Luke Culpepper

Austin Motorola Marathon

February 16, 2003

The 2003 Motorola Marathon was another great race with a lot of entertainment.

My mind set going into the race was to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. Taking it easy was a requirement considering I used that same philosophy in my training. Enjoying the scenery sounded good, too, mainly because the alternative usually requires staring and the ground and cursing at your legs.

The hardest part of my day was not during the race, it was getting out of the car. Decked out in nothing but my Marathon Team shirt and running shorts (or “butt-huggers” as my non-running friends call them) the freezing temperature was complimented nicely with a nasty wind. Take particular note to this wind.

The race started out great. I had met up with most of the team and we did some yelling including our “cheer”. The first 7 or so miles I ran with Kyle and Binh. Like always, those first few miles always go by so fast. Kyle and I started rating the cheers some of the spectators were yelling. A good cheer got a 10, a bad cheer got a 1.

“Doing great, looking good” - that got a 7

“You’re almost done! Keep it up!!” - at mile 5...that got a 1

So on we went, and suddenly the three of us all started to veer off to the right. Without saying a word, we all knew what the other was thinking - pee stoppage. As one woman saw us stray off, I heard her mutter, “You guys have NO idea how lucky you are”. It wasn’t a cheer but we gave it an 8 for its humor.

Somewhere along the line we got separated so I started to do a body check. Everything felt fine so I kept with the pace. By this time I was on campus and seeing the Marathon Team cheering was great. “Keep it up! Want some pretzels?” Ah, food. That one got a 9.

I cruised through the next few miles and surprisingly felt great. On the first part of the turnaround on miles 16-17 I saw Doug, Noah, and Dave. I could not wait to be in their shoes; running the other direction, because then that nasty wind would be at my back. Apparently someone had other plans. As SOON as I turned around I swear that wind changed directions. I started laughing out loud and had one of those “what can ya do” looks on my face. After that I started to get physically and mentally tired.

By mile 18 I was in the pre-wall hitting stage. That’s where your body starts to numb and gives you one last chance to stop - or else.

I took the third option - gu. I threw down two packets and suddenly felt great again. I had never felt this fresh, this far into the race. I took advantage of it and kept truckin’. The next 5 miles were hard but manageable. I loaded up on some more gu and hoped my body would hold up.

At mile 25 I was expecting the beer stop. I had turned it down the past two years but really wanted to try it this year. “Doing great! Want some beer”? Yep, that cheer got a 10.

Then came the final stretch and I started my kick. Wait! Where’s the finish line? “Almost there! It’s just past the turn.” Because of pure annoyance, I gave that one a 3.

My time, 3:21 was my best yet. I guess taking it easy turned out to really help. After finishing my fourth marathon the feeling of accomplishment only gets better. Although finishing a marathon is an individual achievement, doing it with the Team made it so much more fun. I can’t wait until next year’s race but until then....

Happy Running

Luke Culpepper