At last. Five hours after the tape is crossed, two friends finish the Cowtown Marathon
Hands held high, the friends crossed the marathon finish line together at 3:12 p.m. The 2020 Cowtown Marathon started at 7 a.m.
The course was supposed to close at 3:05 p.m.
Technically, the young, spry friends Kim Blake of Hurst and Denise Martinez of Arlington are The Biggest Losers of the 2020 Cowtown. What they did is as impressive as winning.
Winning a marathon is boring. Cliche. It takes a defiant level of stamina, endurance and persistence to be willing to finish last in a race that covers 26.2 miles. Finishing a marathon like this is a middle finger to pain and fatigue.
“We had to finish,” said Martinez, who competed in the female category, ages 65 to 69. “I don’t think we have ever quit anything.”
Nearing the end of the race, and aware of the Fort Worth police officers who were there behind them, it dawned on both that they may be in last place.
“You’re not last,” one of the officers told them. “A lot of other people quit.”
Martinez and Blake tied for last place, but crushed everyone who bailed. Per their “chip time,” this pair exercised on Sunday non-stop for seven hours, 36 minutes and 30 seconds.
What did you do with your Sunday?
The winner of Sunday’s race, Joseph Darda of Fort Worth, finished in two hours and 31 minutes. He was done, showered, ate and was on with his Sunday while Blake and Martinez were still on the course.
At varying points along the course, Blake asked Martinez, “Why are we doing this?”
And Martinez asked Blake, “Whose idea was this?”
Both reasonable and valid questions.
When Martinez and Blake crossed the finish line near Dickies Arena on Sunday, there were no fans to cheer. The entire course was in the process of being dismantled. The only people there were security, race officials and volunteers.
(And myself. This is an instance when cheering in the press box should be encouraged.)
Twenty minutes before they finished, one competitor ran across the finish line with a victory cigar in his mouth, while another asked aloud, “Oh, my God ... is it over?”
For those uninitiated to marathons, it’s hard to grasp just how much you can hate life until you have reached Mile 23, and are moving at the speed of an injured snail. Your body gives you pain that you never knew existed.
All you want to do is lay down and cry but the tears won’t drop because you’re too dehydrated.
When Blake crossed the finish line, she immediately said her left ankle hurt. It had been bothering her since mile 20. Mile 20 was hours ago.
Sunday’s race conditions were not ideal to run a marathon. It was cool in the morning, then the winds picked up, the dreaded sun came out, and temperatures climbed into the 70s.
The duo started the day running but as the conditions worsened, and fatigue set in, they alternated between running and walking.
Having run three marathons before, Martinez knew the routine. Sunday was marathon No. 1 for Blake.
Blake turned 65 last October and made the decision that after eight years of running it was time to train for her first marathon.
“I had done a bunch of halves before, but never a full,” Blake said.
Her advice for aspiring marathoners?
“Go for it,” she said. “And train better than I did. I didn’t, really. I just sorta got out there and did it.”
Would Blake do it again?
“Hell no,” she said.
But, “She will have bragging rights forever that she did it,” Martinez said.
They were both exhausted, while slightly euphoric. It was worth it.
Therein lies the reason they did it.
Technically they finished last but once Kim Blake and Denise Martinez crossed 26.2 miles, they won the marathon even if took seven hours, 36 minutes, 30 seconds and the course should have been closed.
