Thursday, January 12, 2012 was the beginning of what would become my most inspirational weekend as a runner. The Runner’s High Club arranged for Michael Wardian, an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier from Arlington, VA, to give a speech about his accomplishments, experiences and advice as a professional long distance runner. Not only that but how he schedules his time between a full time job and his family. I left the room very motivated to become a stronger and faster runner. I wasted no time and took the first step by running back home.
The Tornados Running Club had its annual Pre Houston Marathon Pasta Party. I put my culinary skills to work and prepared an Oso Bucco to be served on a bed of Saffron rice with a side of ratatouille and stuffed mushrooms. I got to sample a bit of all the other great dishes to get our carbo load on. The evening progressed and after participating in

The Tornado’s Traditional Tequila Toast

the Spaghetti Super Suck Off playoffs, votes were tallied for yearly awards and board members. I had one great race in 2011, a 2:48 marathon PR in Memphis, which impressed my friends enough to earn Most Improved Runner honors. Next, my friends showed their appreciation for the work and ideas I put into the club and voted me onto the Tornados Board as an At-Large Member. The evening capped off with the Tornados Tequila Toast.
After the party, Saturday morning came quick because many of us woke up early to volunteer for the Olympic Trials. We were proud that Houston would be in the limelight as the first city to host both the Men’s and Women’s US Olympic Trials on the same day and same course. I joined Tom and Anna’s crew in downtown, charged with maintaining course integrity and creating a swinging gate for the first inner loop of the course before the runners left to run the outer loop 3 times.

Anna’s going loopy over the signs

Droves of spectators lined the length of the course to witness a rare opportunity; the nation’s fastest male and female marathoners competing for 6 Olympic spots and represent the USA in London for the 2012 Olympic Games. The Houston Olympic Committee worked hard to make it a great success despite having to compete with all the sports coverage the Houston Texans Football team was getting for entering its first NFL Playoffs.
There were a few incidences that our team of volunteers helped clear. About an hour prior to the start, we heard an engine crank up and saw a plume of black exhaust rise from the underground parking garage by our volunteer station. Tom rushed to the scene and found a number to call building operators who soon stopped testing the emergency generators and the diesel fumes blew off course. A man
holding a protest sign for rights and advertising his organization was causing a raucous and refused to stay off the course. Eventually we alerted police and they put him into custody. A few vehicles managed to enter the course by exiting underground parking garages. We manned these driveways to control traffic and direct unauthorized vehicles off the course.

Tom and I are using our heads for this volunteer job

We successfully directed the male runners onto the inner loop then allowed them to pass the second time to run the outer loop. We closed the human gate again to direct the female runners onto the inner loop and opening it again on their second time by to run the outer loop. It was great to feel the power that the race was in our hands.
Tom and I tied our yellow Race Crew volunteer shirts around our heads, as a silent “Occupy Head” demonstration for not receiving volunteer caps. Anna commented that I looked like a giant cat toy with shirt fabric on my head and bells strung down my neck to make noise and cheer. We got to see the runners fly by 4 times. It was an amazing experience and I was honored to be a part of the success, showing that Houston is a running city.
I ran into a few friends at the GRB Convention Center while I was there to receive my packet for the Houston Marathon on Sunday morning. We wished each other luck and I jogged a mile or so to the venue where CDifferent was having its appreciation lunch. I had the privilege to meet and hear from inspirational vision impaired athletes and their great supporters. I believe so much in the opportunities that CDifferent provides for these athletes and the running community. I passionately received my packet to guide Brandon in the Marathon.

Finishing with Brandon

Maurice and I had the honor of guiding Brandon through 26.2 miles of the 2012 Houston Marathon. We navigated the dense crowds at the start, saved Brandon from tripping over ruts and edges of pavement, cheered for him along with all the other spectators and runners, read aloud the signs that lined course, brought him water from each station and celebrated together as we crossed the finish line. I heard many runners and spectators admiring his courage and strength and expressing how inspirational it is to see a blind athlete participate in an athletic endeavor that only a handful of people try to undertake.
The marathon however is nothing new to Brandon. He ran the 2011 Houston Marathon and later that year finished the inaugural Texas Ironman. His goal for this marathon was to qualify for Boston, which for vision impaired athletes is a finish time under 5 hours. All the training and races leading up to Houston indicated that this was certainly achievable and we targeted a 4:50 finish. CDifferent paired
four other blind athletes with guides, three of whom ran the full marathon. Brandon’s father would also be joining the parade and running his first marathon and his mother ran the half.
On race morning we all met prior to the start of the race and discussed for the final time the plan of attack. We wanted to run a comfortable pace the first 10 miles in order to set us up for the rest of the race. Then we would try to increase the pace for the next 10 miles and finish the last 10 kilometers strong. We executed the first 10 miles well, crossing in 1:55. Our pace slowed, however and we ran through the first half in 2:40. We quickened the pace to 9:40 minutes per mile and crossed 20 miles in 3:55. If we could maintain a 10 minute per mile pace for the remainder of the marathon we would finish under 5 hours.
Brandon knew to expect various CDifferent supporters along the final 10k of the race. Philip with Shama Cycles at mile 21, his sister at mile 22, Andy with Finish Line Sports at mile 23, and other friends dotted in between. Brandon was fading as the thermometer kept rising with the sun beating down on us. At mile 23 we stopped and Brandon embraced Andy to try and get a second wind. Rosie came back out to the course after finishing her half marathon and ran with us for a little to offer encouragement. We passed his dad on Allen Parkway as we got closer to downtown.
We slowed to a walk as we entered downtown under the 25 mile marker so that Brandon could try to regain his strength. In the final quarter mile, we tried running again, but unexpectedly he tripped and fell. Some spectators rushed over and offered their assistance. We continued walking up to the final turn. Cheers from the crowd filled us with confidence, allowing us to run the final straight away through the finish. We crossed the line in 5:15. It was short of our goal, but it was a 30 minute personal record for Brandon. Five minutes later we saw his dad cross the finish. Reunited, we had our pictures taken.