Achilles family to the rescue

So if you've been following along i used to run a couple of marathons in a year. And until 2014 it used to take me between 4 and 5 hours. In 2014 i won the crappy Lottery and got Guillain-Barre syndrome. In 2017 I came back to Marathon running ass an athlete with a disability and it takes me between 8 and 10 hours. 

Some marathons have time limits. Which makes sense because people can't stand at the Finish Line all day. But they can. (You can see the rest of the movie on ESPN +) in New York City Marathon let's athletes with disability start ahead of the elites so that we get to finish during daylight. In the London Marathon I started about 15 minutes behind the fastest runners so I also got to finish during daylight..  But they started breaking down the course and I got an alternative finish line that wasn't really the end of the world. In the Berlin Marathon I was actually advised to lie about my pace so I can start just behind the elite Runners and finish before the cutoffs. I knew what time they would be closing the course and it was like four races in one day.

But I got invited to run the Sydney Marathon and they weren't interested in letting me start early and they definitely weren't going to extend the Finish Line for my finished time. I really thought that I could get the Sydney Marathon people to let me start towards the front if not actually in front of the front. Their response was firm and final....

I'm sure that Michael and his guides can navigate the course, but ultimately, we have to consider the safety of all 41,000 participants. Moving him to an early start would be dangerous for them and for other, faster participants who will be overtaking them for the duration of the event - especially in the early, congested kilometres. 

 

Like I said before, if he is redirected, he can continue on the roads and potentially cross the finish line before it closes at 3:40pm. If he is swept, he is more than welcome to continue on the footpath, but drink stations will close and, by the time he reaches the finish line, it will also be closed. You and the Achilles team are more than welcome to wait for him in spectator areas after the finish line closes, but the chute itself will be a construction site and will be inaccessible for anyone but site staff. Again, this is a safety measure to ensure that no one is injured during bump out, which begins very shortly after the finish line closure.

Even as I boarded the plane to Sydney I was thinking that all I needed to do was figure out how to sneak into a forward corral. If they're giving the last person to cross the starting line 7 hours and The last person to start starts 2 hours after the gun...  Yeah that might have worked maybe. But I really gave it some thought because I needed accomplices i had to bring my guides with me. The more I thought of it the more I didn't want to drag them into this heist. Julie, Who was traveling all the way from Brooklyn to be my guide was okay with it because we were both getting on a plane 36 hours after the race. But the Sydney chapter of Achilles International was providing me with another guide. And I didn't want to drag them into this. Especially after they said they were willing. And to tell the truth talking to Brian who was the chapter leader of Achilles in Sydney really made me feel good about not trying to push my way to the front. He reminded me of my great accomplishment and also reassured me that my guide would get me to the Finish Line no matter when I started and no matter what they did on the course.

The Sydney Marathon people will offering me two choices after I got swept by the sweepers. Either accept disqualification and take a shortcut across the course... There were many shortcuts on this course because they were allowed about and backs. Or, Take a bus to the Finish Line. Richard and Sharon my wonderful guides offered me a third option. Accept disqualification, But continue on the course to the Finish Line. They knew the way. 

I actually surprised myself as to how relieved I was when I accept an option number 3. It was okay that I wouldn't get an official finish. But I would run the Sydney Marathon. And I planned on finishing it.

And even sooner that I expected I was greeted by the sweepers. About 3 mi into Race we were passed by the 7-hour Pace Group. A few minutes later a couple of friendly people on bicycles rolled up and introduced themselves as the sweepers. They asked us what our plan was and we told them we planned on continuing on the course. They thought that was a great idea A half a mile later we encountered the cutoff point. We were officially given our choices, Take the cutoff or get on the bus. We told them we were choosing the third option to continue along the course. They were very cool with that. What about a half a mile later we met the man who it was not cool with.

We leaped off the course because a van was reversing towards us on the roadway. He jumped out screaming at us to get into the van. I told him I'd no intention of getting in any buses and that we were going to finish the course. He told us that was impossible-and my guide Brian said it was very possible because he knew the way. We told him we will already disqualified and he was not responsible for our safety. He flew around like a bow up doll in front of a gas station as we ran away.

A few miles later on and out and back section of the course he ran across the road to scream at us. Told us we couldn't be on the roadway because it was dangerous.We tried to explain to him that the roadway was completely empty..We can see a mile in front of us and there wasn't a vehicle. Our non-compliance to his lunacy seemed to anger him even more and he told us he would call the police if we were seen on the road again. He had no idea how many times in my life I had been involved with the police and I would be looking forward to an actual rational person to interact with. 

But true to his world at about mile 15 he came running across the roadway again with the police officer. He told us he was going to have the police officer to take our bibs away. I told him fine take them away now I need a little help with the safety pins. And Richard told him he was an embarrassment to the nation.While Brian was asking this course director's name I asked the police officer to make him stop yelling at me. The cop rolled his eyes and said "I'm trying".  Ben Richard did the thing that gets rid of all Karens. Ask them their name!

To the right is a pair of pictures taken about a half hour apart. On top is Julie myself and Richard waiting for the construction workers at the Finish Line to come back with the medals that they said they would get us. Below is a picture taken of all the people from Brooklyn Achilles. In the middle is some weird influencer who wanted a pose for a picture with us. 

When we made it to the Finish Line my watch said I have been running for 8 hours and 50 minutes and as promised the Finish Line was a construction site. Not only was there no clock there was no timing mat there was no one to acknowledge my finish. But that's okay, I expected that. I was also okay with that. I'm still okay with not having an official finish.

But I need to post this collage. On the top is a screen grab from my Garmin. I ran for 8 hours and 50 minutes. It probably would have been significantly less if I didn't have to stop at traffic lights or in a store to buy water. The bottom part of the image is a screen grab from the video of the Final Finisher. It looks like she finished in 8 hours and 50 minutes. If you watch the whole video you'll see the official last finisher  9:15 on the clock. So if I would have gotten a start near the front I would have finished in the daylight, I would have received my medal from the race officials and not from the construction workers. 

Maybe in a couple years the people with the Sydney Marathon we'll do something for people with disabilities to let us finish with everyone else. I thought they would because they made me fill out a form by my doctor. She had to document two things first she had to document that I was disabled and second she had to document that I was healthy enough to finish a marathon

To repeat, i have no regrets. I got to travel to another hemisphere and meet wonderful people and enjoy a great 26.2 mile run through an amazing place. I can right 10 more blog posts about the touristy things we did. The Blue Mountains, the fact that I actually got to see a platypus, Bondi Beach, and I actually ate a kangaroo and it was tasty. But that's another blog post.I also got to travel with the three most amazing people. And my Sydney guides were like new brothers and sisters. I hope they let me know if they're ever in North America because I would travel to the other side of the continent to have coffee with them.The Achilles chapter leaders I met and my guides didn't just get me to the Finish Line of my 47th marathon they help make me a better person.

Before I close out i want to point out that one thing happened on the course that made up for all the crap we took up from Mr Course Director. At about mile 15 a bunch of kids were playing with their bicycles on a closed part of the course. Kind of in the area between a gas station and the road. They thought we finished the race and would just jogging around so they started screaming congratulations but we pointed out that we was still racing. They were so excited and they offered us a ketchup packet. Because they were so excited to offer to me I felt compelled to accept it. Then I realized their plan. They challenge me to chug it. But I topped them. I told them I would treasure it for the rest of my life and bring it back home with me to New York City. Since I didn't receive any cheers at the Finish Line I remember them cheering with excitement over the fact that sauce was going to New York.