A1A Half Marathon Archives

Running Horror Stories – Part 1

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Mar 8, 2022 | Article, Personal

Edited by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As runners we have all experienced the ecstasy of triumph and the agony of defeat. It could be the thrill of a PR, a surprising podium, the misery of bonking when you started too fast or just hitting the wall. Maybe the unexpected happened and we had to resort to creative, unorthodox measures that in retrospective we are not proud of, but at the time seemed perfectly valid.

Here are some of those stories. Somehow, I believe there will be more than one of these posts, so I added the “Part 1” to the title.

Sue Behrens
A1A Half Marathon 2022

Ft Lauderdale A1A Starting Line 5am.

With a medal but without a key fob

I like to run in a Lululemon skort which is a skirt with shorts. The Lulu skort is well designed with a pocket on each leg and that’s where I stash my phone. There is also a smaller zipped pocket at the center back of the waist perfect for keys and gels. Pre-race, like about everyone else, I get in line at the porta-pottys and that’s where things took a dive. Each line was at least 5 deep and once it was my turn, there was complete darkness inside.

As I pulled my skirt down, I found my bib was not only pinned to my tank but also to the skirt! I had to contort so I wouldn’t rip anything. Straight to business thinking I would re-pin once out of the porta-potty and back in the streetlight. When I pulled everything back up, I heard a bang and felt the seat ride up with my skirt. Panicking I felt for my phone and thankfully it was still in the side pocket. Thinking I dodged a bullet I stepped out and the next runner hopped in. I re-pined the bib and joined the crowd awaiting the start. While downing my energy gel I reached back to check on my car key fob and the zip pocket was empty. Unzipped and empty. Crap! literally crap as I realized that the bang, I heard was my car remote dropping into the pitch-black porta potty. UGH! Panic, what to do?

As race start was minutes away and the lines now doubled, I had no choice but to be positive and get the run done. The plan was to locate the Lost and Found after the run and then check each stall when the lines were lessened. Hoping that the fob fell onto the floor and not into the bowl. No such luck. It must have fallen into the bowl. No fobs were turned in, so I had no key. Thankfully, I’m local, one town south and my husband was able to grab the spare fob, drive it up and hand it off to me after the race. From what I have researched it going to be at least $300+ to replace, making this most expensive half marathon I have run!

Rube Urieta
Space Coast Marathon 2015

Kindness from a stranger at Mile 17

My first mistake was to believe I could run a marathon without proper training. So, needless to say my legs started cramping up after mile 13. This continued on an off. However, close to Mile 17, both legs cramped so bad, I fell to the side of the road. At that moment, many things came to mind, like am going to be the first runner to be picked up by the emergency golf cart, or can my legs unlock from this painful situation. And while this thought was rushing through my head, suddenly, a female runner stopped and asked: “Are you OK?”

After explaining my situation, she told me to open my hand. She proceeded to pull out something from her belt and sprinkled it into my hand. Then she told me to lick it and reassured me it I was going to be able to stand up and continue. Right there, I realized she gave me salt. The lack of sodium caused the whole situation.

When I tell my friend about my ordeal, they often ask me: how can I trust a stranger to give me something and just taking it so blindly? My answer is: “In this sport you know people, young and not so young, with diverse backgrounds and goals. Some of them have been running for years, some only for weeks. However, we runners tend to trust each other. And to that fellow runner that helped me out, back in 2015, thank you for spreading the sportsmanship.

Adolfo Salgueiro
NYC Marathon 1983

Another version of Seinfeld’s “The Marble Rye”

It was my second marathon and at 18, I thought I knew everything. So, I did not have breakfast before the race, never considering the 10:30 AM starting time. It was a cold and rainy day for an undertrained, young runner. Around 2:30 PM, being awake for about 10 hours and after 20 miles of running, I was starving. This was an era before gels and chews. So, as I was walking, defeated, down 5th Avenue towards Central Park, I saw among the spectator, a kid, maybe 7, with a big, hot pretzel that looked like heaven.

I resumed my running and approached the sidewalk, yanked the pretzel from the kid’s hand, and then ran into the crowd of runners as fast as I could so I couldn’t be identified or caught. I am not proud of this but somehow, I was able to justify the dirty deed. The carbs and calories allowed me to get a second life and finish the race.

When I ran New York 34 years later (2017), I thought of that kid as I was running towards Central Park. He must be now in his early 40s and hopefully has an interesting story to tell about cheering in the marathon.

There are plenty more stories out there that deserve to be preserved. Do you have one? Please email them in 250-350 words to foultips.running@gmail.com, or leave them as a comment here, and I will be publishing additional chapters of this saga, very soon.

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A Tough, Yet Successful Coaching Day at the A1A Half

by Adolfo Salgueiro | Feb 16, 2021 | Coaching, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

The expectations for February 14th were high. It was the first live race for most of us in almost a year. But the South Florida weather was not on our side. The temperature at the start was 77 degrees and the humidity was at 90%. Tough running for conditions any given day, so we adjusted expectations as we walked towards the beach to the starting line of the A1A Publix Half Marathon.

I had three running pupils in the starting corral. They came from different walks of life as well as individual challenges and race goals. Given the trying racing conditions, I am satisfied with the final results, and my runners have expressed the same. This makes for a successful day.

Yolmer G. set up a PR with 1:31:12… Now it is time to focus on his next two, 2021 running goals.

I have been working with Yolmer G (44) for a couple of years now. His goal was to run a sub-1:30 half. He just overcame a broken big toe earlier last year and was back in top shape. The 13.1 miles were not an issue for him. Despite a physically demanding job, he committed to the battery of hard speed workouts prescribed to work towards maintaining the 6:50 pace throughout the race. He came to the race with a PR of 1:32. Unfortunately, he spent the last week keeping a bout of plantar fasciitis at bay. Even though it was a tapering week, it messed up the final tune up process. By Friday he wasn’t sure if he would be able to run.

I crossed paths with Yolmer twice during the race and he looked strong, focused and with good form, which suggested the PF was under control. He passed the 10K mark within range of the goal, but the weather conditions took their toll, and a negative split was not in the books. His final time was a PR of 1:31:12. A success nevertheless, and with plenty of time to make up for those 73 seconds. After a rest period we are focusing on two other goals for 2021.

Sally K (33) is one of the most strong-minded people I’ve ever met. She excels in a high-stress job that demands a lot of her time. Originally, we started working towards a 4:20 for her first marathon. The goal was within range but a trip half around the world, two 2-week work trips, and a sick week, took their toll on her training. I have no doubt she could have ran a 5-hour marathon but at the expense of tremendous suffering through the experience. We talked about it and 10 days before race day she switched to the half.

Sam and Sally battled the heat and humidity to reach new heights on their running journeys. This is just the start.

Because of the constant interruptions on her training we could not work much on speed, so she ran on endurance alone. We planned for a 2:12-2:15 finish. The weather took its toll and yet she pushed through. She had a huge smile the two times I crossed paths with her. Finishing time was 2:14:38, ahead of 1099 participants and over half the ladies in her age group. Her 4:20 marathon is one solid training cycle away.

Samantha C. (27) approached me requesting assistance to complete her first half marathon in 20 weeks. She had run a bit here and there but nothing organized or recent. In her first week she struggled to complete 5K. She struggled with side stitches through the first half of the training. But she trusted the plan and followed it as close as possible to overcame self-doubt and realize she is indeed a distance runner. Our original plan was for a 2:30 finish. Two weeks before the A1A, we had a trial run at the Miami Virtual Half, where she surprised everyone with a 2:09:03 finishing time.

Even though an improvement of the previous mark was the A-goal, we knew in advance that weather conditions were playing against it. So the new race plan called for a 2:12ish finish unless there was anything left for a final kick. There wasn’t. At the finish line she told me she had nothing left. She gave her all to finish in 2:12:59. This young lady has such a bright future in running. All she needs is experience, the commitment is already there.

Personally, I couldn’t be prouder with the results of my trainees, especially under such trying weather conditions. So I take the day as a win. As an amazing day for the adventure that is Foultips.run. Thank you Yolmer, Sally and Sam for trusting my experience and guidance. I look forward to taking you all to your next running goals.