I Quit a Race in a Porta-Potty
The Mission:
When the rumor had been verified that the Tallahassee Half Marathon would indeed be changing its course after the 2015 race, Sarah knew it was her last chance to run the classic route through the city, following in her dad’s footsteps. She had cheered him on in the past while he ran the streets of Tallahassee, as a qualifier for Boston, and had always figured someday she’d run them too, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. The following year the course would be redirected from the flat flat flat path from city center toward the beach to a hilly tour of the city.
It wasn’t her first half marathon, so Sarah knew what to expect. She prepared in the months leading up to the race— running 3-4 times a week, and gradually building her long runs. She kept an eye on the weather, to make sure that February in Florida was going to deliver. She agreed to run the race with her friend, Jason, who had never run a half marathon before. She was confident.
The Attempt:
One week before the race, Sarah went out with some friends to celebrate her birthday. On her way out of the restaurant, she rolled her ankle on the curb and felt a shooting pain in her foot. When she assessed the foot, she knew it couldn’t be worse than a sprain, and decided to take the next week easy— I should be tapering anyway— she thought.
She did as little running and walking as she possibly could in the following week, making note of the dull ache in the middle of her foot, but trying not to think too much about it. I’m sure it will be fine after a week off.
On race day, she and Jason lined up at the starting line on the campus of FSU with around 800 other runners. The morning was crisp and cool, a perfect day to run in Florida. They set off with the rest of the crowd, finding their place in the middle of the pack. Sarah felt the soreness in her foot, along with the usual roaming body pains and twinges that cycle through at the start of a run. I will shake it off, she thought, knowing that she never found her groove until the second mile.
It didn’t take long for her to realize that wasn’t true.
The pain in her foot grew sharper and louder. I can push through this. I can do hard things. Sarah knew she shouldn’t be struggling to keep up with Jason’s pace, so she gritted her teeth and pressed herself to stay by his side.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Call:
A mile in, before they’d even left the FSU campus, Sarah admitted to Jason that she was in a lot of pain. And wondered aloud if she should keep running or not.
“You can do this!” Jason cheered her on.
She wanted to keep going. To share this experience. To prove that she was as strong as they both believed she was.
With a friendly dose of peer pressure, Jason asked, “you’re not going to make me run my first half marathon alone, are you?”
Sarah waffled. You’re stronger than this. You’re a runner. But the pain shot through her foot with every step.
When Sarah saw a line of port-o-potties on the street, she told Jason she was done. Her decision was made. Inside the plastic stall, she detached her race number and tucked it under her shirt before slinging her waist hydration belt over one shoulder to emerge not-a-runner. She limped away from the race course, trying her best to be invisible, to her boyfriend’s house. The whole way, she berated herself for quitting. She questioned her identity and abilities. She felt guilty about leaving Jason to finish solo.
The Aftermath:
About a year later, Sarah slipped on wet grass and broke her foot. When the doctor looked at her x-rays, they pointed to another place on her foot. There was remodeling from a previous break, they noted. What? No– I’ve never broken my foot before, she thought. But she had. On her birthday the previous year, tripping over a curb. A wave of relief, validation, vindication washed over Sarah in that doctor’s office. All of the harsh things she had said to herself when she quit the race were not true. She had been trying to run with a broken foot.
Sarah has since completed the Tallahassee Half Marathon three times on the new (hillier) course.
ADVERTISEMENT
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
- Trust your intuition: When she had attempted to run the Tallahassee Half Marathon, her broken foot had told her not to. She tried to ignore it, but thankfully wasn’t able to for very long.
- Nobody knows your body better than you do: Your friends may cheer you on because they know you can do hard things, but they can’t feel what you are feeling in any given moment. You have to pay attention when things just don’t feel right.
Advertisement
Christine Reed is a New Mexico-based trailrunner and thruhiker whose passion for movement and the outdoors were born after reading blogs about the Appalachian Trail. She believes that everyone's story can be an inspiration. She is the award-winning author of Alone in Wonderland and editor of Blood Sweat Tears. When she's not running or writing and reading about running, she can be found relaxing in the hot springs and trying to even out her sock tanline.