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Easter Sunday of 2020 has come and gone, and I've had some time to settle and think about my virtual Pittsburgh Marathon. When everything began to come into play this year with the pandemic and Pittsburgh switching to a virtual option, I knew I would still find a way to run as well as continue to raise money and hopefully meet my goal for the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The goal was to reach $2500, and once met, I would run dressed as a viking. That soon changed.
(Video: rabbit on the go!)
The majority of us have been stuck at home for over a month now, and some of us (myself included) have been out of work for a few weeks as well. Because of these things it's been difficult to navigate through social media because of all the negative posts (among other things.) Heck, even recently we've seen the posting of senior pictures in a show of support for the class of 2020. There has been a lot of laughs and shared memories between parents and children, but as with social media, there has been a lot of backlash from it as well. But, why? It seems that when it comes to negativity those sounds always seem to be the loudest, but I'm not here for any of that. A few days ago I had mentioned how all I ever wanted to was to make people smile, laugh, and simply have a good time. I truly do. I decided then that no matter what I raised I was just going to go head and run my marathon dressed as a viking. Well, that too soon changed.
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| Now entering McKees Rocks |
Our friend Amy had mentioned to Edyta, that since I was going to end up running on Easter, I should run dressed as a bunny. Amy knows me all two well. (That statement includes all of my friends, really.) Once the bug is in my ear, it won't go away. Just like that, no longer was I going to run the marathon as a viking, but instead I would run as a bunny. Before I knew it, it was Easter Sunday, I was dressed to the nines in pink (including a loofah for a white fluffy tail,) and I was off on my 2020 Virtual Pittsburgh Marathon!
As soon as I stepped outside, of course it would be raining, because why wouldn't it be? That didn't keep my from running as it was supposed to stop and stay cool for the better part of the morning. I altered my original route a bit because I didn't want to end up running a 50k (I almost did.) It was also fairly early in the morning when I started so there were no funny looks for the first few miles. But then I got into The Rocks where I heard yelling from behind. "What in the **** are you doing? Dude, what the ****?" Great reaction from a bunch of teens in a car that probably should not be together at this point in time. But, who am I to judge? I'm a 47 year old man running a marathon in a pink bunny suit on Easter morning. They did take a couple of pics (who wouldn't) and I just kept doing my thing. That was the end of the negative comments.
(Video: Bunny On The Island)
As I started making my way down the back of Neville Island, the industrial side, the horn honking began. It was like having the roaring crowd of Pittsburgh with me as I made my way to civilization. Since the great Pittsburgh Bunny Hunt was on, I wondered how long it would be before I finally saw someone I knew. It only took 6 miles and an hour, and our friend Dave went driving by taking pics, as well as cheering. As I made may way through the Island I also bumped into some other friends (Sara and Danielle) who were also out hunting wabbits.
I was running across the Neville Island Bridge into Coraopolis as I heard some more frantic horn honking. It was my friend Mike who left the North Hills area just to witness the insanity. Who could blame him? I'm just glad he stayed at least 6 feet away! Most people prefer him that way anyway. (Kidding Mike!) We chatted a bit as I made my way to Montour Road in Coraopolis to head into Moon Township. Let me tell you...not my best idea! I mean, I've run that stretch of road before a couple of times, and voluntarily. It's treacherous! Just like milk on a hot summer day, this was a bad choice. But if Pittsburgh was going to have Forbes, I figured I might as well endure Montour Road. You'd think I would have the common sense to not run it again, but nope. Fresh out of that! My cup needed refilled years ago. I was at approximately the same mileage point anyway.
As I made my way up that hill past Our Lady of Sacred Heart, I heard some cheers from Molly and Dave who had just moved into a place there about a week ago. They had an awesome aid station set up for me, and since I was about 11 miles in, I took them up on some of their nutrition, including the carrots. Carrots at an aid station? That's what's up doc! Not gonna lie, it was probably the best one I've eaten. I'm sure that was the mileage talking but who cares? Carrots are yummy. After I thanked them for the assist, further up the street was a friend from high school, John Arnold and his family also offering up some water. I obliged. The suit was starting to get a bit warm.
I was hitting some of the tougher roads in Moon Township, and I decided to save some energy by walking some of the hills, but I didn't want to walk too much. I also didn't want to get into my own head because I was about half way through my marathon and it's usually at this point where I start doing just that. Thankfully, as it turned out, some more friends were waiting at the intersection of Thorn Run Road and Beaver Grade Road trying to get a look of some bunny running a marathon (see what I did there?) They had more snacks there as well! I stopped to chat for a few minutes, but made sure not to stop too long as I didn't want to stiffen up at all. We talked about how long I had til the next "aid" station, and it was there that I knew I messed up my route. If I was going to run home, I was in for an ultra kind of day. I didn't really want to run a 50k, but it was turning into that. Time to get my brain working on a back up plan.
Running through Moon was a lot of fun. I swear everyone that drove by me either honked their horn, slowed down to take a picture, or flat out pulled over to the side of the road to take one. People were yelling "Happy Easter" from their car windows (including Dan from my band as well as his son Matthew) or simply thanking me for their morning smile. I'm 16 miles in, 10 miles to go, and I was feeling really great! Next stop was Bryan and Amy's "aid" station.
As I made my way into that area of Moon, I ran into another friend from High School, Chris Lantzy, who was out for a morning jog of his own. We were able to chat briefly, but I had to keep on trekking. I heard music playing as I got close to B's house, but the closer I got, the more I heard the actual sound. Not only was Bryan playing along, dressed like the Easter Bunny, but the jag Rick Rolled me! I should have expected nothing less. It was pretty funny. Amy had plenty of great things at her aid station for me, and I took advantage of what she offered. 17.5 miles in, I needed the nutrition. I also needed cut.
(Video: Rick Rolled)
Now, I've had this suit for many years. "A Christmas Story" is my all time favorite Christmas movie, so why wouldn't I have one? However, it was getting hot and I still had just under 10 miles to go. I had to be safe and take any needed precaution because it was starting to get very warm out. So, as sad and heartbreaking as it was for me to do, I had Amy cut the legs and sleeves of my suit, turning it into a romper. I swore you could hear taps playing in the distance. But that was enough dilly dallying, it was time to go and I needed to keep moving! As I left their area, I bumped into Chris again who offered some nutrition as well as another friend (Linda) offering water. I felt I had all I needed to make it to the end and finish my race!
I made my way down Shaffer road (even with the road closed to cars) where Edyta called me to see where I was going. I had mentioned to Amy to have Edyta meet me at the Hassan Road spot on the Montour Trail, as I figured in my head that I would finish pretty much right there Heck of a guess folks! She said I was going the wrong way to get there but I assured her I would be OK. I told her I loved her and I would see her in about an hour.
I made my way down Route 51 where another running friend (Mickey) stopped for a quick picture and an offering of cookies, and I knew my finish line was just a few leg stretches away. There were still plenty of horns being honked, pictures being snapped, and "Happy Easters" being tossed my way, but I was not done yet. The heat was really picking up and I was at the Montour Trail head. With less than 3 miles to go, the sky cleared and the sun was shining down on me. It got really hot, really fast. I finally had no choice by to drop my floppy ears. It was a sad moment in time that went away the minute I saw my "finish line." I could hear the cow bells and the cheers from Edyta who was joined by Molly and Dave once more (all socially distant.) I had to put the ears back up! I started with ears a flopping and I was going to finish with ears a flopping! I was not quite done when I saw them so I had to do a quick up and back, but before doing so, I snagged a quick smooch from Edyta who assured me a beer was waiting for when I was done.
I had less than mile left to run, and there were way more people on the trail than I thought there would be. I did my best to avoid them at all costs, even running into the grass so that I was at least 6 feet from everyone. Thankfully I wasn't going to be on the trail long. Edyta met me at mile 26 so that I could do a shot for Bernie, and before I knew it, I was breaking the tape, beer in hand and all over my floppy ears. My 5th Pittsburgh Marathon and 6th overall, was in the books.
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| The finish line is in sight! |
(Video: Hop to the finish!)
It's amazing. A couple of years ago I thought to myself that there was something in the air, a buzz that made that second marathon feel extra special. This year, even virtually, there was something in the air once more. With all the horn honking and the impromptu aid and cheer stations, it truly felt like this was not a virtual race at all. It felt like nothing had changed and I was running among the crowd of thousands upon thousands of people. It was as if I was running the Pittsburgh Marathon the way it was meant to be run. Not once did I try to tell myself that I was never doing this again. Not once did I call myself crazy. I've done that every year from mile 20 to 25, non stop. Not this year. This one just felt....it felt like something bigger than me or you. It felt like it was something I needed to do for all of us. The feeling was just surreal to me. Even now, I'm still humbled and smiling as I type this. At times it felt like I had just taken the world by storm (or maybe just Neville Island. I'm not sure.) But whatever I felt, I just plain felt good. It was in part because of all of you. Whether you were on the course or cheering from home, the energy that all of you had provided that day made this marathon my most memorable. In fact, it made this marathon my favorite. This wasn't just my marathon. This was our marathon. We were in this together, from a distance. And that's the key here. No matter the distance, we were in this together. And for that, I thank you.
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| All done! |
Sinceriously,
No...hoppily yours,
Chuck Hull, The Running Bunny Jedi.
#teamlemieux #MOVEPittsburgh #rupgh #26miles26dediications #pittsburghbunnyhunt #SCRRSoloTogether
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| Time to begin |
(Video: Bunny hopping through the Island Neighborhoods)
(Video: Montour Road, warning: possible language)
(Video: Running Down Beaver Grade Road/Thorn Run intersection)
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| I will finish running down this trail! |
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| Edyta patiently awaiting my arrival. |
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| I spy with my eye, something pink. |
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| And here comes the finish! |
(Video: .1 left)
Just a couple of notes:
- It may not have been a first place finish, but running through and breaking a tape was an incredible feeling. Seeing others do the same thing has been a blast.
- When Bernie passed last year, Bryan and I did a shot at mile 26. Mile 26 will always be Bernie's and I'm going to do a shot every time. As soon as I did it, I looked at Edyta and said, "Oof, that did not go down well at all." About 10 minutes later, the shot came back up. And all I could hear was Bernie laughing calling me a you know what, but then give me hug.
