PeteW and I made an early-morning excursion yesterday to see friend of West and Clear Jeremy Schlachter run his first ever marathon. Pete got some photos at the start, and then joined me at the 13-mile mark where I was set to hand up some energy food to Jeremy, as well as electrolyte tablets and ibuprofen in case he needed them (he didn’t).

When eventual winner Keith Pierce came through the 13-mile point, Pete and I were blown away by both his speed and the gap he had on the next runner. He reached mile 13 at 1:15, and held that pace to finish in 2:34. He had a 10 minute gap on the next runner through at mile 13.

He ran every single one of his 26 miles faster than I can run one mile. Amazing.

Jeremy finished a solid 54th overall, and 8th in his age group with an elapsed time of 3:27. Here’s a Q&A we had with Jeremy after he’d had a chance to reflect on an impressive first marathon:

W&C: We thought the cold weather and wind might slow you down, but you reached the halfway point right when you told us to expect you. How did it feel out there today?

J.S.: I felt really great most of the way, better than I expected. I ended up achieving my goal of 3:30. I originally set a goal of 4 hours, but I’d been strong on my training runs, so I decided to challenge myself a little more.

W&C: You say you felt great “most of the way”… when did it start to hurt?

J.S.: After mile 13, I had planned to push the pace a little bit, which worked great until mile 22 or so. Right about then my legs decided they didn’t want to work for me anymore.

W&C: What was the longest training run you had done to prepare?

J.S.: 22 miles.

W&C: So with 4 miles to go, your legs thought it was time for a sandwich and a beer.

J.S.: [laughing] Yeah, I guess so. Now I know what to expect at full distance, though, which should help.

W&C: How long have you been running?

J.S.: I ran on and off when I was young, but after several years not running I got back into it last April. I actually started running to do Triathlons, because I’m a cyclist.

W&C: How long did you train for the Cowtown Marathon?

J.S.: I’ve been training since November.

W&C: 4 months? That’s not too bad… any tips for folks who might like to train for their first marathon?

J.S.: Give yourself time to work up to longer distances. Be patient, because it takes a while. It’s not hard, but it takes time and commitment.

Check out more of Pete’s photos of the 2008 Cowtown:

John Niederhaus, 28, of Albuquerque, NM leads Blake Bendarz, 23, of Lubbock around the turn at the halfway point. That lead wouldn’t last for long, though, as Bendarz finished in second place overall, and first in his age group.

Lawrence Macon, 63, of San Antonio, wasn’t the fastest runner on the course, but he looked like he was having fun, at least!

Dr. Riva Graeme, 34, of Dallas, was the overall women’s winner, coming in at 3 hours, 8 minutes, and 29 seconds.

Sarah Griffin, 30, of Dallas, came in second overall among the women competing, and first in her age group.

Tags: cowtown marathon, sports

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