[wonicooker]

Hello...<br><br>
Timr1 invited me to join y'all... so i'm posting to say hello and ask for advice. I'm training for (Tampa, Gasparilla 2/10) which will be either my first or second marathon (please help me decide which). I ran Chicago with the heat, folks dropping like flies and all that.<br><br>
At Chicago I did complete the entire course and crossed the finish line in 4 hours. However, Chicago was officially turned into a "fun run" and they never sent me a finisher's certificate... does it "count"? Why I'm asking is... can I in good conscience register as a "maiden voyager" at Gasparilla? It's a special status for first-timers... they give you an extra t-shirt and a pirate rings a bell and takes a picture with you when you finish.<br><br>
What do you think?

 

["e"]

Welcome, wonicooker!<br><br>
Glad you joined! You'll like it here; it is such a nice place. (I just joined too and was immediately made to feel part of the crowd.)<br><br>
I don't know about the marathon thing - Personally, since Chicago was such a death march this year, and they shut down the course and you ended up running without much official race support, I would think of it more as a training run. Thus, you'll be doing your first marathon race in Gasparilla. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> But I don't really know - I'm sure there will be many different opinions on the subject.<br><br>
Happy running!<br>
--e.

 

[Timr1]

Yeah, I responded in the thread. I agree that with all that went down at Chicago this year, I wouldn't count that as a first marathon. We had club members who went and they don't call it their first. They have since had "real" first time marathon experiences with finish line cheers and certificates to prove their times.

 

[PacerChris]

I'd say you're a marathoner in full good conscience. You trained for it, it was on the same day as the race, you ran the course as prescribed and you finished (in a damn good time as well I might add!). I have some friends who count a marathon as running the local marathon course whenever they want as a training run - no skin off my nose, but I wouldn't "count" that, but Chicago is a different matter in my opinion. Your time may be unofficial, but you've done a marathon.<br><br>
Besides, it doesn't matter unless there's some award to "first timers" at Gasparilla, in which case you could claim either way and be ok in my book.<br><br>
Just my 2 cents - feel free to ask for change.

 

[arc918]

I think it would be ok to take whatever first timer goodies they are offering at your upcoming race.<br><br>
A picture with a pirate? Sweet!

 

[joy2theworld]

I agree with PacerChris. You ran the distance that day even though you don't have an official time. That's not your fault. Heck, with the conditions that day, it should count even more.