Story of a Star-Crossed Runner

Like many new runners, I suppose, I began long-distance running (April 2005) with the sole objective of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I ran my first marathon, the ING NYC Marathon, in November 2005 with that goal in mind. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I developed a tibial stress fracture 5 weeks before the marathon and was of course futilely instructed not to race by my orthopedic surgeon. I crossed-trained for 5 weeks, raced, and barely finished with a chip time of 3:49, clearly not deserving of Boston. I had just turned 38.

Since long-distance running was obviously hard on the body, I decided to give triathlon a try. I bought a bike and a book and DVD on swimming, and had a great first season in 2006, the pinnacles of which were two half-ironman races. With multiple triathlons scheduled into my 2007 season between April and November, a baby on the way in September, and a primary 2007 triathlon objective of completing the Vineman “Ironman” triathlon in August, I signed up for an early season marathon, the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, again with hopes of a Boston-worthy finish. That race was yesterday, Sunday, March 18, 2007.
US Airways cancelled many flights on Friday, March 16 and on Saturday, March 17, apparently due to inclement weather. Two of them, flying from and into two different airports, were mine. And Amtrak and Greyhound travel times were running greater than 24 hours. Needless to say, I did not make it to the starting line.

So, yesterday, on the day of “my Boston qualifier marathon,” I took matters into my own hands and created and competed in the inaugural US Airways Hometown Marathon. The race really is a triathlon of sorts in that all athletes must complete two other disciplines prior to running the marathon leg. First, two round-trip airline tickets must be purchased. Since you will not actually be flying anywhere, the destination may be any city outside your home state, and one of the tickets must be a full-fare first class ticket. Second, athletes must wait in line for at least 8 hours at two different airports on two consecutive days. Finally, competitors run the 26.2 miles on a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS-measured two-loop course of their choosing. There is no course support or race magic, absolutely no outside assistance is permitted, and runners must carry their own fluids and nutrition over the entire 26.2 mile distance. The course has not been certified by the Boston Athletic Association, yet.

As expected, there was only one finisher this year:
Elapsed time Official time Chip time

1. McClinton, Mark 3:18:21 3:18:21 3:18:21

Since I turn 40 this September, I just qualified for the 112th Boston Marathon in 2008. No, I don’t have a certificate or finisher’s medal; just a Garmin Forerunner 305 digital file that will never be erased. And I’ll always know that my efforts, and my time, were Boston-worthy.

Mark E. McClinton, M.D.
Runner, Triathlete, Physician

1st Retail Clinic

The first Polar retail event of 2007 in Miami went smoothly! Although quite windy, the temperature was comfortable. Shaunna, Kelle and I sat just outside the door of Mack Cycle and Fitness giving demonstrations of the CS200 and the RS400. Pedestrian traffic was steady due to the fact it was packet pick up for an upcoming race. People were immediately drawn the Polar table. They were eager to share their personal experiences with Polar products or just check out the new products we had to offer. Questions were answered with a smile and hats were given to those who had a great story to tell or posed for pictures!

Snowbird Century Ride

On Sunday, March 25th two members of Team Miami (Scott Ray and Mark Stoutenberg) braved the winds (upwards of 20mph - don't take your hands of the handlebar type of wind) for the annual Everglades Snowbird Ride. Unfortunately, Scott was way out in front and the two never got pictures together!! Actually, there were so many riders there (800+) that we never met up but proudly represented the Polar name!!

The one great thing about the Century rides put on by the Everglades Cycling Club is that they take you on a new route everytime! Just when you think you have seen it all - there is a 12 foot alligator at the 58 mile turnaround!!

Our 1st Marathoner of the Season

Josh running the "Yuengling" Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on Sunday, March 18th. Looks cold but it didn't slow Josh down in running a 4:08!! Near a PR Josh??

Team Miami Training Clinic

Mike Levin, a 2nd year "vet" of Team Polar Miami showing off his gorgeous bike which he won on the active.com Tour de France giveaways last summer!!

Our Florida tech rep, Paul Hinson, giving a demonstration with the footpod.

Kristi Shepherd, Bryan Spellberg and Mark McClinton chilling during the team training clinic held in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at the University of Miami.

A Team Miami PR!!

Last night (3/21) Bryan Spellberg smashed the Miami Polar 5k record with a blazing 18:02!!

Uniforms

Offsetting the stress of the store clinics, we all received our apparel yesterday. Much like last year, the clothing is really quite nice.

Personally, I am not one for the tight fitting tops but overall the designs are nice and the inclusion of the running gear is a really nice plus!!

Josh was surprised at how much clothing and gear we all received! While there is a lot of commitment upfront, there is also a lot in return!!

I have already received several emails about members being disappointed that they will not be able to race in Polar triathlon shorts.... maybe an appeal to the powers that be can change that??

Organizing Store Clinics

As part of our team commitments, we are asked to do 1 retail clinic over the course of the year. But at the start of the week we got an email that there were 4 clinics in the next 3 weeks and they needed staffing ASAP!! Needless to say, this provided everyone with a lot of stress as we scrambled to get everything together and organized. Almost there but man, too much stress!!