When I looked at the Travelers Century Club country list many years ago, there were several “countries” on it that I had no idea where they were. I was more interested in visiting “real” countries, but figured this was an interesting list from a geography geek point of view as well I was trying to figure out where in the world Spitsbergen was…and around the same time realised that there was also a marathon here….the northernmost on Earth. Perfect coincidence, and I knew I wanted to do it one day!
Fast forward a couple of years, and the June race date coincided perfectly with my work and other travelers, so one afternoon in Hawaii with Matt and family we decided we’d all head up there in June to see what it was all about.
Unfortunately, the week after the trip in Hawaii, I woke up one morning with a horrid shooting/stabbing pain in the arch of my right foot. After struggling with it for a week I headed in only to learn it was plantar fasciitis – basically a nasty inflammation of the tendon/fascia under the arch of the foot. Probably the result of spending way too much time wearing flip-flops lately, walking on the beach barefoot, etc.
My plans for finally running a sub-4 hour marathon quickly went out the window, and I was only concerned with getting well enough I could walk/finish this race. I went through two doctors and a variety of failed treatments, before seeing a doctor who was a legend in the local running community. A marathoner himself, he knew I wouldn’t take no for an answer, and would do anything he could to get me to the start line. Continue reading »
