Unfinished Business Finished at the Reggae Marathon in Negril, December 2009

December 5, 2009 is the date I finished 'Unfinished Business".  And it only took 5 hours and 25 minutes under the extreme late morning heat along the Norman Manley Highway from Negril to Green Island and back in the 2009 Reggae Marathon.

What was I thinking?  I could have picked a marathon in Toronto...actually could have chosen from the two that are both run in the fall.  I have been asked the question so many times. And the answer every time is that there was a strong emotional pull to do it on the island of my birth.  Added to that:  my Dad was 'uber Jamaican'.  Even after 36+ years living in Canada, he kept up-to-date on the goings-on and was always quick with his opinion on how to fix things.

When the starter's gun went off at 5:15 am last Saturday, it was all I could do to hold back the tears.  Can't run and cry. 

And at the finish...couldn't hold back the tears here.  (Note:  this picture was taken by Sally who with the help of new friends Bob and Debbie from Washington, DC, got her into the media area.  Thanks guys.  Check out their web site, Washington Running Report for another picture of guess who :))

Days later I am still flying high with the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment of conquering the heat, humidity and distance.  Somehow I don't think that feeling will diminish.

And the best part:  even though we did not hit our goal of raising $10,000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association, we managed to raise just under $5,000 in only three months! 

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED.  Your generous contributions kept me going when it got really lonely and desolate on the road last Saturday.

OK, the second best thing...taken less than 5 minutes after finishing.  Now that's the real reason for choosing the Reggae Marathon in Negril.  Could not have done that in Toronto.  And if you must know the gory details, I consumed over 10 litres of liquid over the race, 5 gel packs of bad tasting but supremely effective goo and more litres of recovery liquids with electrolytes than I thought I could drink.  Not sure what it did to my stomach, but it got me through the hours and helped immensely with the recovery. 

And to my friends on the Wasaga Beach Road Runners:  you were right about showing respect for the heat.  HELL ON EARTH but I beat the Devil that morning.

Do you run for yourself or someone else? I run because I love to run. I really run to honour those who no longer can.

"I finished"

Until next time...