Ten years ago, I crossed the Palm Beach marathon finish line in 4 hours and 50 minutes. I have crossed over 50 marathon finish lines over the last 18 years. To greet me at the finish was a guy I struck up a conversation with about 2 miles back. From the finish line, I loaded up and headed to the airport.
I crossed that same finish line with the Handcycle a year earlier in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
What Happened?
As my hips deteriorated, I could no longer control my weight with a road bike. In 2005, after I sent a $1300.00 certified check to Wisconsin, a used Handcycle entered my life. That first labored mile and a half became a spirited one-hour evening ride as I terrorized the users of the recreation paths and neighborhood roads a few times a week. A year later, I completed my first Handcycle Marathon.
I explained to a handcycle racing friend that I was at a fitness level where I couldn't get my heart rate up with the limitations of the traffic and pedestrians on my training loop. He suggested the push-rim. The push-rim idea was outside the box of sanity. Back onto eBay, and in a Home Depot parking lot in Massachusetts, $600.00 and a vintage Hall Racer exchanged hands.
After a few weeks of looking at the beast, I decided to try a road in a deserted industrial park. It wanted to flip backward on the slightest incline and wouldn't stop on the slightest decline. The crown of the road kept pushing me into the curb. After a mile, I decided that a better decision would have been to take the $600 and buy a Rolex from a street vendor.
I adjusted the seat and replaced the two-fingered racing mittens with work gloves covered in Hockey tape. Slowly, I tamed the beast and eventually reached my goal of 3 miles. Now I could go racing.
Step one was to convince race directors to let me enter.
To this date, I am still waiting for a response to several inquiries from the big local running club. When I increased my search into Berks and Montgomery counties, I got some positive results. The biggest concern for race directors is what changes need to be made. The answer is none. Most 5k's are run by small local charities. Directors would seek guidance from the Timing company. Once Pretzel City Sports got to know me, it was never a problem. For many of the 5k's in Berks, Montgomery, and Lancaster counties, I was the first Push-rim racer they had ever seen. By the time of the New Jersey incident, I was training and racing 5-miles with the push-rim racer
In 2010, the New Jersey Marathon allowed Handcycles to race at full speed. New Jersey was unprepared for my speed. It became one of the most bizarre races I have ever participated in. Early in the race, an 8" curb had to be jumped. I made it; the racer behind me didn't. The course wasn't marked. I missed several turns and added extra miles to the 26-mile race. During the race, I flew through the open doors of the Asbury Park Convention Center at 15mph, dodging pedestrians until I reached the exit on the other side of the building. As I sprinted the last miles dodging pedestrians on the Boardwalk, they were unprepared at the finish line. Even with the extra miles, I easily won the race.
A nice award arrived in the mail sometime later, and I entered the following year's race. I then received a phone call from the New Jersey Marathon race director. His comment was, "We have a problem with you." I replied take a number and get in the back of the line. The problem was a change in the course. At my speed, I would slam into the main pack of runners at an intersection. He asked me to consider only doing the half Marathon. I understood the issue and agreed. However, a ½ Marathon in the Handcycle was not the challenge I was looking for.
That got me thinking. I did a 5-mile races with the Push-rim. Could I push myself to the 13-mile ½ Marathon distance in 6 months? I shared my thoughts with the New Jersey race director. Joe invited me to attend the New Jersey Marathon monthly winter training runs. New Jersey provided training routes up to 8 miles with no traffic. It was worth the 3-hour round trip to the shore. I entered and completed a 10-mile race two weeks before New Jersey ½ Marathon. On Marathon Day, I completed my first ½ Marathon with the push-rim. From then on, I started skipping 5ks in favor of racing longer distances. During one stretch, I did three ½ marathons in 4 weeks.
Racing is the one thing that can clear my head of day-to-day work issues. However, the one thing that kept bouncing around in my head was thinking about a full Marathon with the push-rim. The first plot complication was my left hip was deteriorating fast, and it was likely the cramped push-rim would be off-limits after a planned 2015 surgery. I would have a year to double my mileage. I was winter training at the Jersey shore, and five ½ marathons were on my list for 2014. With the planned surgery, this would be a once-and-done attempt.
The course I picked for my full marathon attempt was Palm Beach. The Marathon of the Palm Beaches is flat fast and my last race of the year. The Palm Beach course had an escape route as I would pass my truck at the 12-mile mark. Only my Achilles South Florida Track Club friends would know if I quit early.
The Palm Beach Marathon was always a favorite with the Handcycle. The race starts before sunrise under the Christmas lights of The West Palm Beach waterfront. Much of the race is on the waterfront, and it is in December in South Florida.
My race almost ended in the first 10 seconds as two handcycles in front of me collided. My fragile front wheel survived the impact, and I was off. I tried to do things like pace myself, snack, and stay hydrated. I was 20 minutes past my continuation time when I reached the truck. However, it was a perfect, warm, sunny day, and I was having the time of my life. At three hours, the runners were thinning out, and yellow heat advisory flags were posted along the course. The residents put out sprinklers and handed out bags of ice. At about the 24-mile mark, I was running out of gas. I was conversing with another runner who slowed up as much as I had. He decided we both needed to finish strong. The clock showed 4 hours 50 minutes when I reached the finish line. The amazement wasn't finishing 26 miles. It was that at 59 years old, I was still going strong at the 4:50 mark.
A few months after the 2015 surgery, I was back on the push-rim. A year later, I was back doing ½ marathons with the push-rim. I turn 70 next month. I have returned to Palm Beach several times with the push-rim since 2014. I now do the Friday night 5k and the Sunday morning ½ Marathon. Of the 100 finisher medals on my office door, I can always find Palm Beach 2014. The Handcycle and adaptive racing changed my life when I unpacked and used the Handcycle almost 20 years ago. Thousands of miles and a few flat tires later, I still re-live that sunny day in West Palm Beach every December.
