First Light?

[Jon Adams]

Okay Guys, I want to hear some "war stories"!! I was in "The Zone" at the finish line, so I missed out on most of what went on out on the course during the race. I know both Samantha and Larry had great races.....but I want details on these and others during the race! ;D
Congratulations to everyone for running so well.

[clawson]

Jon, first of all I would have to admit it was good seeing some familiar
faces again. With a crazy work schedule, it is harder to make some of the
races. I will have to set myself goals & schedule time where I can focus on running the larger of the local races(First Light, ATR, Senior Bowl, and maybe a couple of large 5k's). Back to yesterday, Barry asked me what pace I wanted to set for the half & I told him 6:30. While in no way I feel as fast as a couple of years ago, I felt comfortable hitting that pace. I was scared he was not going to stay with me, but I was pleased he never left my side. It was nice running into a little breeze having someone to work with you. I saw Amy running strong & Justin blew my doors off going by, during my portion and I figured they were going to have good time. The support they gave, along with others was a welcome sight.

[Jon Adams]

Hey Chris! It was great seeing you & Barry coming down the home stretch. Y'all were both "cruisin" at the finish!
So there MUST be some more observations out there.....how was the ride on the magic mystery bus?!

[Samantha Gardner]

Thanks Jon! My first marathon was a great experience - one that I will always remember. I can't tell y'all how much all the support has meant. There were familiar faces all along the course and the group training runs were always fun and very "insightful." I tried to start out at a conservative pace (7:50), but after about a mile, I'd had enough of that. I picked it up a bit after the first mile and was running comfortably at about a 7:30 average pace through mile 17. The dreaded fireman's hill took a lot out of me and after that my pace slowed to closer to an 8 minute mile. The last three miles were the toughest miles I have ever run, but thankfully my sweet husband ran back and met me at mile 25 to run in with me. I will admit that I didn't think he was being so sweet then though as he promptly informed me that the 3rd place girl was "only like 2 minutes ahead of you, 'cmon you can catch her." Needless to say, I was not able to make up 2 minutes in the last mile. Overall, I am very happy with my time and I am definitely anxious to find another marathon to run! Props to the Spiridon relay team! Everyone ran great. Also, congrats to Larry on an amazing time - a 28 year PR (I think I've got that right)!
Hopefully the link will work - My splits are attached:
connect.garmin.com/activity/62780467?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d2a46a6391e5a77%2C0

[Kenny Pfeiffer]

First of all nice job to all of our runners, friends, etc. who competed in the race in some form or fashion. Larry, I know you will probably never read this but I hope I can be as fast as you when I get old. Sam, nice debut! Amy, like I told you on Sunday, the bar has been set! ;D Daniel, nice job filling in on short notice. Justin ran like it was 2008, and Bowie...well, he was Bowie.

The bus was a lot of fun. After we went seemingly around the world to get Brad to his car, we had many other highlights. From Justin, missing the exchange "a la Hood to Coast" to using the "we're with the race" line to some Mobile cops. Had a nice pit stop down at the BAR water stop as well. Amy was telling me that she was feeling bad passing people so she made it a point to tell them, "I'm only running the relay." I was never so courteous. Weaving through the half marathon walkers, I got a lot of cheers from people thinking I was winning the marathon and I just rolled with it. It's always fun when people think you are clipping off 5:45 miles at the end of a marathon! For all you folks who have never participated in the relay, you should try it. It brings a whole new concept to the running table.