My First Marathon Complete With Ambulance Ride

We had a lot of firsts! My first marathon, my husband’s first time calling 911, and the first time I was ever wheeled out of my house on a stretcher.

I did it! 26.2! I ran/walked/shuffled/hobbled twenty six point freaking two miles.

In the days before the race I was able to find more information on my race. There was a cut off that I didn’t realize this race had when I signed up. (it may have been there, but I certainly didn’t see it… downside of registering early) 5.5 hours!! A 5.5 hour cut off! There was no way I could make a cut off like that. But if I really hustled and had a great day I wouldn’t be but an hour off…. thats not so bad. Surely there are others that will be in the same boat.

There was a little rain forecasted. ALL DAY.

I was initially a little concerned about being at the back of the pack. I wasn’t sure how I would manage once the aid stations had closed, but my husband would be there to come and get me if I needed. We could do this.

But I felt defeated. I had already lost the race and it was still a few days away. I had hoped to finish the race at 6.5 hours at best. No way on this earth I could shave another hour off my time.

A Marathon is hundreds of miles. The finish is the last 26.2

I shed some tears. I was angry that I didn’t know this going in. But nothing could change it. I had to just deal with it and go if I was going to accomplish my dream of running a marathon.

The night before my seven year old came to me with a picture he had drawn.  It was a picture that showed mommy winning, and wishing me luck. You just can’t get any better than that. I wasn’t always able to run every training run I was scheduled for because I never let my babies fall behind my running. They come first and boy am I glad I never messed up there. Some of the most grueling runs were those when I ran circles around them. For 7 miles I would run these small loops around them while they played in the dirt. It was tough. But we made it work. I couldn’t always run in the morning because that was homeschool time and in the evenings I was taking my son to TaeKwonDo; so the terrible afternoon Alabama summer sun joined me.

Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles.

~ Lori Culnane

Morning of the race

My sweet son made me a little pack of starbursts to take with me because I would eat a couple on my training runs. His thoughtfulness would take me so far today. This little man believed in his mama more than his mama believed in herself.

I didn’t have any race day jitters. I wasn’t nervous, in fact I was feeling pretty calm and confident. There were so many people there so I felt there was surely safety in numbers.

There was a half marathon on this day also, so I just assumed half of these people were full and half were, well… half!

Your body can withstand almost anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.

I began the race near the back. The group I was in were all happy go lucky, laughing having a great time. Those in the front were more serious with their business faces on.

It was a lot of fun those first several miles.Then we got to the turn around point of the track…. and everyone but me turned around. There was no one in front of me and no one with me any longer. And so I began the long journey of facing the next 20 miles alone.

Around mile 10 there is a stretch of trail that cuts off the regular trail for an out and back. I was able to see other racers at this point. That was motivating. Encouraging them with “way to go… at least you aren’t last”. At mile 11 I realized I was in fact the last one. For the next two miles I was in tears. The cramps that came now were likely more mental than physical. The tricks my mind played on me now telling me how much I hurt and that I should quit were hard. I got to my family and thankfully my brother and sister in law were there. They were able to stay with the kids and my husband was running with me a couple of miles to the turn around. We met two motor cycle cops that checked on me. The last one telling us that it was about to “rain cats and dogs” and that we may want to call someone to get us. It had been a pleasant mist all morning, but I was not looking  forward to rain. We got to the turn around point and the aid station was gone leaving us to turn around way past where we had to go. On turning around we saw some folks in yellow rain coats on bikes that may have been sweepers for the race (folks that come through and make sure everyone is off the track). They went right on, and that was it. The race was essentially over. Now it was just about not quitting. I had hit the wall I always heard about and I hit it hard, but still somehow over came!

Even when you have gone as far as you can and everything hurts, and you are staring at the specter of self doubt, you can find a bit more strength inside you if you look closely enough. ~ Hal Higdon

I can’t say enough good things about my brother in law and sister in law for coming out. It was over an hour drive for them. They had to get up early. And it was so miserable outside. Cold. Rainy. Yet they came and cheered for me and helped Brad wrangle kids. Brandon and Leann…. I love y’all! Thank y’all so much for your support.

At this point Brad was on his own as his sister and BIL had to get back home.




Brad now met me every few miles to make sure I had a bottle of water and a snack.

About mile 10 I had been sending him updates every time I would hit a new mile so that he could keep track of me. I told him my phone was dying, but with no way to charge it while carrying it I had to keep going and hope it would hold on. (I really recommend an external charger for anyone that is as slow moving as me.)

Due to the cold rain (I assume) there weren’t a lot of other people on the trail. I surely didn’t want to be there any longer. 

At mile 23.5 I was shuffling along across a bridge and a man on a bike said something to me. I turned to look and he was pretty scary looking. Not the guy a girl wants see on the trail all alone with no one else around. I told him I was sorry I didn’t hear him. “you want a jacket? It’s cold out here.”  Me “no thanks, I am going to be done right up here.” He continued on at a really slow pace until I started to mess with my phone, and then he went on. I was scared out of my mind. I attempted to text my husband, but of course my phone died right in that moment. Like something out of a scary movie. Not having a clue what else to do I began a fast walk and got my phone out and started “talking” on it. I was telling my husband that I was coming. I am almost there. I will be there in a second. I did my best to act like we were having a conversation about what we were doing on thursday and then telling him “I’m almost there, we can look together.” Anything at all to make a person think that I was about to meet up with someone on the trail. Maybe he was a nice guy, maybe chivalry ain’t dead… but I was more under the impression that I was about to be another story everyone read and said “why was she out there in that neighborhood alone.”

I got to the next road and I was so happy to see my husband was there. He had seen the sketchy guy and looked him up and down. Now he was nervous about me being on the trail alone. But he saw the guy had gone up the street. The neighborhoods closer to the start/finish were much nicer and more populated. We both thought I should be ok now.

I was certainly on guard. I no longer cared about the whole “don’t look behind you, you aren’t going there” and cared more about being aware of my surroundings. I was ambling along around mile 24.5 and saw I runner behind me. The person was dressed in darker clothing much like the creepy man on the bike. Running under the overpasses I couldn’t help thinking… if I was a bad guy this is where I would be, but the threat was behind me… should I hide in the over passes til this creep goes by… what if he finds me?!?  Now, I appreciate that someone comes out and keeps the trail cleaned up, but while I am running for my life I was disappointed there weren’t more limbs strewn out that I could use for protection. I am pretty sure my next mile I ran was the fastest I had run in my life. I was NOT going to be an easy target if this guy was back. If he was going to catch me I was at least going to make him work for it.

Running reminds us that even in our weakest moments, we are strong. 

And then I saw my saving grace… some bikers… a man and and woman. I was waving at them the minute I saw them and when they got close I said “ I need help”. The woman asked “are you ok” the man said “ just keep going you’ll get there” and they went on. Maybe they saw my race number and thought I was giving up. But I hoped like everything they were on high alert and would turn back if it was the same creepy guy back there. I did feel a little better that someone was out there. That they had seen me, but I wanted desperately for them to ride with me while I ran. Maybe they were just as scared of creepers as I was… and at this point in my day I wasn’t looking some mom blogger, but something a little more rough around the edges. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

Thankfully at around 25.5 I popped out on a road. My husband was there waiting for me. I came running to him scared to death of the man behind me again. He looked up and at this point we could see the runner was actually a woman. I decided for this last small stretch I would run near her.

 Off in the distance I could see my husband, son, and daughter jumping around in the trail. I was overwhelmed with excitement about having finished. I was emotional from being scared and now feeling safe. I was tired. So tired. But most of all I was grateful. The race may have been over and everyone gone (and I do mean everyone was gone) but I had the most amazing finish. Getting to hug and kiss these people I treasure was the greatest ending to this race.

I did a marathon. I ran 26.2 miles!

Mental toughness is when you find fuel in an empty tank. 

At home

My sweet mama brought us supper when we got home as well as a rose to congratulate me on my finish. We had a delicious supper and an early bed time. I was hobbling around struggling with each step and was ready for some sleep. I even made my husband switch sides of the bed with me so that I would be just a little closer to the bathroom.

In the middle of the night I got up to go to the bathroom and just felt gross. I sat up slowly and began my hobble to the bathroom. But one step inside and I began to feel lightheaded so I took some steps back to bed. Next thing I know I am in the floor with my husband talking to me (I swear he was speaking some other language). As I was coming around I just remember feeling so weird. Everything felt strange. I didn’t feel like I could talk, and I couldn’t understand him.




He had me lay down for awhile he laid next to me. I was so nauseous.  When he helped me to sit up I passed out again. This time when I was waking up he was on the phone, and in a scramble running around and told me I had passed out again and the ambulance was on the way. HUGE thanks to my parents for getting the kids in the middle of the night and getting them back to sleep.

The paramedics checked my blood pressure and it was really low (why I was passing out and so nauseous). The decided to take me to the ER. The stretcher wouldn’t fit into our bedroom and they didn’t want me up so I started crawling using only my arms as my legs were of no help to me. They felt terrible for me and had me get on a sheet and pulled me next to the stretcher.

In the ambulance they had a tough time getting an iv started. Apparently the more dehydrated you are the more of a challenge your veins become.

At the hospital I was feeling much better but still had a really low blood pressure. They also had a tough time getting a good vein on me for blood work. So in all I got 6 sticks for one IV and one blood draw! I have never had this problem before.  After a whole battery of tests. (The stroke test/swallow test is a bit odd, y’all) It was determined that I was very dehydrated. So after 2 bags of fluid the dr sent me home for rest.

Today I will feel the burn in my legs. I will fight the urge to quit, I will breathe heavily, and become so sore it hurts to walk. I will give it my all. My everything. I will put in 110% effort and no one will stop me. 

The entire next day I spent on the couch. There is no telling how many naps I had, but I think I slept most of Sunday. Monday morning I was feeling great. I was able to get up and fold and put away some laundry,  Work on some blog projects, do crafts with the kids. Lots of sitting, as the hobble to my wobble was still painful.

And then I got dizzy again. I laid down in the kitchen floor. After another trip to the ER and MORE tests the dr said I just wasn’t resting enough. So, thankfully I am fine. Just sore!

But despite all the crazy, I did it! I ran/walked/shuffled/cried/prayed but mostly survived TWENTY SIX MILES! There were tears. There are still tears.

Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you are not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you are not demanding more of yourself… you are denying yourself an extraordinary trip. ~Dean Karnazes

I want to say a huge thanks to my sister and brother in law for driving over an hour in the cold rain to support me. And for helping Brad with the kids.

Thanks to my daughter for for all her little hugs and kisses along the way.

Thanks to my son for being that tiny little figure I would see off in the distance jumping up and down and waving his arms. And for his encouragement every time I saw him.

To my mom for getting the kids for the ER visits and bringing me supper because she knew I couldn’t possibly cook. To my daddy for coming to pick us up from the hospital in the middle of the night. These two are always ready to help no matter what I need in life. The kind of people that you don’t even have to ask for help because they are there helping before you know what you need.

The pain of the process is only temporary, but the feeling of achievement lasts forever. 

To my husband, for cheering me on. Letting me cry when I felt defeated, helping me get back up and get back to it. For bringing water, food, more water to every road crossing. For managing the kids while doing it. For taking care of me when I was too sore to dress myself. For getting me medical help. For the love and compassion. For helping make my dream come true.

I did it! I wanted to quit several days before. I wanted to quit at mile 11, 12, 13, 14, 15…. But I knew the future me would be glad I did it. So I just took one more step!

The Thirst you feel in your throat and lungs will be gone minutes after the race is over. The pain in your legs within days, but the glory of the finish will last forever.