Spartanburg Methodist's Corey Rearden, an Emerald alumnus, talks about his Myrtle Beach Marathon experience.
Submitted by Corey Rearden
I started off the day with a bright and early trip to Great Clips, so I would look spiffy for Valentines Day and my first marathon. At this point I had been hurrying to get everything done, because the anxiety had been building all week over four tests, two of which are today, and what running this marathon would be like.
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When we finally arrived it was dark and we were both starving. I had been racing the clock because I had to make it to the convention center before it closed in order to pick up my race packet. We made it there a little after seven and picked up my packet and were off to dinner! We decided on Red Lobster because you can’t beat seafood, and nothing hits the spot before a race like seafood pasta. After dinner we checked into the hotel and I got the best sleep I had had all week. I was surprised that I didn’t have many wild or abstract thoughts about what could happen during the race in just a few hours.
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 (Valentine's Day)
The alarm went off abruptly at 5 a.m. and I was pumped to get downstairs, have some breakfast, and make it over to Coastal Field where the race started. My girlfriend and I arrived at Broadway at the Beach at six where there was a huge crowd of runners, spectators, photographers, news crews, volunteers, and even the Coastal Carolina Prep Band, which really got me pumped that early in the morning. Shortly after arriving, I found my old teammate Travis Eiler and his teammates from Southern Wesleyan University near the starting line; they were running the half-marathon. I eased into the crowd on the starting line, and did some slow deep stretching of areas that had been aching and causing nagging pains over the winter. On the starting line, I got that feeling all over, not necessarily the butterflies, but that whole engulfing feeling of nervousness and apprehension. It was like being back in high school, getting that feeling of excitement from all the nervousness and not knowing what to expect. So the time had come; after a few months and numerous miles of preparing for this monster, I had the chance to see what was in me, if I could actually survive 26.2 miles.
I said a quick prayer and the gun went off. It was a slow start compared to most races that I had been in, but soon a lot of runners started picking up the pace and the pack thinned out. One of my goals that I set when I first decided to do this race was to not walk (unless stopping to get water or using the bathroom), the other was to go out and run smart. That being said, I came through the first mile at just under eight minutes. I treated the first three miles as a warm up, to let some of my breakfast settle, and let my muscles loosen up. By four miles in, the course led us onto Ocean Blvd., where there were many spectators from the hotels who were constantly cheering us on, all the way down the strip. This really boosted my spirits to have people supporting us, but I had to be careful to not increase my pace too much. Every so often I would check my Garmin and I had settled into a comfortable pace, keeping my stride open and my breathing low, I was hitting 7:20’s until about mile 10 where I stopped to use a port-a-john. I got back on pace all the way through the half, where I came through at around 1:40, which is what I was shooting for. After all the half-marathoners had entered the finish chute and the marathoners kept going towards North Myrtle Beach, I found a pack of runners and tried to stay with them for a while.
It was an amazing feeling knowing that I was over halfway done with a marathon. What wasn’t so amazing was the growing pain I was getting in my feet or the swelling feeling in my stomach from hitting every water stop that was on each even mile since mile six. I guess you could say I had, “hit the wall.” This was around mile 18.
From there until mile 22, I think I got passed by as many people as I passed during the first 13 miles. I had some crazy thoughts running through my head; I was trying to be mentally tough and imagine being that Kenyan who won gold in Beijing, but unfortunately I also thought I might not make it, because for a good portion of that race I felt like a massive heart attack could be a few steps away. Also during all that pain, I reverted to my primary goal; just finish! Well I had a few more miles until the finish, so I thought of what I was going to do after the race was over. I knew I had to do something special for Kathryn because it was Valentines Day, and she had been such a tremendous support for me.
At the mile 22 water stop, I met a guy named Joe. We introduced ourselves and started talking; it was really inspiring listening to him because he’s I guess you could say, a rookie, because he hasn’t been running very long. He told me how he did his first marathon in Atlanta, this past October I believe, how running helped him lose fifty pounds, and how he ditched his two pack-a-day smoking addiction. It really made me think that anything is possible if a person commits themselves to it.
So after talking with Joe, who helped me get back down to eight minute pace, we drew closer to Broadway and the finish. At this point, I felt like I had nothing left, everything hurt more than ever before. I was asking for everything out of my body. Finishing was almost like a dramatic movie in the sense that the rain held off until the end. I entered the finish chute, a cold drizzle was coming down, an announcer was calling out the names of everyone who finished, and finally I crossed the line at 3:36:49!
I couldn’t believe it was over. It was the most pain and satisfaction combo that I had ever experienced. I was so excited to see Kathryn at the finish, get a snack, and go back to the hotel because the rain started to come down pretty heavily.
Conclusion
Over 26.2 miles of pain, the relentless ringing of cowbells from spectators, sweat, blasting disco music from cars along the side of the road, tears, asphalt, and screaming on-lookers; I noticed from the runners who ran in the Myrtle Beach Marathon a deep determination of perseverance to push through the pain and to prove that they have something stronger inside than what can be thrown at them from the outside. It goes to show that anything is possible when a person has faith and determination. I know this because there were moments where I thought I couldn’t take another step, I couldn’t have finished that race without God’s help which gave me the strength to keep my head on my shoulders and finish. It was a great experience and I hope to be able to do another marathon somewhere in the future.