Bob Mann: 2021 Newport Marathon

Sun Oct 10, 2021

On Sun Oct 10 2021, I made my 50th start in a marathon, in 50 different states. This was the goal I had been working towards for 16 years. But it was not without its challenges. Over the Summer, I had been advised by a cardiologist to stop doing endurance athletics. Since I was a kid, I've known that I have a bicuspid aortic valve. It's a somewhat common occurrence -- about 2% of the population is believed to have this condition. As a result of this, there is some slight leakage from this valve in my heart. But I've been under the watch of a cardiologist for years, and I've always been told that I'm fine now and I just need to keep an eye on it. Well, the cardiologist that I'd been seeing for well over a decade suddenly retired, so I had to find a new guy. This guy believes that marathon running puts too much stress on the heart for anybody, not just someone with this condition. During a routine echocardiogram, he saw that my aorta was slightly larger than normal, and based on that he advised that I stop the distance running.

With one marathon left before finishing the 50 states, of course I freaked out a bit. I sought a second opinion, and then a third and a fourth. All the subsequent opinions told me that the first guy was being way too cautious and that there was no reason I couldn't continue on. I just need to keep up with my regular check-ups and make sure that nothing changes because of this condition. So I finally felt confident that nothing catastrophic would happen to me in Rhode Island, so I went ahead and took part in the race as planned.

So yes, Rhode Island. Why was Rhode Island the last state? Approximately halfway through this adventure, Maggie suggested that I save a nearby state for the last one so that friends and family could come and cheer me on. Not many people we know would be willing to travel to Nebraska or Idaho or some such place just to see me finish a dumb race. At the time, Rhode Island was the state closest to our home in New Jersey that I hadn't yet done. And with some friends and family already in New England, it made for a relatively convenient spot for people to get to. I think it worked our very nicely, since I had a great cheering section make the trip from various points in the northeast. I am very grateful to all who showed up to root me on.

Maggie and Jillian made the drive with me from New Jersey. We stopped in Connecticut to pick my mom up along the way, and we drove into Newport the day before the race. Our friends Michael and Chris made the drive up from New Jersey also. My friend Tony from high school drove in from Connecticut, and Dan from college drove in from Massachusetts. And Maggie's cousin Cathy came in from Connecticut also. So I had a very nice cheering section of a bunch of people that I've known for a long time. It was really nice.

The weather on race day was about as good as could be hoped for. Cool and cloudy, which is ideal marathon running conditions. I certainly had no complaints about the weather. I knew my time would be slow. Ever since the initial recommendation from a cardiologist to stop the long-distance running, I had been scared into going slower to ensure that my heart rate didn't creep up too high. So my training runs for the previous couple of months had been slower than before, and it stood to reason that this marathon would be slower as well. And I was perfectly fine with that. All I cared about was finishing this marathon and finishing state #50.

Thanks to the good weather, I was moving along at a good clip early on. Mile 2 was completed in 9:20, which is faster than I was expecting to go at any point in this race. I settled in to a pace between 9:30 and 9:40 for much of the first half of the race. The course in Newport was surprisingly hilly, and my pace varied based on the level of incline, of course. The first half of the marathon included a loop heading west from the start point, going through the downtown section of Newport. The halfway point was right back the start/finish area. I reached the halfway point in about 2:07, which is faster than I expected to be. I'm happy with that time. I got see my family and friends around the halfway point as I passed as well, which was also nice.

The second half was a loop that ran east. There were plenty of hills here as well. My pace continued to slow, as was to be expected. I had never really kept an eye on my heart rate during a marathon before, but I noticed that it was creeping higher and higher the farther the race went on. This, despite me taking more and more walk breaks. If the maximum heart rate that one is supposed to achieve is 220 minus age, I was getting quite close to that number of 170. I felt fine. Tired, of course. But no different than in any of my previous marathons. So all along, I was quite confident that I would make it to the finish line just fine.

There was quite a bit of walking and slow running in the second half. But I finally did make it to the finish. It was really awesome to have my friends and family waiting for me there at the end. My final time was 4:40:24, making it one of my slowest marathons. But I certainly don't care about the time. I'm just thankful to be healthy enough to make it there at all. And to finally be able to check off the 50th and final state from this long-time quest that I have been on.

Most of all, I am thankful for the folks that came out to support me. It really meant a lot to me to share this celebration with a bunch of great people. While the weather was ideal for distance running, it wasn't all that great for standing around for hours. So I am very appreciative that so many people were willing to hang around for me.

As for the course itself, I found it to be quite enjoyable. Newport is a beautiful town, and the course was very scenic. Despite the gloomy weather, the ocean views were terrific. It was certainly one of the more scenic marathons that I have run. The folks running the race were kind enough to provide me with Bib #50 to commemorate the occasion, and they made an announcement of my completing the 50 states as I approached the finish line. It was a very nice touch, and I greatly appreciate it.

So... that's that. The 50 state quest is complete. I could hang up the running shoes now. But apparently I won't. I am registered for the Rock N Roll Marathon in Nashville TN that will take place a little over a month from now. I had been registered for it in April of 2020, but it was canceled due to Covid. I was automatically rolled over to the April 2021 race, but that was also postponed. I found the small marathon in Memphis that I completed for state #49. But I remained registered for Nashville, which was finally scheduled to run in November. So what the heck, I'm already signed up, so I might as well go back to Tennessee and run again. Up until now, I have not repeated any states. Not only will Tennessee become the first state that I repeat, I will be running it twice in the same calendar year. At this point, I don't know if I will commit to running all 50 states again. That may happen, but for now I will just be focusing on marathon #51.

And now the photos. Click any image to enlarge.