Little Rock Marathon
Little Rock, Arkansas
Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Little Rock Marathon which is one of only a few marathons to have a walking division was held on Sunday, March 2, 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The temperature was in the 50’s and 60’s with some wind. The course is well marked and somewhat challenging as there are hills in many places. There were plenty of enthusiastic volunteers and 18 water/Gatorade stations. The traffic was excellently controlled by the police. The whole event is very well organized and the finisher’s medal weights over a pound.
Bart Yasso from Runner’s World was at the starting line and announced the finishers. We talked before the race and he came out at the finish and gave me a high five as he announced my finish. I truly consider him one of my friends. At the post race party held at an art gallery, we again talked and he introduced me to the race director and explained how well I had performed. You would think that I had won the walking division as I did last year but the truth of the matter is that I had the same time and came in fifth because the race has attracted a better field. I have been spreading the word to other walkers at other marathons especially the ones that beat me. It was actually nice to have someone to race walk against. There were 82 race walking finishers. I went out of my way to express my appreciation to the race director for having the walking division as did many of the other race walkers. I always thank the volunteers when they hand me a Gatorade and the police at the intersections. There would be no race without them.