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Wittenberg faculty members Tammy Proctor (left) and Margaret Goodman are all smiles before their big race. |
Decked out in their finest Wittenberg Red & White, the Tiger trio was part of field of more than 45,000 runners that covered the 26.2-mile route known to be one of the fastest courses in the five marathon majors on an unseasonably warm Oct. 12 day that tested the athletes mentally and physically.
Their Wittenberg gear periodically brought cheers from the sidelines.
"We all wore Witt shirts, so there were frequent 'Go Wittenberg' cheers from the crowd, and an occasional, 'my brother went there!' or 'Go Tigers!' so at least some of the spectators knew Wittenberg," Goodman said. "It was also remarkable how many people were around to watch the race - live bands, Chinese dragon heads in Chinatown, ROTC drill teams, percussion groups, and people cheering the whole way."
The race provided frequent water and Gatorade stops every two miles. The runners received two "wet sponge" stops, a few occasional hose and open fire hydrants spraying water to cool the runners down.
"With an event of this length, the runners get pretty spread out, so it was unusual for me to be running along with so many other people," Goodman said. "For each of the three of us, I think the main goal was just to finish - and we all did, even with the heat."
Not only did she finish the race, but Goodman, who also teaches a fitness WittSem class that provides students with information on all aspects of fitness, qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon with a time of 3:56. She even found a way to incorporate her experiences in marathon running into one of her Wittenberg classes.
"As part of an evaluation of aerobic fitness for the class, the students did a relay," Goodman said. "They ran/walked a total of 26 miles on the track the Tuesday following the marathon, and they beat my marathon time by about six minutes. They ran/walked legs ranging from 0.5 miles to 2 miles each, taking blood oxygen levels, heart rate and blood pressure measurements both before and after."
Though completing the marathon was a significant challenge and resulted in some physical punishment, Goodman, Proctor and Brown are proud of their accomplishment. The Wittenberg faculty members were also pleased to have the opportunity to visit with Professor Emeritus of History Jim Huffman at his Chicago home during the weekend.
"Tammy and I were a bit stiff for a few days afterward - going down stairs was particularly challenging for me," Goodman said. "It was probably pretty entertaining to watch."
Written By: Lauren Johnson '09
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