Catalina Redemption!!!

Gary and Matt Beach Runners
Matt and Gary – Trail Running Gurus

On February 9th at the 12.5 mile mark of the Catalina 1/2 Marathon Buffalo Run, I started to wobble. Disoriented, I nearly passed out. Before any blackout, I held onto a white fence and slowly placed myself onto the ground. What happened? What was wrong? An ambulance came and picked me up. I was out of it, really thirsty, had low blood pressure, and could barely breathe. I was hooked up to a saline IV and rushed to the hospital. There I received two more bags and drank about a half gallon of water. The doctor said I was dehydrated. There I was in Catalina, a blogger of proper hydration when running long distances in the heat, hooked up to an IV. A truly humbling moment.

After I was released from the hospital I began to walk down the street. I traffic officer asked me why I was walking. I told him I was just released from the hospital. He knew who I was, one of two people sent to the hospital for dehydration. He told me the finish line was a half mile away. I saw a person running down the street. I realized that I could still finish this thing even though I’d been in the hospital for over an hour and a half. I jogged past the woman remembering it is a Beach Runner duty to pass someone. I jogged past the finish line. A woman gave me my lapel pin and said, “Now that is dedication…jogging through the finish line with IV bandages after you leave the hospital.” My time over 3:33. Of course many Beach Runners enjoyed teasing me about my collapse. I guess that is what one gets when taking on challenges and pushing oneself to the brink…or in this case surpassing the brink.

So why did I collapse? Simple answer is that my body said NO MORE. But why, I had pushed myself harder during the summer to prepare for the Long Beach Marathon. Why now, why Catalina’s Buffalo Half Marathon? I guess I’ll never know, but I do know what was going on in my life and I do know that all variables together may be the reasons. So what happened after my PR and first marathon at Long Beach? To Read The Rest Of This Article Click Here

Matt – Beach Runner Mentor and SoCalRunning.com Member

March 25, 2008 | Filed Under Steve's Posts 

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