The following first marathon story submitted by:  Scott Thompson Sr.

All my life, I have been concerned with appearance. Even though, I have always been athletic, the body fat count
was too high. Being a regular weight lifter and consistent jogger has afforded me the luxury of maintaining a
comfortable weight. As I started approaching the mid-life crisis age for men (34), I felt like I needed to make a
change in my exercise routine that would enable me to be in the best shape ever. The 3 mile jog was the limit for
my body up to this point.

Running was going to be the answer to my problem. I enlisted the help of a friend that had completed some
marathons and triathlons. With his advise, I started a training program that would enable me to complete a
marathon. Six months to the day, the gradual program of increasing my mileage every 2 weeks commenced.
Everything was going well until I reached the 20 mile training run. For some reason, I could never go beyond this
point.


Dec. 13, 1997, Mississippi College, Clinton, Ms:
6:00am
My running partner ( whose has completed the Mississippi marathon ) and I set gatorade and bananas out on the
Natchez trace slightly past the 3 mile marker. It is still dark and cold. The weatherman has predicted the largest
snow fall to hit the area in the last 15 years to happen on Saturday or Sunday. The sky is clear and the wind is
non-existent. The noise from my stomach tunes out the sounds being made by the various insect in the forest. I
haven't been this nervous since the first alumni football game against Gulfport H.S. 10 years ago. The "Big" 265lb
offensive tackle took care of all those butterflies with one good hit. What will take care of these marathon
butterflies?

6:30am
The Mississippi Track Club has been kind enough to allow some of the slower runners to start an hour early ( the
final time will have an hour added to our final time to make up for the early start). There are a few walkers and
half marathoners casually joking about the hard freeze of 2 years ago. Out of the 4 early marathoners, I'm the
only 1st timer. Always seeking advise, I'm full of questions. The reply- "Don't Worry" , take your time and you will
make it. Of the four marathoners, one has just completed a 72 mile/24 hour run, 2 weeks earlier and has duct
tape holding his feet together. Suddenly, I don't feel to bad.

7:00am
The gun goes off and my stomach doesn't feel any better. In an effort to stay abreast of the 3 old timers, I
stepped on the side of the road. Within 10 yards of the start line, a pebble has already found its way into my right
shoe. The veterans say they will stop and wait for me to take it out. I tell them its not a problem and lets keep
moving.

7:30am
The early runners have seperated from the walkers and make it to the first water stop. The size of the pebble in
my shoe feels like it has tripled. I take it out and the actual size of it is equalvalent to a dippin dot. Since I sweat
very heavily, I take to cups of gatorade and down them as fast as I can. Now, I have an ice cream headache.

7:40am
Even though the temperature is 32 degrees, I'm getting soaking wet from the polar fleece pull over I had
overnighted on Thursday. Did I dress to warm? The race director comes by and I wonder if it is proper to ask
him to hold my pull over. My partner suggested that I carry an extra pair of socks in a plastic bag. Also, I have 2
packs of gum, chap stick, 4 gel packs and toilet tissue.

8:10 am
We just passed the first Port-o-Let. I'm hoping I didn't eat anything to heavy the night before. Wrong Thought -
100 yards pass the john and I'm getting those horrible cramps. Should I turn back and go to the Port-o-Let or
should I keep going until the next one? My partner says he will wait for me. Once again, I don't want to slow
anybody down and suggest we keep going.

8:40 am
Everything is going good. My muscle on the bottom of my right foot is getting tight. Whenever possible I take a
chance of obtaining another rock just so I can get on the soft surface of the shoulder of the road.

9:00 am
I'm constantly checking my rear in anticipation of the runners that started at 8:00 am.
Suddenly, I see someone running past the last aid station without slowing down. Wow, how can they be going so
fast at the point in the race. Before I go over the hill, some young man flies by me ( later I found out he won the
race in 2:50). He asks me if there is anybody behind him. I look back and see 2 more road runners about 300
yards away. When I tell him this, he speeds up even more.

9:20
Finally, the turn around is up ahead. The tightness in my right foot and right leg fades as I get passed up by more
and more people. They serve as an inspiration for me. I've made the turn around and I'm seeing the fast runner
face to face. Once again, I'm so impressed not by the speed but by the age of some of these people. I give them
the "thumbs up" as they pass me and hope that I can run that fast some day.

9:30 am
My partners heart rate monitor keeps going off. He needs to slow down and tells me to keep moving. The first 13
weren't too bad because I had a partner. I've been taking glucose tablets and 2 cups of gatorade at every aid
station and feel okay.

10:00am
Everything is starting to hurt from my waist down. The people passing me up has dwindle downed to about 1-2
per mile. I wish my partner was here. My mind is starting to drift. To keep my mind of the exhaustion, I'm
scanning the country side for the 8 point buck that I saw earlier.

10:50am
The 20 mile marker looks so good. I've read so much about this "wall" and I'm starting to understand what they
mean. My partners told me to break the race up into segments. Just think, I only have a 10k left. There is only 1
problem with this strategy - I've never ran a 10k race. In fact, the only race I've ever tried was a 5k. Now, I'm
doubting myself. Maybe I should have tried a 10k and 1/2 marathon before I tried the big one.

11:15am
My legs want to quit. They are tired and burning more than I could ever imagine. Since mile 20, I've been walking
for 20 seconds at every mile marker. I'm trying to think of anything other than the ache in my legs. Maybe my
family will drive by soon. With this thought, I pick up my pace. As I go by the last aid station on the Natchez
Trace, I tell the ladies to be on the lookout for a big red suburban with a blonde head lady and 3 children.

11:35am
My mind has taken over and I feel a little burst of energy. I know I'm going to finish and want to beat the 5 hour
time limit. I don't want to slow down and let my family see me in pain. The extra pair of socks feel like 10lbs.
There is no way I'm going to stop now. But, I do consider throwing these socks in the woods.

11:40
As I turn off of the trace and get on the Hwy 80 service road, I see a red truck coming. Please let this be my
family. All of a sudden, I see 4 beautiful faces hanging out of the window. Yes!!! My family has made it. My
pace picks up a little more. Less than one mile to go and I'm starting to get cold. The North wind has started
blowing and the Sun is hiding. MTC volunteers are stopping traffic to let me cross the main road.

11:53
I can see the clock and try to speed up a little more. As I'm rounding the track, I can't see my family. Finally, I
see my daughters coming from the parking lot. The small crowd starts cheering me on. This feels so good. It is
like an adrenaline rush. The clock reads 3:55:08 + my 1 hour for starting early = 4:55:08. My 3 year old son comes
up and gives me a big hug ( Usually, he won't hug me when I'm sweaty). Even my 11 and 13 year old daughters
give me a hug. I feel like I just won the Gold medal.

12:15
My teeth are chattering. I realize I forgot my warm ups at home. In the trophy tent, runners are exchanging their
stories. One of the men that passed me up is celebrating his 60th birthday today. It has been 12 years since his
last marathon. Another lady has ran in all 50 states. Somehow my feat doesn't feel so big. Nevertheless, I'm
satisfied with my performance and have made up my mind to do an Ultra-marathon before I'm 35. I can't wait to
see my partners that never doubted me. My mind is running full speed thinking of ways I can recruit other people
at my gym to run a marathon. Yes, I love it.

12:30
The race officials start calling out the trophy winners. I'm so impressed with the times that I set another goal of
finishing in 4:20. All of a sudden, I hear my name. No, there has to be a mistake I tell the official. They forgot to
add my early start to my time. The official comes back and says I still get the 2nd place trophy. Seems to be that
there weren't very many people in my age division. Okay, I'll take it as a reminder of my 1st marathon and display
it proudly.