26.2!

"And coming in at a blazing 5:02:43, Christoph Schmidt from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!"

Ok, so it wasn't exactly "blazing", but I was able to complete my first marathon in Seattle on Nov. 26th. Larry Burris, my running coach, accompanied me along the course to keep me going. Thanks Larry!

The race went pretty well, all things considered. I started training pretty late, and had to take off the three weeks prior to the race to nurse achilles tendonitis, which flared up again at mile three! To make matters even more interesting, the race started in 33 degree, rainy weather, and ended in snow - hence my many layers. My goal was simply to finish - the winner crossed the finish line in less than half my time!

The picture to the left is of me crossing the finish line in Memorial Stadium. To see a video of Larry and me crossing the finish line, click on the following link:
http://www.marathonvideo.com/seattle2006/video.php?id=2253&view=2