Last Christmas, I decided it would be fun to run a “bonus” spring marathon after Boston and before Memorial Day. I asked my husband to pick it out and surprise me with it, and he chose the tiny Ohiopyle Marathon in Pennsylvania on May 4, 2024, not quite three weeks after Boston.

Going into the marathon, I didn’t feel super confident, nor did I feel terrible. We had a tough day in Boston. I missed my goal of 3:15 and to be honest, even though I knew Ohiopyle was going to be a much flatter course with better weather, I still felt 3:15 was kind of a pie in the sky goal at this point. I just didn’t feel fully recovered. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Here’s how it went!

Before the Race: A Shoe Dilemma

I wore my Alpha Fly 2s in Boston this year and they beat the hell out of my toes. To be honest, I have not liked the 2s as much as I liked the OG Alpha Flys and I am nervous to try the 3s now. When I saw the Saucony Endorphin Pro 3s were on sale for about $120, I snapped them up, knowing they are popular with a lot of runners. I got them in the mail probably a week before Ohiopyle and tried them out a few times and they felt fast and comfy– but then I noticed a chunk of foam was missing from the outside of the right shoe! WTF? I still have no idea how that happened, maybe one of my cats started chomping on it in the middle of the night? Or it came like that and I didn’t notice? I was 95 percent sure this was a cosmetic issue, but still didn’t want to risk it during a marathon. So I decided to race in my Hoka Mach 6s. They are not carbon plated super shoes, but I still think they are light and fast. This was my first time NOT racing in super shoes since 2021. (Spoiler alert: This was also my slowest marathon in 3 years, but I think that was more due to not being recovered from Boston!)

We’re Not In Boston Any More

When I say this marathon was the opposite of Boston in every way, I mean it. Ohiopyle is a tiny mountain town in western PA known for white water kayaking and rafting. There is also a lovely rail to trail bike path that runs from Pittsburgh to DC, which is where the race was held. We stayed in a little place called the Ohiopyle Suites, literally 100 feet from the start line. How convenient was that? The race, as I mentioned before, was very small, though in addition to a marathon there was also a half, 10K, and 5K. There were only 44 finishers in the marathon! It was also VERY casual. The official race start for the marathon and half marathon was at 7:30, but the race director let people start any time they wanted that morning, Covid style, in case they knew they’d be on the trail for 6+ hours or maybe they just wanted to start early. I would say a lot of people opted for the early start, and it was hard for me to tell during the race who was doing what distance!

But I chose to start right at 7:30. The weather was pretty good, in my opinion — 50s and light drizzle. I’ll take that over what we had in Boston. That being said, I could tell from the first few miles this wasn’t going to be a PR day. I was running around 7:40-7:45 pace, and it felt decent, but like I wasn’t going to be able to go any faster, either. Oh well. Again, I knew that would be a tall order after having just raced a tough marathon. I ran a good portion of the first half with a young guy named Ryan, who was running his first marathon, and enjoyed the peaceful path through the woods. There were no spectators, but the path was open to the public so there were people out walking and cycling who cheered us on. I also got to “meet” Instagram friend Leigha out on the course and was so excited when she called my name!

This course was a double out and back for the marathon, which to me is the most mentally challenging course you can run. I was still feeling really good at the beginning of my second lap, and holding onto my pace pretty easily, but I knew the race was going to get a lot harder! And it did!

As I headed back out onto the trail for my second loop, my pace started to dip into the 7:50s. One mistake I probably made: Not taking in enough fluids. The race only had two stations with volunteers handing out cups of water and Gatorade. Since it was a double out and back, I passed them eight times and took hydration each time, but that wasn’t enough. The race director did put packs of bottled water at certain other points during the race to grab and go (again, Covid style!) but I hate running while clutching a bottle of water. I should have done it anyway! I also forgot to take a gel at the start, but did take 5 during the race.

I still felt relatively strong through mile 20, and then it was time to turn around and head to the finish. I started to slow down significantly around 21. In fact, I don’t think I’ve bonked like that since the Tidewater Striders marathon in March 2021 (also a double out and back!) Pace was now in the 8s and I really didn’t want to walk, but I did walk a bit each time I hit a mile marker. I also started doing runner math. “Once you’re at mile 22, you just have to run 3 miles and you’ll be at mile 25! Then you’re practically done!” At this point, I had no idea what my finish time was going to be, and didn’t want to look at my elapsed time, but I was guessing around 3:34. Still felt pretty confident I could finish with a BQ time and keep my streak alive, but I knew I wasn’t beating my Boston time.

By the time I hit the high bridge going over the rapids around mile 25.5 or so (what a view, by the way!) I felt like I was practically crawling! But before I knew it, I was passing the former train station at the end and saw my husband and my dad, and then my mom right at the finish line. Crossed the finish, stopped my watch and was shocked and elated to see 3:29:40 (official time was 3:29:39.)

I sat down for a minute, then asked about the results and the race director told me I was first overall female and gave me a plaque!

Again, small marathon, but I was still very proud! This was my 16th marathon and 10th BQ.

It might have been my slowest marathon in 3 years, but 3 years ago, I would have cried tears of joy if I’d broken 3:30. So — I’d say this was a win, in more ways than one!

What’s Next?

After running two marathons in three weeks, I am ready for some down time this summer. I am not even signed up for anything until the Annapolis Ten Mile Run in August, and I won’t start training for the Ocean City Marathon on Nov. 2 until early August. (P.S. I have a discount code for that race! Use RUNOCRAVE for 10 percent off when you register.) Currently I am focused on running easy and maintaining my base mileage of 30-35 miles per week. I am actually kind of missing following a training plan, but know that it’s good to take a break now and then. So that’s what I am going to do!