Robyn

[Sandy]

The Running and Racing Report

?Last is just the slowest winner.?  C. Hunter Boyd

     Have you ever started a race knowing you would be last from the beginning?  Robyn May of Trenton had just such an experience.  May ran her first and self-proclaimed last marathon at the PEC Marathon in Picton on October 2. 
     Towing the line at 8:30 on that Sunday morning, Robyn looked around at the other runners who were also poised to begin their final event.  The event they had been training for all summer, putting in long runs in hot, humid weather, missing family functions for and anxiously anticipating.  While May looked like most other racers, she knew it was likely she had put in more time, had longer runs in hotter weather and would face a mental challenge like no other.  Most marathoners have a longest run of three to three and a half hours, and struggle with the logistics of carrying enough fluid and food for that length of time.  May had spent four plus hours running through the heat of the day, arranging to have her mother meet her a couple of times to get her the sustenance she would need.
     Knowing from the gun that you would be last and actually experiencing the reality would be more then most racers could take, as it?s often heard at races ?I just don?t want to be last!?  May was shadowed from kilometre one by the SAG wagon and the course Ambulance.  When she stopped to heed the call of nature, they stopped and waited.  Talk about pressure!  May was also questioned by spectators who observed her methodical style, ?Are you going to finish??  The course opened to traffic before reaching 35k making her pilgrimage more odd looking as now she was a lone runner on an open road being stalked by a car and an ambulance.  Approaching 36k the finish line crew began asking if Robyn would finish.  Although she found this somewhat insulting, it probably gave her the mental shock she needed to steel her resolve to finish regardless. 
     Knowing you will be last is not the same as wondering if anyone will be left.  Approaching the finish May wondered if it was even still there, if they would mail her medal to her, and even if there would be anyone left to drive her to her car in Wellington.  Robyn May crossed the finish line of her first marathon in 6:53:04.  She was last but she was not alone.  Waiting for her were friends, and running partners along with other spectators who stayed to be both mesmerized, and inspired by a true athlete.  While May took the longest to cover the course, she was also the most grateful for getting there.  While other runners had personal struggles on this unexpectedly hot day, none greater or more daunting then Robyn?s.

?If you can?t fly, then run.  If you can?t run, then walk.  If you can?t walk, then crawl.  But whatever you do, keep moving.?  Martin Luther King Jr.

[Carole]

Good morning, what an awe inspiring article and yes it is all about the finish not the time see you at the next event.
Carole

[Jane]

Robyn, you are very courageous to go out there knowing that you were going to be pulling up the rear in the race.  It took a lot of guts and determination to keep going, not even knowing what type of reception (if any!) you were going to receive at the end....  Congratulations on completing your goal!  I know that you said, no more marathons.   So have you set another type of goal for yourself, or is it too soon?

[Robyn]

Oh my.  What a very humbling article.  Knowing that some of you would be at the finish line really inspired me to keep going.  Knowing I was going to be last over the finish line wasn't too traumatic.  I just took the attitude that when people read the Results sheet, everyone will see the first name and the last name; all the other names will blend in together.  I certainly don't mean this as a slight to anyone who finished ahead of me, because I now know how difficult training and running a marathon can be.  It's just my quirky way of reinforcing in myself that it's okay to be last.  It wasn't just me that completed the run, it was all of you, as well.  I really did spend a bit of time thinking about the group and some of the runs I had done with you.  And I also spent a lot of time thinking about my Mother who wholeheartedly supported me, even though she didn't think I should be doing it. 

As for my next goal, hmmm.  I'm not sure, but eventually I would like to do a trail run.  For now though, I'll take a few more weeks off to let my knee and foot get better.  I'd like to participate in more duathalons next summer, so I think that's where I'll concentrate my training.     

[Janet]

Great Article Sandy (and Robyn for inspiring it)
 I know I've said myself that it'll be O.K, as long as I'm not last (usually during the swim at a triathlon), but I do realize that someone does have to be last, and that it could very well be me.  Watching Robyn cross the finish line made me realize why I love runnning with you guys, first, last in the middle, DNF's we're always there to support each other, and that's what makes running fun, and to me worthwhile, because you know that we've all been there, and we're all going to be there again, and in the end that's what counts.
 
Thanks fellow runners

Janet

[patti]

I always enjoy reading your articles especially those that are more personal.  So often we (myself included) are more concerned about our time or our place in the race than the thrill that we completed it.  Robyn you completed it, way to go!!!
patti