Ellerbe Marathon - Ellerbe, NC - Feb. 29, 2020

"Why are you texting me from a marathon???" wrote my friend, Ali, after I sent her a message while I was in the 25th mile of the Ellerbe Marathon. A good question, since texting is not exactly a typical activity during a marathon.

But my experience on the beautiful, sunny and perfectly chilly race morning in Ellerbe, North Carolina, was not typical. Even as my leg muscles were literally twitching because they were so ready to blast off and send me soaring through my 23rd marathon, I had to keep reminding myself, "The training was not for this race, it was for tomorrow." 

For 12 weeks, I did track intervals, hill sprints, tempo runs and, most importantly, lots and lots of miles - maxing out at 64 in my peak week, which included 19 on Saturday and 23 on Sunday.

On this race day, though, the hardest work would be restraint - holding back and saving it for the next day, when I planned on running the second of two sub-four-hour marathons in two states in two days.

So, with only 99 other marathon runners and 75 half-marathon runners lined up on Page Street in the tiny town of Ellerbe - along with a handful of spectators, like my wife (bless her heart for driving us there from New Jersey the day before) - I started the race as slowly as possible.

By the time I finished the first mile (8:04), I was already in the country, with lots of open space and not much more.

Because both races would be relatively small affairs (this one, especially), I had a plan to listen to music. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the massive midnight-to-sunrise set that Phish played on 12/31/1999, I thought it would be perfect to break up the seven-and-a-half hour set over the two days. Adding some padding in the front with the clock ticking and the "Meat Stick" gag, and at the end with "Here Comes the Sun", it was possible to time it perfectly.

"Meatstick" kicked in after mile two (8:18) and "Auld Lang Syne" hit at mile three (7:51) as some uphill work began during the big "Down With Disease" jam.

The course was hilly, as expected, but certainly no more so than what I had been training on. In fact, I had to stop myself from giving in to my instinct of pushing up the hills. Taking small steps and keeping the energy expense to a minimum, I still ended up with a sub-8 in mile four (7:58). 

Just me, my shadow and two other runners in sight - 
and this was only the fourth mile.

I controlled myself with an (8:27) for mile five and the slow incline through mile six (8:45). The uphill after a turn onto a road that led to a turnaround just after mile seven (8:48) helped me back off a bit. Rolling hills through miles eight, nine, and ten (8:19, 8:32, 8:33) led to the flat miles (8:26, 8:26, 8:33) into town and the finish line, where I would turn and do it all again.

The turnaround point in mile eight was in front of that church that seems to be in the middle of nowhere. 

Downhill after the turnaround in mile eight

A long, quiet road ahead into mile nine

Mile 10 with no one in sight

More cows than runners in sight in mile 10



Again, restraint was the name of the game - go only fast enough to get in under four hours. That meant a 9:00 pace, but there I was at the halfway mark about eight minutes under two hours, an 8:30 pace. 

For the first time in a marathon, I was happy that the upcoming hills and inevitable fatigue would slow me down in the second half. That, plus taking pictures; and texting my wife, my mom, and my friends. Anything to force me to slow down!


So, around the loop I went again, with even fewer other runners in sight. Sometimes none.

My splits were thankfully getting slower - 8:31, 8:45 and 8:58 in miles 14, 15, and 16. The 8:37 for mile 17 would be the fastest until the end as the rolling hills continued with 8:45, 9:13, 9:27, 8:45, 9:35 (mile 22 was the big one, with the road pitched at an ankle-busting angle, to boot) and 9:11 while the 20-minute "Sand -> Quadrophonic Toppling" jam played in my ears (and was exactly what I needed).








Coming up on mile 22

Mile 25

Finally heading back into town for the last three miles (9:06, 8:55, 9:11), I felt good about having slowed my pace enough to make the back half of the race an even two hours. I crossed the finish line with a 3:50:27, just as "Slave to the Traffic Light" was peaking in my ears - the halfway point in the all-night set.



Texting my Phish fan friend, Ali, during Mile 25




Gloria commented that I had never walked so well immediately after a race, and she was correct. That must have meant that I saved enough for the next day. Mission accomplished, then.

I collected my medal, had a bite to eat, did some stretches, and went back to the Ellerbe Springs Inn to shower. An hour after finishing the race, I was in the car (with Gloria behind the wheel again) and on the way to Newport News, Virginia, for the marathon that was to begin in a mere 18 hours.