I didn't plan it this way, nor did I realize it until the day before the St. Jude - Memphis Marathon, but I have run three Saint marathons this year. St. Louis in March, St. George in October and now St. Jude. Ironically, St. Louis and St. Jude were two of one of my coldest marathons. St. Louis was 34 degrees at the start and raining. St. Jude was 37 degrees with a wind chill factor of 31 degrees, 10 to 15 miles per hour winds and 77% humidity. The high for the day was 47 degrees. With a vast majority of the runners from the mid south, they considered the weather as ideal, near perfect. I must admit compared to my last three marathons, especially Mid South in Wynne, Arkansas (only 60 miles west of Memphis), the colder temperature was a welcome relief. I wore three shirts and a lightweight Tyvek jacket that I kept on for the entire race. I also wore gloves, a hat and a headband that covered my ears and the back of my neck. I would have worn tights if I had them with me. Given the way I was dressed I was very comfortable throughout the marathon. The wind didn't seem to be a bother and I always enjoy sunny skies in the cooler marathons like we had in Memphis.
Packet pick-up was well coordinated and we received a nice size St Jude duffle bag that contained, among other things, a CD of Christmas songs (made for the St Jude children), a very nice Mickey or Minnie Mouse Christmas ornament and an energy bar. The expo and finish are in AutoZone Park (Memphis Redbirds baseball stadium). The start and finish are within 2 streets of each other. There are several hotels within this area making this marathon the most convenient logistically then any other marathon I have run, especially for a big city marathon. The St. Jude Marathon was restarted last year after not being held three years ago when First Tennessee Bank decided to withdraw as the primary sponsor. AutoZone became the primary sponsor in 2002. They took advantage of the new sponsor and made several improvements to the course. The old course was very hilly and took the runners past Graceland and along some industrial areas. The new course does not pass Graceland, or the big industrial area, but they were able to eliminate the major hills along the course. The course is still fairly hilly, especially by Florida standards, but nothing extremely steep. Some of the hills however, are fairly long. The course is very nice and passes many of the Memphis landmarks.
3,500 half marathoners and marathons met at the corner of Madison and 2nd Street in downtown Memphis. With this marathon being my fourth in 13 weeks I figured my body was a little tired and with a water station near each mile I planned to walk about 30 seconds at each water station. I lined up in the 8:00 minute coral. Within the first 200 yards we had to stop for an ambulance that had to cut right in front of the runners. Everyone in front of me made it across the intersection. I was one of the first that stopped. I am guessing I lost about 10 seconds. The first mile runs by the Peabody Hotel, Gibson Guitar Factory and the National Civil Rights Museum. Mile 1 1/2 through 2 1/2 runs on Front Street and overlooks the Mississippi River and Mud Island. The next half-mile runs down Bealle Street and bring the runners to mile 3 at AutoZone Park. Splits were 8:27, 8:18 and 8:33. Mile 4 brings us back to the Mississippi River for a quick view of the river and a run past the Pyramid. The Pyramid, which looks just like the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, is a sports coliseum where the Memphis Grizzlies play. Mile five takes you past the St. Jude Research Hospital and across the Danny Thomas Blvd. Miles 5 through 8 is a straight run that takes us past Rhodes College, the Memphis Zoo and into Overton Park. A live band is playing Rock 'n' Soul music near the 8 1/2 mile area. We exit the park at about 9 1/2 miles and with the exception of two turns, it is a straight run back to AutoZone Park, mile 13 and where the nearly 2,000 half marathoners turn towards their finish line. At about the 12 1/4 mile we pass by an Elvis look-alike and Sun Studio where Elvis Pressley recorded his first record. Splits for mile 9 through 13 are 8:30, 8:41, 8:36, 8:32 and 8:28. Half marathon split was 1:52:00, projecting a 3:44:00 marathon time. Most of mile 14 is the same as mile 4 and mile 15 thought 18 is a repeat of mile 5 through 8. Mile splits are 8:36, 8:50, 9:11 (pit stop), 8:45 and 8:54. Mile 19 takes us to the Liberty Bowl Memorial Park. At mile 20 1/2 we enter the Liberty Bowl stadium at one end zone, run along the perimeter of the field and out the other end zone gate. A band was playing in the stadium. I thought this was a great addition to the course. They could have very easily had us run outside of the stadium. We exit the park at 21 miles and at the 22-mile mark it is basically a straight shot back to mile 26 passing Sun Studio for the second time. Splits are 8:31, 8:58, 8:56, 8:52, 8:47, 8:52, 8:46 and 9:09. Just past the 26 mile mark we turn into AutoZone Park where we entered at center field ran along the warning track and finished between first base and HOME.
Finishing time is 3:47:07 (not sure of my chip time, probably around 3:46:50), 262 out of 1039 and 10 out of 46 in my age group. Ken Winn finished in 4:32:15 completing his 13th state and sixth this year.
54 marathons completed in 43 states and Washington DC. Next marathon is the Eisenhower Marathon in Abilene, Kansas on March 27 with Linda Thompson, Ken Winn, Bob Panzak and anyone else who would like to join us.
Rest if you must, just don't quit,
Marty