I awoke Friday morning prepared to take on another double weekend. This time I was off to Tulsa, Oklahoma to begin the sequence of weekend events. I attended around 15 minutes of my Friday morning class and headed back to my dorm room to wake my roommate. Soon I was off to the airport awaiting my flight. I was to be laying over in Salt Lake City before heading to Tulsa. I arrived in Tulsa just before 5 P.M. and grabbed my bags and headed to the rental car facility. Many airports don't have room for their rental car facilities and dedicate separate buildings sometimes miles from the airport (Houston,Billings,Las Vegas). Tulsa had the rental car facility conveniently placed on site. I easily grabbed my vehicle and headed toward downtown Tulsa. After a bit of confusion I realized that any street metered parking is free after 5 P.M. and on the weekends. I located a spot and walked to the Tulsa Convention Center. The event expo was well put together with adequate time for anyone to pick-up their packet relieving the crowds. I walked in and picked up my race packet and t-shirt. Without hesitation I walked back to my vehicle and headed out of town.
Every indication from the GPS unit and Google maps pointed to highway 412 as the main route to Mountain Home, Arkansas. The trip to Mountain Home consisted of one part freeway and two parts county road. Around the state line the highway 412 had a toll. While the toll was only 2.50$ it expected exact change. I pose this question to anyone reading, who has 2.50$ exactly in the car? Maybe some people, but not someone traveling from out of state that is for sure. I digress, the road began to narrow and eventually began traveling through local communities slowing the speed to as little as 25 mph in some areas. Never the less, eventually I arrived in Mountain Home, Arkansas. I soon found my hotel and checked in. I watched a bit of television before dissolving into a sleeping beast.
I awoke at 5:15 A.M. Saturday morning to the sounds of the room's heater rumbling away. Although it had been working all night the room was freezing cold. I rolled out of bed and lumbered to the shower. Soon I was dressed and ready to head to the race site. Although the marathon didn't start until 7 A.M I hadn't picked up my race number. I drove up to the cotter county school and headed across the parking lot to the building. Within minutes I was back in the rental car with the packet in my hand. Without much else to do I slept for another 25 minutes until it was about time for the race to begin. Rounding 7 A.M I exited my vehicle and headed to the starting line.
Before long the command was given to start, and the crowd was off. While I had not run in weeks I could tell my muscles had not fully recovered from the beating taken three weeks prior. I started off fast catching runner after runner, I finally found a pace which I felt comfortable with. I located three marathon maniacs and I began talking with them. The race consisted of two out and back sections each around 6.5 miles out and 6.5 miles back. While talking with these three gentleman we easily turned around and headed back. After a while I needed to use the restroom so I bid well wishes and stopped to use a port-a-potty. I was soon back on the course and ready to head back to the start/finish area to begin the second loop. On the way I met up with a local Springfield, Missouri based runner. We chatted about races, and we connected over running the Blue Springs 50/50. While I was worse for the wear I kept my thoughts positive and made it back to the starting area. I crossed the finishing area and looped around, and back out again for the continuation into my second lap.
With a sense of accomplishment running through my veins, my excitement grew. I hurried off and before I knew it I was at the first mile of my second lap. Upon reaching this milestone I came across a runner, at first I thought he was a Marathon Maniac but as I grew closer it turned out that he wasn't. I drew closer and spoke with him. It turned out he was much more interesting than I had previously imagined. His name was Al Emma and he was Mel Brooks doppelganger. I was so intrigued by this fellow that I almost completely forgot, I was running a marathon. Al is 71 years old and running 40 marathons in one year. Al had done century rides in all 50 states and the Canadian Providences. We even talked of religion and politics. Throughout this race I had occasionally seen Larry Macon and Jim Simpson walking or running by (they took an early start) and it was my goal to catch up with them eventually. As we neared the last few miles of the race I could see Larry and Jim off in the distance. Al and I pressed in and on the final mile we caught them. We all finished together in 5 hours and 26 minutes.
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