My race didn’t go as I had planned. As a first timer in The United States I struggled not to be overwhelmed by the support along the course. I knew there would be quite a few people lining the route, but what I experienced blew me away. I read the next day that there was estimated to be over 200,000 people along the course.

It’s funny how people come to run marathons. For people outside the running community, covering 42 km in one hit seems an incomprehensible feat. Most non-runners ask ‘Why?’. Whilst I could appreciate the sense of accomplishment that running such a distance would bring, I certainly thought it was outside the realms of ‘normal’ people. Hence I never thought I would run a marathon. I was content to play rugby, something my 100 kg frame was probably better suited.

It was only after I came across someone training for their first marathon that I started thinking. I had always enjoyed running, but I had never run further than 25 km. In fact I still had horrible flashbacks of running the Oaks Fire Trail in Sydney as a 17 year old, the last seven kilometres of which I would describe without fear of hyperbole as a near-death-experience. But watching this girl (who seemed normal enough) train for the marathon made me realise that perhaps a marathon is within reach of anyone.

A few years passed and I stumbled across an entry form for the Host City Marathon, the preliminary marathon for the Sydney Olympics. The attraction of running over the Olympic course was too great to ignore. By now I had resolved to run a marathon. I only ever intended to run one and then return to rugby.

But then a funny happened. During the training for that first marathon I found myself developing an addiction towards running. I reflect back on my training for that marathon and remember that magical feeling of extending beyond what I though were my limits. I later learned that this feeling was in fact the ‘Runners Bug’ inflicting its venom upon me.

I ran the marathon and the final few kilometres were the worst experience I had ever felt up until that point. Yet after the pain had settled down I found that I just couldn’t walk away from the sport and I began training for my second marathon in Melbourne in October of that year. Four years and five marathons have passed since I first made the decision to strive to cover 42.195 km.

I could have continued running domestic marathons for as long as my knees allowed me. The Canberra and Melbourne Marathons have excellent organisation and are separated by a nice period which allowed me to run both each year. I even started thinking ‘Griffin’ and ‘Spartan’. But I starting yearning for a new challenge. I don’t personally know anyone who has run a big city marathon, but from the stories I had read on coolrunning.com, the experience is billed as something all marathoners should be able to lay claim to when they hang up their flats.

I started thumbing through the calendar to find a US marathon that would fit around my job. I soon narrowed the list down to three – Chicago, New York and Marine Corps (Washington, D.C.) All three are run in late October, early November during the northern Autumn. As an Australian soldier, the Marine Corps seemed the best option and I started my planning.

As a rookie traveller I wasn’t quite sure how the whole experience of overseas travel worked. I initially wrote to Mari-Mar Walton at Travelling Fit after I found her agency on the web. I also remembered meeting her at the Canberra Marathon expo one year. As I look back on those early e-mails I am embarrassed by their naiveté. Yet Mari-Mar was so patient and understanding even when I didn’t know what I wanted myself. After she had secured my entry to the race, I set about training for what would no doubt be the experience of a lifetime.

I was so inspired at the thought of racing overseas that I trained virtually everyday (a new experience) and by the time October rolled around I had nearly 2000 km through my legs since January. I felt ready to run well, but also felt anxious due to the unknowns – race kit collection, congestion at the start, effects of jetlag and of course no matter how many times you have run the distance, 42.195 km is a psychological hurdle that needs to be overcome before every marathon.

I flew into Washington, D.C. via London (overnight) as part of a round-the-world ticket. I arrived five days before the marathon and soon discovered what jetlag is. Although I didn’t know it when I planned the trip, I was fortunate as a friend of mine had recently been posted to D.C. Staying with him in the days leading up to the marathon was great for negating much of the anxiety that I was feeling.

Even though I was in Washington to run a PB in the marathon, I couldn’t resist the beauty of the city. Whilst I should have been putting my feet up, hydrating and carbo-loading, I took in The White House (thanks to another great contact), Smithsonian (brilliant), Lincoln Memorial, Pentagon and Washington Monument (you can’t really escape it as building restrictions mean that it can be seen from almost anywhere in the Capital). It is such an amazing place, enhanced by the fact that I was experiencing America for the first time. It’s funny because as many cities and places as I saw during the trip, perhaps the most vivid image that I have is the US flag that I first saw when I stepped out of Dulles Airport in Washington. I don’t think you ever forget that first jolt of landing in America. I kept saying to myself – ‘I’m here’ – as ridiculous as that sounds!

But I’m writing this article for a running audience, so I’ll get back onto what matters…

Major Australian marathons characteristically have fields of about 800 or less. In contrast, the Marine Corps Marathon caps its field at just over 25,000 (done on a ballot system). Whilst I was very much revelling at the thought of being joined by so many runners, I also had concerns over how such a field could be managed.

The first hurdle was the runners expo. Held over a three day period, the expo took up three floors of a hotel across the river near the start. Security was very tight but once inside I discovered a runner’s utopia! I have never seen anything like it. There wasn’t just shirts with the Marine Corps emblem (although there were over ten different designs), but everything down to socks, key rings, stubby coolers, pens, postcards and shot glasses were emblazoned with the race logo. And that was just the official merchandise…

I don’t usually like spending too much time at the expo as I find that it just serves to heighten my anxiety, but two hours after picking up my race pack I still found myself trying on shoes, tasting prune juice, energy bars and speaking to other competitors. When I finally left I had two show bags full of pamphlets, shirts, shoes, and everything else I could get my hands on. In a word it was sensational.

The night before the race I reflected upon the six months of training and wrote a few postcards. I was suffering from jetlag and ‘sensory overload’ if there is such a thing. I probably only managed four hours sleep. I just couldn’t settle down.

On race morning I felt pretty good. On the morning of a marathon the first thing I always do is to take in a deep breath through my nose and swallow a few times - I didn’t have a cold. I had a shower and ate a couple of bananas. The race was still three hours away. The reason for the early start was because I was concerned how the organisers would shuttle 26,000 runners and their supporters to the start line, so I made sure that I would be a the start point with time to spare. Three hours was probably somewhat excessive.

The start/finish point was adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. For ease of congestion and for the purposes of security, the start point was quarantined, the only access via shuttle buses from the same hotel where the expo was held. Competitors were asked to park their cars in the hotel car park (cost included in the entry) where they would then be ferried the few miles to the start. The operation was very slick. In hindsight I could have left my arrival much later.

I had two hours to soak up the atmosphere prior to the start. Radio stations were broadcasting from the start point, the Marine Corps Band supplied music, there seemed to be a Brigade of Marines on hand to assist runners, and as always there was a hopelessly inadequate supply of toilets! The starter was character actor R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine himself. His most memorable role was that of the drill sergeant in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Full Metal Jacket’.

The Marine Corps Marathon is quite unique for big city marathons in that it doesn’t offer prize money. As a result the winning times are relatively slow (if you want to call a 2h25m marathon slow) given the absence of professionals. The other interesting demographic is that the marathon has the highest percentage of first time marathoners of any of the major US marathon. All this makes for a marathon with the slowest average finishing time. What impact does that have on runners? It means that competitive runners should expect to place well and for runners further down the field, you will definitely enjoy the carnival atmosphere and camaraderie that comes with sharing such an experience. The Marine Corps Marathon has earned the tag ‘The People’s Marathon’.

One of the aspects of this marathon that I found very interesting was the start. Runners were asked to self-seed by moving to a corral (like a holding pen) according to their expected finishing time. It is a great concept although unfortunately I don’t think such a start would work in Australia as evidenced by the City-to-Surf. I was also very sceptical that Americans would be realistic as to their finishing time which was another reason why I arrived so early. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the first few corrals were almost completely free at the start. When the gun went I was right up the front and enjoyed a clean start.

My race didn’t go as I had planned. As a first timer in The United States I struggled not to be overwhelmed by the support along the course. I knew there would be quite a few people lining the route, but what I experienced blew me away. I read the next day that there was estimated to be over 200,000 people along the course. Almost everywhere people were lined four deep, all shouting encouragement. It is a very emotional experience when people whom you don’t know are yelling encouragement to you. It certainly helped later in the race.

Prior to the start, I saw many people writing their names on adhesive which they attached across their front. I didn’t quite understand why they were doing this initially but into the race I soon learned. If the crowd saw something on you to identify you, they certainly made reference to it. I wish I had done the same! I was running in an Australian Defence Force athletics strip that unfortunately only had ‘Australia’ written across the back of it. All the way along the course I heard encouragement shouted at me after I had passed people. If I previously had any doubts, I now know how endearing Australians appear to Americans.

Unfortunately in spite of all this support, I couldn’t settle into a rhythm and fell away badly towards the end. I finished in just over three hours. I was initially disappointed however as I reflected on the race over a bucket of KFC, I realised how fortunate I was to be able to experience such an event. The organisation was exceptional and virtually none of my pre-race concerns were realised. From the expo to the finishing procedures, the Marines did an outstanding job of enhancing the marathon experience. The imagery along the course will stay with me forever.

After the marathon I spent a month travelling across America, similarly an unforgettable experience. I’d love to share it with you and I have to fight the urge not to, but I know that people reading this are likely to be prospective runners, so I will limit my narrative accordingly.

What did I learn by running the Marine Corps Marathon this year? Well I learnt that travelling 20,000 kilometres around the world a few days before running 42 km is not without its challenges if you hope to run well. But at the same time the experience is unparalleled. No marathon in Australia can come close to creating the atmosphere generated by 26,000 runners, running past some of the most famous landmarks in the world. I have every intention of returning next year!

Finally, I must pay tribute to Mari-Mar. The personal service and understanding that I received took a highly anxious traveller and made him only a moderately anxious traveller. She is great at what she does and even though she is handling many runners (and travellers) in exactly the same boat as me, I felt like I was her only client. I cannot be more glowing in my recommendation.