SALT LAKE CITY! DONE! 7 down, 5 to go!!!

I'm flying to new York for debs parents 40th anniversary. I was just in town a few weeks ago to visit with my family on long island who I will see as well. All this traveling and flying is getting to me and I'm looking forward to doing less of it in the new year. I wasnt even unpacked from my last trip before replacing and sorting last night for this trip. My last trip was to salt lake city, Utah for marathon number 7!


This was an unusual circumstance. Several different circumstances than what I'm used to, starting with the day of week the marathon landed on. A Tuesday. This is the first and only marathon this year that isn't on a weekend for me. I learned once I got into Utah that the date of July 24th plays a significant role and is quite the big deal in salt lake city. It's pioneer day! From what I heard while I was there is that it's a Mormon holiday. Back when states were still trying to be official states Utah had tried to become part of the union. However, and this is just what I heard, they weren't allowed because of their belief and practice in polygamy. So they said they would stop polygamy and not practice it any longer to become part of the union. I suppose not everybody stopped. People take off from work, close businesses, have parades, it's funny that that's he back story. Or at least that's the story I heard from a woman in Park City where we stayed. And where pioneer day goes unnoticed.

Saturday
I needed to fly in a few days early. From what people were telling me and scaring me with, was that altitude adjustment was going to be important. I've never run a marathon where elevation was a factor. But the Deseret News Marathon was starting atop a mountain 7500 ft above sea level. Deborah wanted to come to the marathon. True blood had stopped shooting recently and she was free. The flights weren't too bad since its a fairly quick trip from Los Angeles. A new friend and worker, Tracy, heard where my next run was and offered her condo in somewhat nearby Park City. Great! Saves about $500 in hotels. It is about a 40 min drive but well worth it. The area of Park City is gorgeous. That's where Sundance film festival is held and none of us have ever been. David was my guide once again for this race. This is to be his 3rd marathon with me this year and his 4th race with me counting the half marathon a couple months ago.

We rent a car at the airport, which was very helpful. I had set up a fundraiser with an improv group hat performs short form at a theater called the off broadway heater in salt lake. I think I may have waited too long to do my usual contacting people due to a lot of traveling since my last marathon, because I got zero publicity! None. A woman fro the Deseret newspaper who was running the race interviewed me right before she start but I don't think that ever became anything. I can't find it online. I was really disappointed by that.  There was a woman from fox news that called me while I was running the actual race but it was too late.

From the airport we went to get a bite to eat at a good seafood place. Close by to the theater. I was invited to sit in and give my two cents to a workshop of some performers. We were pretty wiped out so we only stayed for half of the class and I was only able to give one cent. From there we took a drive to the condo in Park City. Beautiful area and scenery. And alot cooler than salt lake. I've been keeping an eye on the weather and it's been incredibly hot in salt lake. And of course rain was being mentioned for the day of the marathon.

We unpacked , got groceries,relaxed a bit but I had a show that night so we couldn't rest to long. The theater is really cool. Very old but spacious. Sadly, our audience was very small but they seemed to have fun. It helped that the performers were having a great time playing with each other and being goofy. It made fun for me too. About a 2 hour show. I was very ready for bed by the time we got back. Good night, Gracie!

Sunday
We walked around Park City and checked out the town. I wanted to go to bed early. The race  on Tuesday starts at 530am before sunrise. And I was going to need to start acclamating to the time. I was going to try to get up the next morning at 4am. We thought we would need to take one of the offered shuttle busses to the start line. Which would mean getting to the shuttle about 3 am tuesday.  My nerves were starting to get to me. I was trying to sleep while Deborah was next to me watching her iPad or trying to do other activities like writing things down (not sure what she was writing) but after a few hours I had to kick her out. Luckily there are three bedrooms in the condo.

Monday
 I still didn't get to sleep for a couple hours. My brain wouldn't shut off. I even tried taking a unison and that seemed to do little or nothing. My alarm went off at 4, but I slept til 6. I got up and watched a DVD I brought with me called chronicle about a few high school kids that get super powers and how they deal with it. Pretty good movie.

When david was up and around we (he and I) got in the car and drive back to salt lake for the expo. It was the smallest expo I've ever been to. It reminded me of a yard sale. I was able to get a special parking pass for us which meant that we didn't have to take a shuttle! Awesome! That meant an extra 90minutes in the morning, hopefully, to sleep.

Before we went in the expo we met a guy that wanted to run 12 marathons in 2012 but got injured a couple months ago. This was going to be his first marathon back.

After the expo we got got some supplies and found a chiropractor to help adjust me and david for the race. He was very good and spenta  lot of time on us and took walk ins. Thanks dr Sean Mann! From there we grabed deb. we wanted to go to Olympic Park. Not too far from where we were staying in Park City. It was raining on and off that day. But we knew that Olympic Park had a bunch of cool activities, one of which I wanted to do, zip lining! I thought it would be perfect because of the overcast weather. But when we got there all the actives were closed, except bob sled. Ok, it's a bit pricey, but when are we going to be here again? THe woman signing us up asked we had back problems. I mentioned my bak issues, she seemed to mean more surgical type stuff. She said that there is 4-5 g forces on you in the sled. I don't know what a g force feels like . I asked how long the ride was, 1min 5sec. Ok I can handle that I thought. We had to sign a waiver where it says we can't sue if we get hurt. Interesting.

We drove up he mountain to the start of the bob sled. No lines. No waiting. The rain stopped. Seemed all good. The 4 of us, including the driver, packed in the bob sled with our helmets and we were pushed off. The couple seconds seemed fine. Then I started feeling his g forces she mentioned. We got jostled around pretty good. I started getting really nervous about my back. I felt a few twinges of pain and there was nothing to do but just wait for the end. Sadly, I couldn't fully enjoy the ride, I couldn't see anything and I was so focused on trying not to get hurt that it was a bit of a let down. I'll take a fun roller coaster over hat any day. If you're in Olympic park, I would skip the bob sled. Deb seemed to really like it though. I think david did too.

Pasta dinner time! Deb and david made a great meal while I got set up for the next day. I went to bed early and I was sleeping in a different room by myself hoping not to disturb or be disturbed . But it didn't matter. I had the worst nights sleep (since my last marathon). I just can't seem to settle my mind before marathons. That's becoming the hardest part. The days before hand. The exhaustion. The worry, the fear. The stress. I didn't know all this was going to happen when I decided to do this. I thought at least it would get better along the way, but it hasn't. It's gotten worse.

Tuesday

Deb woke me at 3am. But I was already half awake. Here we go again. Groundhog day. I keep thinking about that movie. Love bill Murray and that film. But This a lot of work.

We took the drive to the top. We got a little lost but we got there on time thankfully. I had visions of us missing the start and not being abl to run. Which sounded terrible and wonderful at the same time.

It was black out except for he spotlights that were set up. Porta potties were lined up. Only about half a dozen or so. Lines were already formed for them. I decided we were in nature and so peeing in the woods would be ok. After my first time a ton of motorcycle cops showed up. And we're dispersed into the words. I guess to cut down on people going to the bathroom in the woods. I was suppressed they had nothing better to do. But ok. I'll wait til we get in the course for my next pee stop.

As I. Walked to the start to check it out I got stopped by that Deseret News paper reporter. She must've gotten one of the emails I sent out to people because she knew part of my story. She asked a bunch of questions and her photographer took a pic of me.

I couldn't find a camera man for this run so Deborah was my camera person. Thank good ness she was able to make it. She hates filming or taking pictures but she did it for me and I'm very grateful for it. Only about z500 hundred people ran the full marathon. It looked like even less. I had heard someone mention a 6 hour cup off. I didn't know there was a cut off for this race or at least I forgot. I guess it didn't seem to be a big deal. I thought I'd finish by my usual 5hr 30min average if not sooner, since most of it rk was downhill. How wrong I was.

We stated in the dark, but it didn't stay dark long before david started telling me about some light and colors forming in the sky. David had had a lot to drink that morning and needed to pee worse Han me. I was nervous about the peeing thing. Not for getting caught, but my last race was so uncomfortable because of a possible bladder infection? I still don't know what was wrong with me that day in seattle. Long story short, my pee for this race seemed to be normal. Thank you. :)

About 5 miles of it was downhill. Nothing super steep or particularly dangerous, although the roads were open and david and I were two people wide. Cars and trucks had to drive around us which got to be a bit hairy sometimes. Since I'm blindfolded I can only hope they see me, because I can't see them.

There was but of an uphill for a bout 2 miles. I ran up most of it. I think I was feeling pretty good. The altitude didn't feel like it was affecting me too. Much. Before I left for Utah I had come down with a but of a cold which, almost 2 weeks later,  is just about gone. I don't know if it was officially a cold, but ideas congested and stuffy and coughing and sneezing. I just kept hitting it with vitamin c.

Somewhere after toes 2 miles up it went back down with a surprising side street of about half mile up. I was beginning to get tired now. People like talking during running which surprises me. David is very friendly and has no problems talking with people and asking questions and all that but I'd much prefer to conserve my oxygen and energy.

I was feeling pretty beat up by the time the half way mark came up. Uh oh. Only half way and I'm ready to go home. That's a very bad sign I'd say. Deb was ale to meet us around mile 15 or 16. That was towards the end of the downhill. It would flatten out around mile 18 and run into the city. Now by the time I was on flat land the temperature was rising and I could feel it. It was hotter than any other race I've ever run. And I knew I was going to slow. I knew I wouldn't make that 6 hour cap unless I hustled. At mile 20 or so deb was there again. I told her this is really really rough. It didn't help that I had 2 pop songs that were played on the Howard Stern show that week. One by Katy Perry the other by Demi Lovato I think, it could've been by someone else. Either way, they were torturing me.

I was nt making that 5hour 30 min average.that thought was long gone. My legs were hurting pretty bad. I felt dizzy and thought I may actually pass out, maybe even need an ambulance. But that would mean not finishing and that was no option. I really pushed myself. And at points David even dragged me.

I started crying somewhere in mile 25 I think. So much going on. I had nothing left. My body was so weak. I country hold it in. It just poured out like a dam. Damn. Disappointment, regret, pain, my nephews, my brother, me, pregnant Liz Lucas smith with her first child a boy who she already knew has Choroideremia. My grandfather. Was I going to get my medal? My time? What did not making it mean?

We ran. Into a parade for pioneer day. Hundreds of people. None of whom I could see. We were running through them. Or really david was dragging me like a rag doll. At one point he pulled me hard in one direction, I learned later I was about to run full force into a poll. David screaming at people to get out of the way "BLIND RUNNER!!!" I guess that's what I am now. It says it on my signs I put on our backs when I run. Growing up, I never thought I would be either of those things.

We got passed the chaos and finally heard the finish line. I was able to run over it hearin the announcer recount my story. I thanked david and gave him a hug. Deb was there shortly after. I hugged her and cried all over again. She cried too and we held each other very tight. After we released I asked her to film me. And I cried again on camera talking about the race and how hard it was for me and how hard this whole experience is, not just the race or marathons but going blind, trying to bring attention to something most don't want to pay attention to.

I got my medal but I was almost 4 minutes beyond the cap. 6hours 3min 44sec I think. I'll have to double check the exact seconds.

Walking seemed like a terrible idea. But it needed to be done. Somewhere during the marathon, I developed I nice headache. I thought would go away with some food and drink. I wasn't even hungry which was a first for me after a marathon. I was forcing myself to eat and a bar and grill we went to. But I felt nauseous and full. I don't know why. David said he felt the same way. Maybe it's the altitude.

We drive back to the condo, packed, showered and headed off to the airport. Yup I had made flight reservations for the same day. At the time we were staying in hotels and I was trying to save some money. Plus the flight is pretty quick. At least I'll sleep in my own bed that night.

It took days for me to start walking normal. I took an ice bath the next day but maybe needed mer ice. My compression socks may have helped but it was hard to tell from all the pain.

Regardless, number 7 is done and now I focus on number 8 in Mesa Falls, Idaho. About 4 hours from salt lake city. Funny. I hope that one goes better.

My next three marathons will all be in a 6 Week time span. Can't wait til number 12 is done. I just can't.

Please donate at the above Paypal button. I'm so far behind on my money goal. You can also help me out on twitter and Facebook. Tell people what I'm doing. I need more publicity and if anyone has a contact at Guinness world records I'd like to talk to you. Thanks!

Best
Ej



I'm running 12 marathons in 12 states in 2012 blindfolded!
Check out my www.crowdrise.com/ejcurechm
Twitter...
@12marathons2012
@ejscott
7 down 5 to go!!
www.ejcurechm.blogspot.com
Next up, Mesa Falls marathon in Ashton, Idaho!
Www.ejscott.com (Work in progress)

Seattle!! Done!! 6 down 6 to go!!

Seattle
The problem started the Sunday before the marathon. So about 6 days. I had 15-18 miles to run for my big training run I do before each race. About a mile in , my back starts hurting in the spot it has always hurt. It wasn't much at first. I took a walking break and started walking again but my back wasn't getting better. I stopped after 3 miles. Uh oh .

I thought I could lay down and it would get better. I was wrong. I called a close by massage place and went over as soon as I could.

The woman , who has massaged me before, would hit spots my back that would make me wince. She told me I should take medicine.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I went to my chiropractor. By Wednesday I was feeling better but I haven't done the training I usually do. So I started getting very nervous.

Thursday

At LAX I did a radio interview in a toy store on my phone. It was very quick and I satisfying especially when you can hear the djs giving out slightly off info. Oh well.

I flew in to Seattle and was greeted by my cousin Brian. I was staying with him and his family close by in a town called Redmond.

I was already set to do a radio show so we basically went from the airport to the radio station. The interview went well. I forget everything what the station was or the name of the guy that interviewed me, but it went very well. 

I was all set to do my show that night at unexpected productions. Some very nice people spear headed by randy Dixon were volunteering their time, talent and theater to helping me.  Brian dropped me off around the theater pretty early. I found this really cool theater by the gum wall. Yes a wall of used gum. It's now a tourist attraction apparently. I was very early, too early so I went across the alley to a little bar/restaurant and ordered some food. I met my camera guy Anthony there who answered my Craigslist ad and was helping me out that weekend because he's just a good damn guy. I gave him the rundown for the weekend and what I was hoping to capture on film.

After eating I went over to the theater and started meeting my fellow playmates. The theater is a really nice theater complete with a bar area in the front and a big tech area and back office. Seats 200 people but sadly only about 10-15 people came to the show. That always saddens me. Mostly for the other performers. They were kind enough to help me and I know the feeling of playing for such a small amount of people. It's discouraging. But the show must go on!

The show and everybody in it was great. Except when I had to do a story in the style of Shakespeare. I bombed, but at least I got to tell an audience member later to stop yelling out suggestions during our Harold. I'm pretty sure that guy didn't pay to get in. Overall, a fun time was had.

Friday

I was still worried about my back and looking for a good nearby chiropractor. Luckily, because of yelp, I found one. Nice place, a bit of a wait and then the cracking began! Glorious!

The receptionist asked me about my cane before I left. She said her friend has bad eyes and is going blind. Sounded similar to Choroideremia. RP  perhaps? She mentioned that he doesn't drive but doesn't walk with a cane either. I suggested that he get one because his shins would thank him.

Brian and I went to the expo. Janelle my guide once again for the race, went on her own. She was staying with her brother who lived nearby and her parents were visiting too. Anthony met up with us so I could give him his press pass. Anthony does not drive and does not live directly in Seattle so he had to bus it in every time. What a trooper! And basically did this for no money.

Back at Brian's place, he had a full house that weekend. His wife, Lisa a obgyn, son Cameron, 9 I think, Kyle, 14 maybe?, niece Jenna, 18, and baby kaya. Plus me! Brian made a great pasta meal for me. And I needed to wound down early. And to get ready for the race the next morning.

I think the day before Cameron broke his thumb playing at a friends house. Poor kid. He seemed real down about it.

I started taking melatonin around race time to help me get to sleep. I took some before bed and fell asleep around 830pm. Perfect!.... Until...

Saturday

I got up to pee at 12:20 am I was happy to see I had about 5 more hours to sleep. I lied down and closed my eyes and waited and waited and waited... Before I knew it 2 hours had passed. Then another hour and another. That was it no more sleep for me. Trying to sleep before a race seems next to impossible these days. So I got up and started getting ready. Janelle had showed up the night before while I was sleeping and when I saw her she was just about ready too.

Suck it up, ej, I thought. No turning back now. Or ever. Your running 26.2 miles today on no sleep whether you like it or not. Oh and you'll be blindfolded too. Don't forget that, slim.

I had been keeping track of the weather all week and of course it threatened rain. I was sure of it this time. It was pouring on Friday. Buckets! Brian predicted that the rain would rain itself out and that we'd be good. He was almost right.

It was a nice morning. Janelle and I left our rain panchos in the car and made our way to the start. Anthony was there and ready to film. And Brian helped me get a few shots too.

I was told I could start at the front but one guy said I couldn't because it's too dangerous for what I was doing I told him its the opposite. He turned his head and let me stay. First was the cycle chairs? They aren't wheel chairs and they aren't handicapped people. They get let go early. I was hoping to get let go with them but it didn't happen. When they took off I was already blindfolded. Before I knew it we were all let go. At least the coral I was in.

It started fine. I was making decent time and feeling pretty good. Until I noticed I was needing to pee a lot. It was very strange and uncomfortable. Bladder infection was mentioned, but I think it was a combination of things, stress and no sleep being big contributors. This happened throughout most of the race. And it happened enough times that it was affecting my time and pace. I walked much more than I wanted to. There was one spot where we had to cross a two mile long bridge. I had to pee the whole time and if I tried running it was worse. The belt I wore, hydration belt, would push down right on that spot.

Yeah I know, too much info, ej! Believe me I would've preferred None of that happen, but it did.

The course had a few hills. One hill was incredibly and dangerously steep, but at least it was early on. I was able to run up some of the hills and walk up others.

I asked Brian to carry some spare clothes for me and meet us at the half way mark. And early on I thought that was a good idea. I had a long sleeve under the short sleeve and they were both getting soaked through with sweat. And it was making me cold sometimes and a bit uncomfortable. Brian was going to be ble to get us at the halfway mark due to traffic and whatever. So he met us at mile 18. Ok better late than never.

We got as much footage as we could. Janelle and I took some footage on our own and Brian caught some too.

As usual people were very kind with their words and encouragement. One woman even asked how she can became a guide for the blind. Janelle suggested contacting marathons. So if you're reading this and interested in doing that, give that a shot.

It ended up being a pretty nice day. Until about mile 23. I felt some drops at first and then it came,the rain! My first time officially getting rained on! It was fine though. I didn't care because I was almost done. Janelle however, was shivering, she was not enjoying the rain. The rain was good motivation for me to run a bit faster. I could've avoided the rain altogether if I ran my usual pace.

I crossed the finish line at 6 hours and 8 minutes. My second longest time behind Los Angeles. And the rain was coming down! Wow! Like buckets! Antony my camera guy met me at the end and took some footage I can't wait to see. He had an umbrella to keep the camera and himself as dry as possible.

Janelles parents, and brother met us at the end and brin was there. His wife Lisa came but had to leave when it started raining because she had the baby and wasn't prepared. Brian parked about a mile away so it was a long cold, wet walk to the car.

I still had the weird peeing thing for a while but was clerking up. And a day or two later all was good. I hope it doesn't happen again.

I was beat. We ordered pizza back at the house and I got some good rest in while watching the latest ghost rider movie on DVD. Nic cage is really crazy in that one.

My compression socks were great!

Sunday
The next day was the big improv show with Ryan stiles! Ryan was a big influence on me when I started improvising in the late 90s. It was hard getting a hold of home sometimes and getting some definitive yes's but it happened! He was early, he was cool, he was great from top to bottom! I was really excited to perform with him. And doing the form I came up with in 2004 called shootin' the shit. A single scene long form improv show set in a bar and using real beverages. We did the show at Wing it Productions/Jet City improv. A great community of people there. I asked for one of the best at the theater to join Ryan and I. I didn't know who we would get, but Doug willott was fantastic! And it was funny before hand he asked what improv backgrounds have. He was nervous cuz he didn't know if I was any good either.

A few local groups opened for us to an audience of over 100 people. I was excited to see Ryan do an improv show that didn't involve short form games. I think it went fantastic! I didn't feel like I embarrassed myself in from of one of my improv heroes. And Doug was amazing! The audience ate up everything we served. So fun! So worth all the trouble of planning this stuff. Awesome!

Afterwards I went for a celebratory beer with some of the performers and then Brian drove me back to his house. The next day I flew to long island for a family visit.

Follow me on twitter..
@ejscott
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It's a work in progress but coming together nicely.
Donate on the PayPal above! Or www.curechm.org

Thanks!! Next up Salt Lake 

FARGO!! DONE!! 5 down 7 to go!!!

Fargo Marathon! Done!

I'm listening to the new TenaciousD album. One song inso far so good :)

Before I even got to Fargo I was digging the vibe. A lot of Fargo-ans interested in my story and excited about helping me and my cause.

Jj Gordon was one of those people. I could tell even by his emails that he was on the ball. He was a total professional. And has his shit together. He runs an improv group named the linebenders in Fargo. And he was organizing a show just for me to play in and get money for the cause. Sounded fun!

I was also getting emails and phone calls from radio, tv and newspapers. Before I even got to Fargo I did at 6 interviews. My camera guys were unable to come to Fargo so I had to figure out how to get stuff taped . Debs manager had a contact in Fargo, Doreen, and Doreen knows Tony a local tv cameraman who would help me for free. What a nice guy he is! His help was invaluable.

David j wright was my guide for this race and that meant getting two flights and two rooms to stay I for the weekend. I waited too long to book hotels. B the time I was looking rooms were either gone or almost $200 a night per room. That was for Friday and Saturday. I booked two rooms for Thursday pretty cheap at an Econo Lodge. the marathon website said the North Dakota State University offered dorm space on Friday and Saturday. I saw pics and knew it would not be as comfortable as a hotel but I had no choice.ibooked two rooms. It was pretty in expensive. Especially compared to the sky rocketed prices hotels were for that weekend. Ok so accommodations were taken care of.

Markknutson runs the marathon and was a huge help. In trying to get me extra exposure. Even asked me to be a part of the Marathon press conference and asked if I wanted to address the runners before the marathon. Of course!

So things were looking pretty good except of course for the weather. Once again thunderstorms were threatening to soak us during the run. Here we go again!

Thursday
David picked me up at my house around 4am. We were flying Allegiant air which was the only flight I could find. Never heard or traveled with them before. But things worked out. It was a fine 3 hour flight.

Jj gordon picked us up from the airport. Nice guy. Gave me the rundown forthe evening. It was going to be a busy night. He gave us a recommendation of where to go for lunch. He dropped us off. We checked in. And I did a quick radio interview over the phone with Lucy! I'll meet her the following day for an in studio interview.

Lunch was at a hamburger joint called JL Beers. We had no car so we were reliant on the cabs. Our first cab driver was over half hour late and turned out he got lost and went to a different location. After meeting him it was clear he was a bit.... slow.

Fantastic beer selection and an enjoyable burger. I should say I'm writing this o June 12 while watching master chef. Writing my blogs take a very long time for me and I was constantly putting it off for higher priority things. But I'm gong to try to finish it tonight.

We went back to the hotel, david took a nap and I had no time for that. I needed up doing a o camera nervier. The guy came to the hotel and filmed me outside.

Before I knew It i t was time  to go to the fundraiser. Jj picked us up and brought us to the Fargo billiards bar and restaurant. Really nice place. Huge! Lots of pool tables  and a space in a room for a stage. Awesome! Jjs improv group the line benders are their own roadies. They set up lights and a stage and even had a two camera set up.

I was lucky enough through references to get a local camera guy for a news station, tony, to help me film some stuff. He was going to help me the whole weekend. For free!! I know!

I haven't improvised in a while. And short form even longer. I feel like we did a lot of publicity but only about 30 or so people showed p. oh well. They were a very enthusiastic audience and seemed to have a good time. I had a great time. The linebenders were tons of fun and really good people and performers.

I had a news interview live at 615 the next morning. And it was getting past my bed time. We hung out for a little bit after and then took a cab back to the hotel. I went to sleep as soon as I could.

Friday

I think I got up about 5am. I had to wake david up in his room next door. We were able to get some of the free breakfast in the lobby while we waited for our cab. We went to the fargodome and met with John. I real nice guy doing a live interview with me at about 615 or so in the morning. It was pretty short and sweet. But now david and I had a few hours to kill. That's right hours.

We checked out of our hotel because we were going to be staying in the dorms at north Dakota state university. That was offered to the marathoners. All the hotels were either highly expensive for the Friday and Saturday nights or all booked up. I haven't stayed in a dorm room in 17 years.

I had a radio interview a couple hours away and had time to kill. So david and I found a close by burger king to hang out at and waste time. I did computer stuff and david did his own thing on the computer too.

We caught a cab to a radio station  to meet with Lucy. She was really sweet and I enjoyed our talk. And she said she would make out with my girlfriend which I found interesting.

From there we took a cab back to the fargodome. I was invited to speak at the marathon press conference. My first. While we were there the expo opened up and we got our bibs and picked up supplies we needed.

The press conference was not exactly packed. It had some cameras and some reporters. The line up of speakers was interesting. A lot of athletes. Impressive runners. I had an opportunity to talk and tell my story and field questions. It was awkward and mentioned the awkwardness. :) but I enjoyed it and appreciated being there. I don't know if anybody wrote anything about me out of it and I don't know what happened to the footage taken there.

After that it was time to walk over to our dorm and check in. All the students checked out for the summer a week or two earlier. It was a decent deal they had going. Two nights for one room for $110. 2 beds. I got 2 rooms. The sucky thing was that Fargo was experiencing a bit of a heat wave. And the rooms have no air conditioning. So it was grossly hot and uncomfortable in the rooms. Checking wasa bit prison like. They give you a pillow case, 2 sheets, a towel and your key.

David went to sleep after ordering some sandwiches for delivery and I did some emails and phone calls and posts and yadda yadda. I think I fell asleep watching iron man in my iPad. And caught some zees. I asked the front check in if they could supply a fan. They did to my surprise.

Our pre dinner meal was going to be at the fargodome with the other unners doing the pasta meal. We got some free passes. We got to the dome and it was jam packed. David looked at,e and said lets go somewhere else. There was an Applebee's near by and we enjoyed some beer and pasta there. And then early to bed.

Saturday
I woke up before my alarm as usual. But I think I got about 6 or 7 hours of sleep. I was woken up in the middle of the night from the rain and thunder. It was set to rain for the race, but newest reports were saying we just may miss it. Tony the camera guy came prepared at around 630 or so. My race was set to start at 815 and I get to run 3 minutes earlier with the wheelchairs. And I was invited to speak on stage to the runners and tell my story. while tony was in my room filming me get ready it started raining outside. Pouring. It was short lived but made me quite nervous.

We walked over to the start line where someone did a quick interview with me and I went in stage and talked to a couple thousand runners. Then I took my place on the start line and put my blindfold on. Number 5 here I come.

The race went well over all and people were very kind while running past me and saying nice encouraging things. It's a flat course but lots of turns. I thought I would break my personal time for this one. I purposely pushed my self a little more than usual. There were a few scary moments where i was tripping over cracks or david himself. David even voiced that he was feeling sore during the race. He concerned me because he had never done that before. The finish line was indoors in the Fargo dome.

As I entered the dome I could hear the announcer talking about me and I could hear applause and cheers. I crossed the finish and tore off my blindfold. I wanted to know my time. It was 5:20:00. My 2nd best time behind st louis. Good but I was hoping for better. I think I pushed myself too much in the beginning and it slowed me down in the end. Oh well that's ok. I was happy I got another under my belt.

David, tony and I went to Applebee's and had a feast. I was invited to speak on stage at the after party that night at the fairgrounds. It was 2 bands doing 80s covers. We went to the dorms after we ate and showered and I even got a nap in. I hated waking up. So tired. Tony picked us up and drove us to the fairgrounds and eve showed me afew places hat I missed during the run.

The concert was fun. And between the two bands I got invited on stage to talk to the 500 drunk people. I have no idea if anybody was listening I could hear all of them talking that's for sure. But it was an interesting experience. Tony left soon after and david just kept buying me beers. I drank more than I should have.

We caught a cab back and ordered pizza. De ja vu. I spent my whole 20s like this. Late night beer and pizza. Blech. Thats how I put on 60lbs.

Sunday
Luckily I didn't have a hang over but I didn't feel awesome. We had a flight to catch but I really wanted to hit a few tourist spots jj told us about. When I go to these cities to run there's such little time to sight see. I called a cab and if all went smoothly we can see two good tourist attractions and make our flight but we needed a good cab driver.

We checked out and waited for our guy and low and behold! It's the guy that first drove us that was a little... Slow. Ok wellit seemed fitting to end with him. I told him the deal and the first stop was the fargo information center. He didn't know where it was. I immediately got on my phone and called another cab and told the guy thanks anyway. Another cab showed up within 15minutes, yes time wasted but the was good. Knew where we were going.

We went to he Fargo info center and took a picture with the wood chipper from FARGO the movie. Them from there we went to the Fago theater that luckily was unlocked. I asked someone there If I could take a quick pick with Margie, a wood statue provided by paramount I hear to the theater. David and I took pics with her. Ok great! Off to the airport. We made it with no problems.

Fargo was great. I hope to visit again sometime. Anks guys!

Seattle, wa is next! Please donate!
Www.curechm.org
@ejscott
@12marathons2012

Tell your Friends and family about what I'm doing. Thanks. 12 marathons in 2012

Ej



I'm running 12 marathons in 2012 blindfolded.
Check out my www.crowdrise.com/ejcurechm
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@ejscott
5 down 7 to go
www.ejcurechm.blogspot.com
Next up, Seattle, WA!

St Louis! DONE! 4 down 8 to go!!! Best time yet!

I'm sitting in my hotel room listening to the Howard stern show on my iPad. I have to check out soon but I was able to get an extended check out probably because the cleaning guy walked in on my room 2 hours before check out and there I was standing in my underwear. I even had a do not disturb sign on the door. He was more embarrassed than me, but I was kinda pissed. Comfort Inn? More like Dis-Comfort Inn. Slam! :)

Lots of things were scaring me and mind playing with me before the race. The likelihood of thunder storms, the massive rolling hills in the marathon, what about my body? Is it holding up? The LA marathon took me forever to finish and that was mostly flat. I wanted to have a fundraiser and it was going to happen on Thursday  night, thanks to some improv contacts I have in St Louis. But that all changed just 72 hours before we were suppose to hit the stage.

Back in January the great Bill Chott and some others were starting a plan of a big blow out of an improv show/evening for the Choroideremia research foundation. They were doing all the planning which made sense and was a huge help since I don't live in st Louis. But on Monday? Bill sent an email saying we lost the space at the Improv Trick theater due to some Shakespeare rehearsal or something? I don't remember. It doesn't matter we lost the space and bill cancelled the show. I didn't want to cancel the show, I wanted to find another space and a guy named josh was helping me look and a guy I knew from Chicago and lives in st Louis now was helping me get stage time at the Improv Shop. That had great potential! In fact on Tuesday  it sounded like a go for the fundraiser to be on Monday now. But less than a day later that changed due to renovations. We were back to not having a space and it wasn't getting any better. Theresa was suppose to be a part of the original fundraiser. I never met her but she contacted me and offered help. She knew I was just trying to have some sort of fundraiser in each city I was going to and her solution was an open mic night. The first one she suggested was Monday, but my flight back was Monday (originally I thought it was Tuesday but I was wrong). She and I and another kind soul would do a short improvised scene and I could talk about what I was doing. That's for Friday night open mic. More on this later. I'm getting ahead of myself.

I flew in around 4 ish. I called the hotel to send a shuttle. The hotel is only a 5 minute drive, but it took about half an hour and a total of two phone calls to get them to come get me. I think that second call did it. I checked in fine and the girl checking me in was set to run the 5k race on Saturday. My marathon was on Sunday. I needed to find a place to eat dinner. There's lots of junk food places around but I was hoping for something better before the big run. I walked a half mile or so to a Denny's which was scary because here are limited sidewalks and half the time I was walking on the side of the road. No street lights by the way. The only lights were from cars and the buildings around it. And it was getting dark. The weather was set to be bad that whole weekend starting Friday. For a guy that can't see well and even worse in darkness this was a bit harrowing. A Denny's menu is 99% unhealthy. The healthy part is highlighted and minimal. I got a chicken noodle soup and apple pecan salad. On my way back to the hotel I stopped in a gas station mini mart to get supplies ; water, snacks, bananas. I made it back to the hotel without being hit by a car, but there was one point that I thought I had turned into a driveway and it was actually the road. Cars flying by me. No harm just got my heart pumping.

I slept in the next day (about 9hours of sleep). Woke up around 8am and started planning the day. John my camera guy said he would leave Chicago (where he was staying) at 7 am and get to me between 11-12. Great. I'll start planning things for around that time. I had a phone interview with Kathleen Nelson from St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, that came out on Thursday? I think. I was contacted by Kathleen because she was contacted by Jay Epstein, a man who apparently was moved by my story and wanted to meet. His daughter, 6, has eye issues as well. The name of what she has makes the spelling of Choroideremia seem like C-A-T. But his daughter goes to a place called Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments and he was wondering if I'd like to visit there. I thought it would be great to see kids at this place I think would really motivate me. I'm a sucker for kids.

On top of that Marjorie had contacted me from a place called MindsEye on Twitter. And she invited me to come by and be interviewed. MindsEye is a radio station for the blind. My grandfather was blind and always listened to books on tape and the radio. I thought it was a great thing.

Both of these places were a bit out of the way for a guy who doesn't drive anymore and is unfamiliar with the area. So I needed my camera guy to drive me. But he ended up leaving Chicago over an hour later than expected and then he hit traffic. So now he didn't show up until 2pm. I jumped in the car and went over to MindsEye first. The weather was getting bad. Dark clouds, scattered blankets of rain, heavy winds.

(Im on the plane now on my way back to LA.)

We met marjorie and Tom. I asked them some questions about what they do there. It was pretty interesting. They have over 200 volunteers that come in at different times and read.  Read newspapers, books, you name it. Met an older gentleman named bob who had just finished reading the comics of a newspaper. He's been doing it for 15 years if I recall correctly.  Tom brought me in for about a ten minute interview. And off we went to meet the epsteins at 4 pm ish.

Unfortunately that day there were no classes going on but jay made sure I'd be able to meet his wife, deedee or maybe dede? a former runner herself and their adorable 6 year old daughter Margot. Debbie met with us too. She helps run the place. The outside of the building is nothing special but inside is quite impressive. Beautiful , clean space for kids with vision problems to come and learn Braille and so much more. They had books on bullying and being different. Important nowadays. Some of the hardest years for kids are those middle school years. They were for me anyway. Margot could see without the aid of a cane but from what her mom told me she couldn't see everything all the time. But at least her vision won't get worse. What she has isn't degenerative but it does leave her a bit cross eyed and I think her eyes shake.

She seemed to be having fun there. She showed me a game where you talk into it and it repeats what you say back in a different voice. She got gitty when she was using it and showing it off. There was a dark room with a black light that lit up certain toys, mainly blocks from what I could see. That's so the kids can see it more clearly. A lot of clever things as we walked around. There was a play room that was almost like a workout room complete with a climbing wall to the ceiling, apparently the most popular amongst the kids. I climbed one once just last fall for the first time. And it's pretty exhilarating.

Jay (also a former runner) came late, straight from work. He was overly thankful to me. Saying very kind things to me about what I was doing. The reality of what I'm doing is far less heroic than it's being painted. But I appreciate the kindness none the less. What a sweet family though.

Anyway. It was time to go get Jennifer, my cousin from Syracuse, and my guide for the race back at the hotel. She flew in while I was at delta gamma. The plan was to grab her and go downtown near the bar I was going to be doing my improv show. The show was scheduled for 1030pm and I had a tv news interview the next morning at 6am. This was poor planning on my part, but things got turned around and I was trying to make the best of it, but I was dragging John and Jenny in on it too. And I felt bad about that.

We found a place called hard shell cafe. Interesting place. Don't know if I would recommend it. It was a bit loud, and oddly decorated. Harlequin statues, a fish tank in desperate need of a cleaning, uneven chairs and tables.. Ok whatever lets eat! we were all hungry and tired. By the time we finished it was only about 8pm. We went over to the bar to have a drink and relax, but relaxing maybe wasn't the best idea. The bar seemed small and was empty when we got there. I asked the bartender where the comedy was going to be and she pointed to a space in front of a jukebox. I stated feeling bad for dragging Theresa and her friend that was going to do an improv scene with me it his less than ideal space.  With a guy that was beat and mentally maybe just not present. Long story not quite as long, I chickened out and left a voicemail message for Theresa. Minutes later she popped in the bar. She was very kind and understanding and even bought me a drink. I left a stack of pamphlets about my story with her to hand out at the open mic and a guy at the bar heard about what I was doing and handed me $20. That was very cool. The bartender insisted I get on mic and give my "spiel". Ok. That a minute or two and that was that.

Off we go. It was probably about 10ish when we got back to the hotel. John going off to stay with his sister who lived close by. I was asleep by 1030 which was when I was suppose to hit the stage at that bar. The extra time was well used because I was up at about 430am.

Got ready. Washed my hair in the sink and we were out at about 5am. I was suppose to be there by 545. I was going to be interviewed live between 6-7. We got there even earlier. Ksdk 5 (NBC). Only a couple people around working at that time in the morning. Caleigh and Stephanie were meaning their stations at their cubicles. We could here police? Scanners constantly going. I don't what they were working on but they were working very hard. Caleigh was wearing cubs gear which was brave considering the cardinals seem to be very important in st Louis, but the cubs had beaten the cardinals the night before. Since I support chicago I support the cubs :) but in reality I know nothing about sports. I'm no athlete.

We were there very early which lead to waiting around. Finally I was summoned to the studio. What I found maybe most interesting were the cameras they used. Nobody was visibly controlling them. Like they were remote control or something. It was pretty cool. They put me in what I though was a nice waiting area with couches and fake books on a table, but actually it's their interview section. I got mic'd up and waited. While waiting their weather man talked about the weather for the marathon and how dry it's going to turn out to be. I had heard rumors the day be fore that it could've scattered and not as bad as anticipated. I've had rain scares for LA and Austin and now St Louis. It's a real mind screw.

Kelly Jackson couldn't have been more delightful to talk with. And she took a second to take a pic with me. She was very cool. She even recommended a place called Rooster to eat breakfast afterwards. I'm hoping to get a video of the interview. Since it was live I haven't seen it. And I don't really remember what I said.

Rooster was closed when we got to it before 7. It opens at 8. Over An hour to kill. We looked for other places that might be open but there was nothing. There weren't even cars around. I wanted to try to print something out for the Gateway Arch so I thought we could find a kinks or something. The closest was like 20 miles away. Ok so much for that. I even tried calling ksdk to help, but they couldn't. We were starving but decided to kill time and drive some of the course and see how bad the course was and check out some of these hills. We didn't get to the miles that were the big warning signs by what I saw didn't scare me too bad. I was still worried about the weather. Was it going to rain anyway? It was raining quite a bit when we were driving around. Or was it going be too hot? Did I have hydration issues to worry about now? Why can't his be easier? Why can't me, my brother and my nephew not have this disease? Then I could just go home and watch the Soup with my girlfriend.

Rooster was worth the wait. Really good food. I want more, now that I'm thinking about it. But we had to hustle because now we were rushing to the Gateway Arch. I had bought tix online the night before for 930 reservation. I was surprised it was a bigger tourist attraction than I thought. There is even security metal detectors to go through. Really? Ok. After that there's a bit of a museum and and I saw a sign for a theater .there must be some movie about the arch beyond the short one they show before you go up. We were a little late, but it didn't matter. We went on the next tour to the top.

The elevator is interesting. Imagine the egg from Mork and Mindy, but squeeze 5 people in there. John expressed for the first time his fear of tight spaces. Awesome! I can't wait to make fun of him on he elevator. Actually I'm not crazy about that either, but for 4 minutes I can suck it up. It's exactly that long to the top. Me, Jen, John and a couple were in there. On the way up I told them about what I was doing and gave them a pamphlet. When we exited the woman handed the pamphlet back to me. I said she could keep it, but then Jen pointed out that there was money in it. $10 donation. Very sweet.

The top of the arch is a bit tight too. The windows to look out of are small. It was a cloudy day so some of the views were obstructed. It was cool though. I'm glad I went.

The expo was close by so we went to the VIP booth to grab our sweet bibs and shirts! Thanks to a guy named Brian he hooked us up with the VIP stuff. Which meant VIP parking and VIP area before and after the race. Plus he got me to the front of the start line. Which I never got to do before. I was really looking forward to that. The wheelchairs and I would be let go at 655. 5 minutes before the first group. The elites.

We walked around the expo a bit and a woman, Kim, at a table recognized me from that morning. She was really sweet. Her daughter and husband were on the biggest loser a few seasons ago and now write books and are motivational speakers. She told me the family has lost over 400lbs. I mentioned my own weight loss too. She told me to come back to meet Jen and Jay. I said I would. We made our way around the expo and ended up again at the Biggest Loser table. I was able to meet Jen and Jay very briefly. I learned they were doing the marathon but as a relay. And now we follow each other on Twitter :)

I was sort of planning to go on the Anheiser Busch tour. But we were all pretty beat. We skipped it and went back to the hotel. John went off to his sisters, Jen took a nap and I got ready. 

I ran 2 miles in the hotel gym. Which were surprisingly not easy. Was my body starting to rebel? Have my legs had enough? Are my muscles all like "Nuh uh, girlfriend!". Why are my muscles talking like that?

While getting ready in my hotel room I got a call from Talia Kaplan. It sounded like she got one of my emails I sent out a couple days before but it also sounded like she didnt know what was going on. She works for KSDK 5 in St Louis and wanted to meet up with me before the marathon. She told me it was her first time covering the marathon and asked me when it started and when it ended. Then she asked my how to pronounce Choroideremia. And when I mentioned I was running blindfolded and 12 marathons all of that sounded like a suprise to her, so I'm not totally sure how she found me. 




(I'm finishing this blog now on April 24th at home). The week is getting away from me and writing these takes SOOO long :)


She wanted to meet before hand for a live interview. Meeting before marathons is hard. I have a lot on my mind, I need to stretch and focus up an whats going to happen, and I dont know the area or the unknown, so Im not 100% comfortable meeting before the marathon.  But I'm there to get publicity so how can I turn it down? I can't. I said we will try to meet up. And left it at that. 


I got to talk with Deborah, my love, and tell her how much I missed her and love her. And vice versa. So that always means a lot. 


There was a local italian joint (im forgetting the name) and Jen and I took a cab there. It was fine. Got good write ups online and it served pasta and beer. Thats all I wanted to know. We split a pepperoni pizza and each had a small salad and pasta with meatballs. I had a beer or two and we took a cab back. 


It was about 6 or 630pm when I said goodnight to Jen. I went upstairs, listened to some Howard Stern on my Ipad, maybe watched a little TV and went to bed. Probably fell asleep around 8 or 9. Got up around 2am to pee. and had a hard time getting back to sleep. I cant be sure I ever did get back to sleep. I may have faded in and out for a couple of hours and eventually just got up. Again no need for my set alarm. John was suppose to be there by 430am to grab some footage of me but instead he showed at about 445am and by then we (Jen and I) just met with him outside. Pitch black outside and warm!! Surprisingly warm! I havent felt it that warm in any of my marathons so far at that time. I was starting to get scared that it may end up being too hot today. And I was already over dressed. 


No traffic getting downtown to the start. The VIP passes we got hooked up with helped get us closer to the start line. we parked at about 515am and just took it easy for a few minutes. The VIP area wasnt even open until 530. I texted Talia and told her I was there. She wanted us to meet at 545 to go live at 6am. I have to be on the start line at 640. 


We got out to walk and it was windy. Really windy. I left my pants in the car and thought i would hand over my wind breaker to John before I ran. Travel light. Sounded good. We made our way over to the VIP and used the private porta potties that already had waiting lines. Small ones. I was starting to get anxious. 


We had to walk over a block or two to meet up with Talia. i was getting a little annoyed and frustrated at trying to find Talia and possibly not having enough time to stretch and focus or enjoy the VIP perks of breakfast and liquids. I had only eaten a banana and a Cliff Bar for breakfast. 


We finally met up with Talia and her camera man. She promised to have me out by 610am. Great. Thatll give me just enough time. We did the live interview and then Talia wanted to interview me again for a separate segment. I felt like she was trying to put words in my mouth. THe cliche'd "Anythings possible" type thing. I dont know if "Anything" IS possible. Im not sure if it even is possible, that its a good idea. I get that people want to hear the inspirational sterotypes and I'm all for that, but I dont want to lie or say something that feels forced. So I danced around a few of her questions. It went fine though. Then she wanted to shoot some footage of me stretching there. That was not my plan and now its getting later than she said. I hate stretching on concrete, its uncomfortable and its not how I usually stretch but I didnt have my yoga mat and the grass was still wet from the night before. By the time we were done we only had enough time to make our way to the start line. I guy at the VIP tent helped us find our way over and Jen, John and I walked right to the front. 


The most intense runners were there. all the fastest people were stretching right next to me. I had more stretching to do and some time to do it. The guy that helped me, Brian Lyons, came up to me. Im glad he did because I was very grateful for his help. I would only find out how helpful he was in about 5 1/2 hours. 


It was getting to be go time. I put the blindfold on for the 5th time this year (half marathon included). And got prepared to run. I did a little dancing to "Bust a Move" by Young MC (I think) while i waited and thought about what others looking at me might be thinking?


The wheelchairs lined up and before ya knew it it was 655am! GO!! The wheelchairs were off and so were we. At least one or two steps before my extra water bottle fell out of my belt. Jen grabbed it and we were off again! What a farcical start! jeez...


The first couple of miles were surreal. No one was around except the people on the side lines cheering. And even that wasnt constant. But thats ok. Lots of long periods of quiet. But I started feeling like my muscles werent having fun. Usually the first couple miles of any marathon are the easiest for me. But not this time. Was I in for a rude awakening? I got lucky with the rain thing again but did I do something wrong in my training? WHat could I have done different? Doesnt matter now. A mile or two in the probable winner was passing me on my right. Little by little more and more people were catching up to me and passing me. Almost like a wave. And with that came the most amount of positive comments made to me in ANY of the marathons Ive ever run. Maybe because they were reading my sign on my back and maybe because of the announcement by the MC as I crossed the start line. Some mentioned seeing me that morning with Talia on TV. At a certain point saying "Thank You" was difficult. Extra oxygen Im not getting. It would come out more like "ank-oo". 


A few miles in I told Jen to start looking for a bush for me to pee in. I wanted to skip porta potties if I could for this run. They eat up a ton of time. Jen had an idea of bringing me off the path of the race (more than I wouldve liked) to pee behind a dumpster, but them she wanted to pee there too. Ah! No I see why she brought me so far. Fine by me. We were off again. 


The hills were rolling, up and down. The ups were steady but not unsettling and the downs were mostly subtle and relieving.  John popped up where he said he would. First mile 6. Then mile 10. My muscles somewhere along the course loosened up and I wasnt thing about pain or discomfort yet. But there was a problem in my intestines. Uh oh. This was a first. I told Jen to keep a look ut for a porta potty. I wanted to avoid them and she said she saw some with no lines on the other side of the course. Where people were going to u-turn at some point and come back that way. I told her i might wait and she urged me not to. She reminded me that we had 16 miles still to go. Okay lets do it. She lead me over to the porta john. I peeked throygh my blindfold to see what I was doing. It wasnt that bad yet. I did what I needed to do. there was still plenty of toilet paper. I had great wipes in my belt and i felt a ton better. 


Befre we got back on the road I wanted to fix anther problem I found in my sneaker. There something rubbing on my three small toes on my right foot. I thought it was a seam in the sneaker. I adjusted and thought that would be it. 


A few miles late I had to stop again and take my sneaker off. It wasnt fixed. Jen suggested putting vaseline on my toes to avoid chaffing. I did it and I found that the problem wasnt the sneaker but my sock. THe seam inside was rubbing and was going to give me blisters so i turned it inside out and the problem was solved. 


I kept expecting these enormous outrageous, impossible hills. I hit some in Austin and that took a toll on me. But these hills didnt feel like Austin. I dont know why. I couldnt see them so I cant tell if they were better or worse or the same. Maybe I was getting stronger? Is that possible? Why not? I would sure love these to get easier. After the LA marathon I was in a bad place because I thought they were getting harder. But the Hollywood Half I ran the week before gave me confidence. 


Well that was it. That was the end of the stops we made beside filling water bottles and walking breaks. That extra one that fell in the beginning i emptied in my belly and threw it out. THere was no room for it on my belt. 


The miles were clicking off, one by one. And before we knew it we were in the 20's. We passed the 15-19 miles that we were warned about moments before the race. They werent that bad. In fact I ran up most of the hills. But by the time I reached the 20's my body was feeling it. there were still more hills to deal with and sometimes i did some walking instead of running. But when we were going downhill or on flat ground we took advantage of it. The gusts of wind were a problem only a couple of times. Once my hat got blown off my head. 


Jen had the idea of dedicating the last few miles to my brother, my nephew liam and my deceased grandfather. All guys with Choroideremia. And then the last .2 for my baby nephew who hasnt been tested yet. That really helped me get through those miles. I thought a lot about them and even git choked up a couple of times. First for Poppy, the Kevin, then Little Liam and baby Aidan (who is 3). That last .2 i found some extra energy and sped up to the finish line!!! YES!!! 


Another one in the bank! And who was at the finish? Talia! Wanting to do an interview with me. Ok. She was by herself this time and had multiple tech issues. I was beat and needed to eat and drink something asap, but she was holding me up. Its ok though. I had a nice piece on me on the news that night that I watched. 


I got my medal. Thanked my cousin. Got some pics and we were guided back to the VIP tent. Where a nice woman named Nancy got me two beers. I met up with the Biggest Loser relay team in the tent. Jen had ran by at some point and said hi to me. It was nice to be done. And I found out my time was 5 hours 14 minutes and 32 seconds. MY BEST TIME EVER!!! I couldnt believe it. It seemed impossible. But it was true. My best time before that was Arizona in January which was 5 hours and 34 minutes. Im convinced that letting me run ahead of everybody is the secret. There was alomost no stopping due to congestion which is the biggest problem for me. Its less dangerous. Theres less people to bump into, trip over, Im not tripping over clothes that have been discarded. the cups I run through at water stops arent as bad. Its much better. 


We made our way back to the hotel. John was off to get back to Chicago and then LA and Jen took a shower and took the shuttle to the airport. She flew back to Syracuse that night. I spent a lot of time figuring out what to eat. I was famished. I settled on Steaks and Shakes. It was across the street from the hotel. I ordered everything to go. A salad, a burger and a soda. Later that night Id go to the hotel bar and get a few beers and hot wings to bring back to my room while i watched Celebrity Apprentice. And then I slept. 


I woke up at 10am and shortly afterwards was walked in on by a guy in housekeeping. He didnt knock and he ignored my "Do Not Disturb" sign. I had til noon to check out. Im not sure what he was thinking. I was able to get a late check out. I ate at Steak and Shakes again for lunch and took the 420pm flight back to LA where my angel of a girlfriend picked me up. (I mentioned this earlier) 


Surprisingly I was the least sore for this marathon more than any other i think. Not to say I wasnt sore but I had less difficulty getting around. 


Sadly, though Im far behind on my $12,000 per marathon goal. Im hoping I can make up some of this, but I need a lot of help. Theres a paypal at the top of this page where people can donate any amount. its all a big help. Please help. Please tell your family and friends what Im up to. Thank you so much!!


EJ
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