TL;DR version: The Little Rock Marathon is called “the race for every pace” and it absolutely is. Even though my 7th marathon was the hardest one I have ever ran and my slowest marathon time, I had an absolute blast and would recommend this race to anyone who wants a challenge and a really big medal. If you want all of the details (or at least the ones that I can remember) keep reading.
I had originally planned to run Little Rock Marathon in 2021. My family (mom, dad, sister, brother in law, nephew, and hubby) were all going to take a road trip to Arkansas to visit my brother and his wife, and I was going to throw the marathon into the mix. As it got closer to the deadline to sign up and finalize our travel plans, we decided as a family that it probably wasn’t the best idea. COVID vaccines were still quite new, not all of us were eligible for them at the time, and both my dad and my hubby had recently had pretty major surgeries. About a month after when the marathon would’ve taken place, my mom died. We have all questioned if our decision not to take that trip was the right one. COVID was a confusing and frustrating time.
So in 2021 I ran the Detroit Marathon because it was U.S. only that year, and I didn’t run a marathon in 2022. I decided to sign up for Little Rock and run it in 2023, which may not have been the wisest decision. I had just started a new job in September 2022, and I had also just started my Master’s program. Marathon training was tough. I felt like I could finish the race, however I did not think I’d be running it very fast. When I signed up for Little Rock Marathon, I decided to sign up for the early start, which gave me an extra 2 hours to complete the race. Early start participants are considered to be in the “elite wave”, which will be the only time in my running career that I’m ever considered an elite runner.
“Elite runners” at the Little Rock Marathon are required to finish the race in no faster than 6 hours, and the course cutoff time for these runners is 8 hours. Going into the race, I felt like I could probably finish in around 6.5 hours. Going into the race, I was completely naive to what “1009 feet of elevation gain” meant. I definitely did not do any hill training, even though the course description jokes, “When asked if there are hills in Little Rock, we love to affectionately say ‘What Hills? It depends on your perspective.’ There are some bumps in the road, but life is full of bumps in the road.”
My friends who have run Little Rock will laugh (and they did when I texted them during the race) when I say that I almost decided to drop to the half marathon at the turning point because it was “too hilly”. I stuck to my plan to finish the marathon no matter what, though, remembering that my family and that big medal would be waiting for me at the finish line.
I texted a couple of my friends who had run the race before around mile 17, saying “y’all weren’t kidding about these MF-ing hills.” “Oh sweet summer child”, one of my friends affectionately texted me, “you haven’t seen the worst hills yet.” And at that moment I was walking/running a section of the race where I swear I felt like I would never stop climbing that hill. My friends assured me that what goes up will come down, and eventually it did. As they promised, I came upon a downhill section that was cool and shaded. What a relief! A relief that didn’t last nearly long enough.
Okay, I’m not doing a great job convincing anyone to run this race, am I? The race website says “The Little Rock Marathon and companion races are a running and walking tour of Arkansas’ capitol city.” And they are absolutely right. The marathon course takes you past several landmarks: the state capitol, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, and Little Rock Central High School to name a few. The course support, aid stations (mini bottles of Coke, pickles and sunscreen FTW!), and entertainment stations are fantastic. Every year the race has a fun, unique theme, and many runners and spectators alike dress in costume for the theme. And of course there is the giant medal you receive – the world’s largest finisher’s medal!
It may have been my slowest marathon ever, but I finished the dang thing. I was walking more than I was running at the end. My brother came out to run/walk me in, about a quarter mile to the finish. Seeing him gave me a boost of confidence that I so desperately needed. I finally crossed that finish line, grabbed that big ole medal, and made my way to the post-race party. My family found me and we celebrated 8th marathon finish with lunch.
I may have sworn that day that I’d never run that marathon again, but it wasn’t long until I started to think, “well maybe if I trained right this time…” so time will tell if I ever run Little Rock (or any other marathon) again. I’m glad that I finally did it, got the huge medal, and got to spend some quality time with my family.
RD on the Run 