Sunday, November 2, 2008

Marine Corps Marathon 2008 / DC Vacation


Our weeklong trip to Washington DC made me feel like a tiny speck within humanity. It started with the marathon with a combined participation of nearly 30,000 runners in both the marathon and 10K offered that day. Steve and I ran in a crowd for the first 21 miles and only then did it thin out so we had some running room and could anticipate when slower runners were ahead without running into them or having to veer off quickly to avoid collision. Michelle had a great run and describes her marathon here.

Mad Monkey #1 (Steve) and Mad Monkey #2 (me) maintained our “A” plan well with a desired goal of 3:40 to 3:50. Had we not added three tenths of a mile to the course by not cutting every corner we would have come in right on A plan but due to the added distance we ended up with 3:41: and change.

Washington DC has a lot to offer in the form of history and starting with the Portrait Museum and going full circle to all the Smithsonian offerings, the Library of Congress, Aerospace Museum, Native American Museum, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, FDR Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWI Memorial, WWII Memorial, and the list goes on. All this resulted in achieving the feeling of running a marathon a day for a full week.

One poem that was on the wall of the Holocaust Memorial just as you exit stands out in my memory. Pastor Martin Niemöller wrote it.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
after all I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
after all I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
after all I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.



I’ll leave you with some pictures I took during the trip.


































18 comments:

Legs and Wings said...

Congrats on another great marathon - and the visit to DC. It is a big place with so much to see. Hard to soak it all up in a quick visit.

Unknown said...

Great photos! I was wondering if you and Steve ran together since the results showed you about a minute apart.

Laura H said...

Great job on the marathon and thanks for sharing that poem and the photos. Very cool.

Also - way to plan your return trip so you could wimp out of the Carkeek 12 hour! Missed you out there but Rob and Jenny made up for your absence. Welcome back!

Darrell said...

I could see these images over and over and not grow tired of them.

Glad to hear that your race went well. MCM is so different from you usual romps through the mountains.

Scott McMurtrey said...

Looks like you had a great time. DC is a wonderful city to explore.

Jenny, Maniac #401 said...

I know where all those places/paintings are! Thanks for bringing back my own memories! I love DC. Glad you had a good marathon and trip.
Jenny

Gotta Run..... said...

I love DC! We have been twice and each time was amazing.

Another marathon for the books. You are one strong running machine!

THANK YOU for the great comments during all of my training for MMTR. David Horton ran this year (only his 2nd time running it) but I must say the new director was such a great guy!! He will makes some great additions to future races.

Donald said...

Beautiful pictures - looks like an awesome trip. I especially like the Van Goghs! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow! I've never been to DC, but the history has got to be very cool to see.

Nice job on the marathon. You really need to work on cutting those corners, though. ;)

Wes said...

What a horrible place to have to run a marathon. I can't wait for the day when my kids are old enough to allow me the same kind of adventures you and Michelle are sharing. Thanks for the support after Ironman!! I truly appreciate it!!!

Joe said...

Nice run, Eric. Nicer vacation!

The Holocost Museum is indescribable. I was deeply moved, as you were. It is an essential. Never again.

Loved the photo of "Freedom isn't Free". Thanks.

Welcome back...

Anonymous said...

Awesome pictures! Glad you had a nice visit to DC. You did a fantastic job on the marathon too.

runningtwig said...

Great report and pictures! I go to DC once a year with students and I love that you can just put on your runners and see so much history in just a few miles!

Dori said...

Congrats on your marathon! I've only been to D.C. once, but it's a great place. So many museums, and of course, that great Vietnam Memorial.

Dori said...

Congrats on your marathon! I've only been to D.C. once, but it's a great place. So many museums, and of course, that great Vietnam Memorial.

Ben, aka BadBen said...

Great photos, Eric!

Ben

Anonymous said...

Niemöller is one of my favorites. Glad you guys were able to get away for a few days.

Jack said...

Great pictures, brings back memories of my last visit in 1987. Congrats on your latest marathon adventure!