Marathon Start: The weather was nice and cool when the race started at 4:30 a.m., and stayed that way the whole time I was running. I was still a bit nervous about my knee, since it was sore and stiff and a bit swollen the day before. It was still swollen in the morning, but felt better due to the ibuprofen. After the start of the race, Peep went back to the hotel for a couple of hours before the start of her race at 8:00.
4K Fun Run and Walk: There were over 22,700 people in the 4K Fun Run and Walk, mostly kids. There were only 10,000 medals available, and everyone knew it. On my advice, Peep lined up near the front, but a bunch of the kids took off before the start and wouldn't come back when called, so Peep was behind a large group for the run. They didn't follow the race course, which was basically in the shape of an oval (like a horse racing track) and started running back along the course in a mad dash to be the first to get their medals. Peep figures she may have run about 3K, but even that with some difficulty due to the mass of people. She did end up with a medal for her struggle.
The Marathon: The marathon was a bit better organized and much more under control. There were several hundred participants, Peep and I estimate 500-700 runners, although it was difficult for me to see past the bright lights over the field of runners at the start. Things started out okay, so I continued on kilometer by kilometer (they were all marked after kilometer 10, which was nice because you reached kilometer markers much quicker than mile markers, there are just a lot more of them) as long as I could. I started the run at the same pace I had trained, so it wasn't too fast. I was quite excited as I passed the halfway point (21k) with no problems, and then the 32k marker, which is close to 20 miles. Actually, up to this point, my other knee was bothering me more than the one I injured. I kept on and kept the same pace, passing runner after runner as they slowed with each new kilometer. My pace barely slowed as I made my way to the finish, completing the race in 3:25:58, the second half of the race being only 1:26 slower than the first half. I was very satisfied with the run considering my level of training and injury to my knee, which didn't bother me the entire race.
After the Race: Of course, we made it back home okay, and my knee was swollen and sore as I took it easy the next couple of weeks. Peep was a little disappointed she didn't get a good chance to run the entire 4k. Maybe some better organization and a better race course would help.