L.A. Marathon: I Did It

Oh my gosh, I DIT IT! I still can't believe I indeed crossed the finishing line after running 42 km/ 26.2 mi

At mile 20 I was dying and had my doubts ever reaching the destination although I was almost done: "only" 10 more kilometers to go. I was ready to just walk the rest but quickly realized that the pain was even worse (my calve and hip muscles were very much exhausted). So I continued running. At mile 25 I asked another runner whether we already completed the 25th mile or whether we still have to run it. The guy ensured me that we only had to go 1.2 miles. And that gave me a whiff of energy and I started to sprint. That's a least what I thought I was doing; it didn't look like a sprint for anybody else though. Eventually, I crossed the finishing line after 04:11:12 (chip time) ~ which I think is a wonderful result for a first marathon run.

Results
Overall place: 2286 of 20221
All female: 397 of 7830
Division place (35-39): 67 of 1007
[ place results may still change slightly ]
- - - - Pace: 9:35 - - - -
3 blisters
A huge amount of muscle pain in my calves.
Zero knee problems (remember: my knees where my biggest concern)

Mara (experienced marathon runner) and Jan (first time marathon) accompanied me that day. They finished in astonishing times:
Mara: 03:40:24 | overall: 764 | all female: 101
Jan: 03:46:35 | overall: 970 | all male: 839

Gallery [ pw required ]
Check results [ official marathon site ]
Course [ animated map ]