On 5 August, 2005, at 19.36, I completed the Helsinki City Marathon

My recorded time (on my watch) from start line to finish line was 4:33:29 (that doesn’t include the 3:03 to walk to the start line). I hope to receive the official time, captured by RFID, some day.

The weather
The night before, it rained cats and dogs all night. But, the forecast accurately predicted that Friday afternoon would be clear. And it was – beautifully so. The temperature at the start of the race was about 20 C, at the end about 18 C. There was a stiff cross-breeze every time we were near the water.

It was a lovely run. The views were spectacular, as the Helsinki area is full of bridges and islands that look onto lovely bays and coves. The view and weather, combined, really made a difference.

The people
There were all sorts of folks. I saw a guy running in cut-off jeans. I saw a guy that was mega-pierced. His spandex pants suggested that he was pierced heavily in other soft parts as well. I wore shorts and t-shirt (Brasil team football shirt).

The run
I started next to the 4h 30min pace keepers, but somehow got away from them at the early part of the run. Upon advice, I tried really hard to take it really easy for the first half of the race. I thought I was, as I was just on pace for a 4:12 race, around what I thought I could do. I kept that pace, pretty much until about 30km. Then my time started slipping and folks began to pass me. The 4:30 pace keepers passed me, along with a clump of folks, around 39km.

Oh, well. I figured I should have just stuck with the pace keeper the whole time, but the mass of folks at the beginning really made it hard for me to do so. The mass really didn’t thin out for about an hour.

The funny thing was that towards the end a few people passed me multiple times. I didn’t remember ever passing them once.

I had planned to listen to podcasts during the run, but for some reason only one copied to my phone (an N70, by the way). That was fine, as I figured I’d listen to the estimated 1 hour podcast at about 3 hours when I needed the boost. Alas, it was only 15 minutes long, d’oh! So, instead of taking the dissociating strategy, I was really associating closely with the race the whole time.

One thing I didn’t do was walk. I ran the whole way. I only stopped once to pee at about 15km, in the traditional Finnish male fashion – in the woods. Then I had to slow down when taking a drink – it’s hard to run and drink from an open cup. But, overall, I kept running to the end, even up a nasty steep hill almost everyone walked up at 40km. In the last 2 or 3 kms, I just looked down and established a rhythm I use when struggling to keep the pace. It worked.

In the last few hundred meters, though, I looked up and started beaming. As I turned the bend at 42km I just had to pick up the pace, saying ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ I was so excited. Then I crossed the finish line and walked into the arms of my family.

The organizers
The whole race was so well organized – these Finns are sports-crazy, and it showed. The stations were great. They offered salt pickles at some stations. Some stations had bananas, or fructose tablets, or chocolates. There was plenty of music, stopped traffic, and folks ringing cow bells and blowing whistles (must be a Finnish thing).

Wow. Busy day.

Acknowledgements
As with every great achievement, I didn’t do this alone. And, one thing that happened after I started running was that I started discovering so many folks I knew that ran and some that even ran a marathon.

Here are the folks I want to thank, without whose tips and support this would have never happened.
– Christian, Agnes and Klaus’ friend, was the example that started me running last August. He’s 40+ and has a small child. He took up running and within a year had run a marathon. What an inspiration. I took up running for the sake of running, but not for the sake of running a marathon.
– Agnes and Klaus Goerke (both avid runners). These guys were also an inspiration and provided numerous tips. I credit them for truly being the ones who got me started.
– Dave Krupinski, my old college roommate, and his great wife, Katerina (both avid runners, from Athens). They were the first to suggest I should run races. Dave challenged me to run a Marathon. Dave had run the Real Marathon from Marathon to Athens. Maybe some day I will too.
– Petri Ahti, whose son once played on my son’s football team. He provided some key tips that helped me run through the Finnish winter (coldest run about -17 C). Incidentally, Petri also ran this marathon (his second). I saw him at the start. I hope he did well.
– David Jacobs, and his lovely girlfriend fiancée, Adriana. Dave had run marathons before (NYC?) and provided some support and helpful tips. One of the main tips was suggesting I tell everyone I was running a marathon, that way I would have to and couldn’t chicken out. Clever. I did as he suggested. It felt boastful at first, but then I realized how it just ended up growing the circle of positive energy.
– Joukko, an amazing 50+, bandy-legged, hyper-active athelete. He’s run marathons at all ages, skied the Finlandia Hiihto (a 70km or so cross-country ski race up in Lahti) many many times (even this year), and has been playing outdoor pick-up hockey for 30 years, among other super things. He provided plenty of practical tips, as only he could do, and was a real inspiration.
– Jen Sjöstrom, a family friend, who had run a marathon in Copenhagen many years ago. She provided so much perspective that I could relate to. But, her key comment, aside from declining to grease my private parts, was ‘do not stop’. She sat on my shoulder through the race, when keeping moving forward was doubtful. I crossed the finish line – running – because of her.
– Christian Lindholm, for sending me a kind photo of his foot, encouraging me on.
– Olli Oksanen, for an encouraging word right before the start of the marathon. It warms my heart when kind words come from unexpected places.
– Päivi, Tipi, Miro, and Nico, good friends, for that unexpected call the night before the race to wish me well. And then, they cheered me on at 16km and 22km (and I saw Päivi once more at 28km). Their kindness really warmed me, so much.
– My parents, who flew from the US just to see me run. I saw them at the Esplanade, around 26km, but then they gave me one last ‘Vamos Brasil!’ at the finish line.
– My family – April, Samuel, and Sabrina. They watched me training all year and really started getting excited the week before the marathon. It was cute how my wife, who was quiet about the whole thing for a long time, started nervously giving me tips and suggestions and trying to help out a few days before the race, right up to when she dropped me off. But, it was that sweet good-luck kiss that I will always remember. And my kids, who met up with me at the Esplanade around 26km. They ran along side on the sidewalk for a bit, until I called them out to hold my hands and run a few meters with me. That was a highlight of the run for me. The other highlight was that all three of them were there for me at the end, arms open. Thanks, guys.

Note: I’ve kept a record of all my runs. This is one of them, and is the longest entry, sorry.