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Health & Fitness

Almost a Marathon Maniac

Rosslyn Farms resident Ben Gross writes about running the Pittsburgh Marathon just 21 days after participating in the Boston Marathon.

On Sunday I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon, my second 26.2 mile race in 21 days. The average bystander, confronted with this fact, could properly label me a running addict or even a bit mental. It would be inaccurate, however, to call me a maniac, for this term is officially reserved for those who run at least two full marathons in a 16 day period.

I finished the race in 3:09:14, a 7:13 per mile pace. Pittsburgh was my 10th marathon and I ran it 10 minutes slower than my 2011 PR. As a competitive fellow I can’t say I was pleased given that my best five marathons averaged 3:01:27. But I have the Marine Corps Marathon in October to redeem myself.

Despite giving it a B+ performance, the Pittsburgh Marathon is an A+ race. The course is dense with cheering crowds and cover bands, especially on that portion shared with the half marathon course. For those readers that have never ventured to Pittsburgh, consider your lives less full. Pittsburgh is a way cool city and the marathon is a great show-off event. Both the half and the full marathons go over five bridges and three rivers. The full takes you through downtown, the strip district, West Side, Carson Street, Oakland, Shadyside, Highland Park and Bloomfield.

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I started with a goal time of sub 3:10. , and my primary goal was to run strong and learn to love the marathon again. The race started with a slow ocean of shoulder-to-shoulder running, with me wedged as a human sardine between corrals B and C. Unlike Boston, the corral placement was self-selected by runners, many of which shared an enthusiastic but unwarranted optimism as to their race pace. It didn’t help matters that I arrived at 7:25 a.m., five minutes before the starting horn sounded. After fruitlessly waiting 25 minutes for the new $600 million North Shore Connector, a 1.4 mile boondoggle extending the subway under the Allegheny River to the stadium and casino complex, I abandoned the station and jogged the 1.4 miles to the race start.

The race was enjoyable. No drama, no injuries. I ran solidly, only trailing off in the 70F temperatures during the last four miles. After baking my bean in Boston, 70F was a modest bother, but not enough to break my stride for a decent finish in front of friends and the official race photographers.

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On Monday I received acceptance to my first ultramarathon, the JFK 50, which happens to be celebrating its 50th anniversary at the November 17th race. When it is no longer painful for me to descend stairs, I will begin 5K training and racing until I shift to Marine Corps/JFK training in July. No running for me this week, though. I may be crazy but I’m no maniac.

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