The 'stache is real, and for a purpose. But yes, I also dressed up as the late Burt Reynolds (in "Smokey and the Bandit") for the Halloween costume hike I led for NW Wilderness last Saturday. Photo credit: Peter Milert, aka Batman
Men's health is serious business. Ahem, that's your cue to stop snickering at my goofy mustache.
Though I grew this 'stache as part of my tribute to Burt Reynolds for the costume hike I organized last week... I'm keeping this 'stache for the entire month of "Movember" to raise funds and awareness for men's health.
The link to my personal fundraising page for the Movember foundation is:
A 5 million member strong charity group that is changing the face of men's health. They fund groundbreaking research in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
And why support the Movember Foundation?
"Stop men dying too young."
So there you have it, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas. Please consider partnering with me, by making a donation via the link above to help prevent premature deaths among my fellow dudes. Their lives are worth saving.
"I love the tutu!" Vine video: Click the unmute button to unleash the full craziness of this clip, filmed as I neared the "Finish Swine" of this year's Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on
The last time we tried this...
Before we get to this year's race, let's face it... Last year, a couple of us PDX Delta Airlines employees showed the world how NOT to run the Flying Pig Marathon. Jackie and I (along with plenty of other runners) missed a crucial turn-off, unknowingly bypassed our baton hand-off point, and accidentally followed the marathon runners all the way to the "Finish Swine." Fortunately, the remainder of our PDX runners performed wonderfully.
Before reading about our 2015 race below, feel free to re-live last year's hilariously embarrassing (and well publicized) debacle in my earlier 2014 blog post here.
Moving on to this year's race... I'm happy to report that there were no mass diversions this year. The event organizers who did such a fantastic job last year worked even harder to work out the kinks for 2015.
I had just climbed Mount Hood with Katya three days earlier, and my toes and feet were in really bad shape. My podiatrist had forbidden me from ice climbing for eight months, and I was banned from running forever. In other words, I didn't exactly have a doctor's note for this one.
The day before the race
Since I was the sole runner selected to represent PDX airport this year, I flew to Cincinnati without any local teammates this time. I was looking forward to meeting the rest of my Region West team for the pre-race festivities.
Studying this year's race route on the plane ride, avoiding last year's mishap
Checking in at the Millennium Hotel, registering, and picking up our team's race swag from the Flying Pig Expo
Pre-race party at the Via Vite Italian Bistro: My teammate Ingunn (on the right) and I (before I cut off my wild curls) mix it up with the other relay teams, and indulge in Delta's generous hospitality. Ingunn was an Elite-status runner in the Boston Marathon!
Race Day
Long, early morning walk from the Millennium to the relay shuttle bus
Pumped and waiting for my baton hand-off for the final leg of the relay
Vine video: Hit the unmmute button to hear the crowd cheer for the lead marathon runner as he races past the final baton hand-off point.
More runners ran past as I anxiously waited, stretched, and bounced to the rock music on my running song playlist.
Finally, I spotted Ingunn running down the hill towards me. She yelped and enthusiastically thrust the baton towards me, as though running past. I grabbed the baton from her and started thundering down the final leg.
The cheering crowds provided course-side refreshments and encouraging shouts.
"Looking good, Delta!"
"Love the tutu!"
Considering my pain and soreness from that week's Mount Hood climb, it was satisfying to pass so many runners as I ran my segment. My feet were already injured, but a preexisting numbness in my toes (from a previous Mount Hood climb) strangely offset the pain.
Though the pain began to lag my pace, I decided to pull out all stops for the final mile. Check out the Vine video at the top of this post to get a feel for the moments as I was about to enter the final stretch. The crowds got much louder and even more intense as I neared the Finish Swine.
An all out sprint to the Finish Swine brought my overall pace up to a 7:54 minute mile. Not anywhere near as fast as I expected, but respectable. According to an infograph texted me by a teammate, I ranked 22nd (In my leg? I'm not sure how that works) and 20th overall, and our Region West team took 5th place among all the Delta teams!
After crossing the Finish Swine
Victorious!
Post-race festivities, refreshments, and freebies
Live music and dancing at the after party
And finally, I'll throw in one more flashback from last year's Flying Pig Marathon. Delta's running teams are unforgettable, year after year!
