Oh the things you see--and do--at marathons...

This posting is dedicated to some of the extremely interesting things I observed and was involved in at my first marathon in Orlando at DisneyWorld. It has been 7 months since that semi-chilly morning and when I think of some of the things I saw and did, I can't help but laugh. Being the planner that I am, I did a lot of research about the important things for a race such as, what kind of hydration was available, what time to arrive at my corral, what the weather was going to be like, and most important--where were the potties! Visiting the bathroom is a necessity for us all--even Queen Elizabeth has to go every day--but if you know me at all, you know that I need to visit more than most so, the thought of running 4 hours without going to the bathroom was very disturbing to me.

Okay, so you can see where I'm going with this posting...Upon arrival at the race start, which actually wasn't the start but a gathering of the thousands of people-it was like 4:30am I think-no biggie to me-I am up by this time anyway-I look around first for the potties. People are standing around, some even drinking coffee, waiting for the cattle drive to the starting area. I used the port-o-pot a couple times before we began the trek. Knowing I may have to take drastic measures to be able to pee one more time before the race began, I had stowed some toilet paper in my pack of stuff. I was seriously prepared to squat wherever I was and had even played a mental picture of doing just that in my mind many times during my training runs. Yes, I am an obsessive person about some things. When we got to the corral area and started dropping people off, I thought, I'm sure there will be a pottie at my corral. Umm...well...no there wasn't. Oh no, I still had 45 minutes till race start! Me and the other shivering bodies are standing around just waiting and waiting. I am pretending to listen to my iPod but am really watching the other people to see who goes where to use the "bathroom" and finally, there it is....

Okay, picture this-we are on the highway. One side is blocked off and our corral is blocked by those orange temporary barriers. There are people standing like "guards" on the other side of the orange barrier but regardless, I saw people pull down the barrier, hop over and trot over to the woods. Even though it is 4:45-5am, there is plenty of artificial light. So, yes, you guessed it, they were using the woods...only they didn't go into the woods. I look and there is a line of people, men and women, in their respective positions, doing the necessary thing. I stand there for a little while longer and then think to myself, oh well here goes. I too jump over the barrier and trot to the edge of the woods and took care of business. "Apparently, there is no shame in public urination before a race" I think to myself. I almost laughed out loud.

Back in line and ready to shed my "throw away clothes" there is still 20 minutes and you guessed it, I need to go again. Now maybe it's a mental thing but it must be done, so I saunter to the other side of the road to be with a different set of people (I didn't want people to wonder what I was doing haha) and really why should I have cared about what people think-I had just used the bathroom in front of thousands of people, yet I still feel the need to watch to make sure they are going to the woods over here on this side of the road. They are, so off I go. This time I go back into the woods a little...umm...big mistake. I realize I have gotten myself into a brier bush and also have little sticklers (I don't know what they are called) all over me. At this point they have started singing the national anthem and I was trying to hurry and ended pulling a branch up with my running skirt. I started pulling the sticklers off and hurry back to the corral. The wheelchair people are off and here I am still pulling those sticky things off. I did leave the branch in the woods too. At the end of the race, I still kept finding those things and even found a brier stuck in my leg though I never felt it during the race. Oh, this is getting too long....sorry.

To end this story, some other bathroom things I saw: less than a mile into the race, a man runs off to the side of the road to pee-I could have almost touched him he was so close to me. Every second counts I guess. And the guy in the yellow compression shorts who was wearing a pair of Depends. The first time I saw him it was yellow shorts, the next time I saw him, his shorts had turned brown...I ran past him and never saw him again. Gross...

I promise all of this is true and I have not embellished any of it! Serious! And, I am proud to say that I did not stop at all during the race for the bathroom, woods, side of the road, or anything else. And no, I didn't use it in my running skirt either! haha! I finished the race in 3:52:17 and couldn't wait to get back to my WCA buddies and tell them the funny story of bathroom goings on. They love my running stories! Or they act like they do anyway...Thank you for sticking with me on this one. It was kinda long but oh soo funny!!

My next race is very close...I will be running the half marathon at Disneyland over Labor Day and guess what will be in my pack? Yep, toilet paper. Cause remember...public urination is perfectly acceptable at races! Too funny!

You know you want to comment on this one! Take care!