose.  I'm still happy with how I did.  It was tough and I did what I hoped - I had fun, I finished, knocking off another state on my way to all 50, and, most importantly, I'm still injury free (knee soreness/minor pain notwithstanding).  Success!