Running a Marathon from a Veteran’s Point of View

By Bob Kirkpatrick

Me? A Veteran? I’m just a guy who 11 years ago was sitting around drinking a beer with a friend in July when somehow the subject of marathon running came up.  Steve and myself both thought out loud how awesome it would be just to cross the finish line in one piece.  Who cares about the finish time. Well, as fate would have it, the very next Thursday was the first of 26 weekly articles in the Houston Chronicle about how to train for, and successfully finish, the Houston Marathon, which was exactly six months away. Of course, I just looked at the “just want to finish in the official time” training category and to my surprise, that first week of training included a 2 mile run on Monday, followed by a day of rest, then a walk on the third day, then another 2 mile run on Thursday.  Heck, we were already doing this! Of course the schedule would get much more difficult, but the point is that this training schedule was presented in such a way as to make almost anyone feel comfortable that they could actually finish a marathon if they put in the proper training. My training went pretty good and then came Sunday, January 26, 1992, the day of my first marathon! Naturally I did not sleep very well the night before. I had never been so nervous. My Dad offered to pick me up and drive me down to the Marathon. He probably figured that way he would be close to the Medical Center where I would probably end up! As I was stretching out on the floor of the GRB I was talking out loud as to what I thought my finish time might be. He just looked up over the newspaper that he was reading and said, “Just try and finish in the required time!”  I bet he was as surprised as I was when he saw me coming down the final 50 yards to the finish and the clock read 3:49!  My best Marathon time ever! This past Sunday, January 20, 2002 I successfully completed my 11^th Houston Marathon in a row. I am now a member of Jack Lippincott’s Veterans group. Although I turned 40 last fall, I am among the youngest 10% of this exclusive group! The requirement is that you must run at least 10 Houston Marathons in a row, and finish all of them in the official time.  I still have never beaten my time from my very first Marathon back in 1992. All I can figure is that I was running scared and I was afraid to stop!  I have managed to break the 4-hour mark 6 different times.  Every year that is my goal, to break the 4-hour mark.  What have I learned over the years? Never wear a cotton T-shirt again! That was my first year rookie mistake.  After I finished my first marathon back in 1992 I was standing there talking to my Dad and he asked,” What are those two different trails of red on your shirt?” Well, as we all know, if you run in a cotton T-shirt, without putting on Vaseline, you WILL have problems.  For the next week, every morning when I got into the shower, I was reminded to never wear a cotton T-shirt again while running a marathon! Yeow! What was the most memorable marathon? Well, two come to mind. First, the 1997 “Ice Bowl” marathon”.  How we all managed to finish without frostbite still baffles me.  Thankfully the entire city was shut down the following day on Monday, and I could stay in bed because I could not move! The second most memorable marathon was just 2 years later in 1999 when we had the heat wave and 95% humidity. It was after that marathon that I had my first IV in the medical area.  Wow, what a difference an IV makes! I dedicated this years marathon to my Mother who passed away 3 days before Christmas. She was one of my biggest fans and probably saw me finish 6 or 7 of my marathons. I did think of her often this year as I struggled  with my slowest marathon time ever. But quitting was never an option.  You see, the fact that we are able to even run marathons is a gift. Some years will be better than other years. I am already looking forward to next years Houston Marathon when I will break that 4-hour mark.  My advise to those who are really struggling along Memorial drive right by Memorial Park;  Be sure to stop and walk and get rested up like I did this year, before you approach the Houston Racing Hoopla Station at mile 21 ½.  NEVER let Dave Rainey see you walking!