TIM RIEDEL

Motorola Austin Marathon 2000

Runners,

As the race started I found myself amazed that a year had already passed since the last time I stood there. The first ten miles was a blur just like last year. I was running with Alan from Austin fit. He was complaining about having trouble getting people to hand him water. I told him how I make eye contact and point to one volunteer and they usually hand me a cup with no problem. He said he'd try it at the next mile. Some time rolled by and then I was busy trying to get my water at the next stop. As focused as I was on grabbing a cup I couldn't help noticing someone in front of me making a huge mess. Cups and water were flying everywhere and I was a little annoyed at getting wet. After the stop I looked around for Alan. He was catching back up to me and I died laughing because he was soaked from head to toe. I asked him what happened and he said he made eye contact with the last volunteer in line. He was so focused on this volunteer that he didn't notice the others trying to hand him a cup and so he ran through about 4 hands with cups.

Campus was dead but I wasn't surprised since all the non-lazy college students were in the Marathon :) I was amazed at how beautiful the route was this year compared to last. I tried to focus on the scenery as it quickly drifted pass. Then at the half marathon point I got quite a lift from the band and all the relay runners cheering. This carried me out to Longhorn Dam.

This is where everything fell apart. I kept getting "side-stitch" cramps and all I could think about was how hot I was. I was hitting the wall at mile 20 like it was made of bricks. I'd been overly focused on my pace up until now and I was completely aware that I had to speed up if I was going to qualify for Boston. SPEED UP!?? I was beginning to wonder if I was even going to finish. That's when I started to walk.

Walking never felt so good in my life. As I saw my chances for qualifying slip away, I felt more and more at ease. I'd been taking this time stuff way to seriously. I started thinking about the last marathon and I remembered that my mom was so sick from her cancer treatment that she was barely able to watch me run. This year I'd already passed her 3 times and she was cheering just as loud as anyone around her! She's come so far . . . we all have. I realized (recalled?) that all of "this" is about the process, not the event. There's always the good days and the bad, but its the long term change that's important. I remembered how there was a time just months ago when the knee doctor was telling me I might not be able to run again. I could hardly walk at the time, but now here I was with 8000 friends running!! Yep, I was a part of one great big amazing celebration of health.

At this point I was so high on life I got in the crowd and started cheering on the other runners flying by. I was waiting for someone from the team to pass so I could join them and continue to enjoy the last 6 miles. That's when some friends spotted me and they seemed a little disappointed that I was walking so I started running for them. I never stopped until the finish.

Even though the time on the clock wasn't as small as last year I was finishing with my head up. I could actually see the faces in the crowd and thank the volunteers this year. So yes the time was disappointing but the experience was amazing once again. I learned so much in one morning.

I sincerely want to thank everyone for supporting me in my own personal miracle. Especially my teammates at Austin FIT and TMTT and my parents, who may not totally understand my obsession with running and the running team (and my non-obsession with class) but have still supported me every step of the way. Thanks Thanks Thanks

Keep Running!! for whatever finish line life puts in front of you,
-Tim

P.S. You can make it Ed! We're all cheering for you.