Who has the worst marathon blowup story?

You are making me feel better about myself. My fist marathon was 1:23 for the first half and 1:27 for the second half for a 2:50. Over the last 10K, I was honestly hoping that a car would run me over.

1991 Atlantic City Marathon, 1:52:mid at 20, 54:10 for the last 10K.

1989 Houston. Around 40 degrees F and ground fog. I was trying to break 3-hours for the first time and it was my second marathon. I did a whole lot wrong and I can't remember which was worse. Wearing Thorlo Socks for the first time or not drinking enough at the water stations. My feet were one huge blister with all of the skin pushed up underneath my toes from the heal forward and I stopped at 24-miles to put some vasoline on my feet and couldn't get up. Meat wagon took me in with a body temperature of 90 degrees because of dehydration and hypothermia. Cramps in my legs were horrible until I got fluids in me via an IV drip.

Almost a year later I got my sub three when I ran 2:49 at Dallas after learning some hard lessons.

First marathon I was running 5:45 pace and felt good. Last three miles hit the WALL! 32 minutes for the last 3.2 miles! Ouch!!!

I hit the wall the night BEFORE my last marathon:

Chicago 2006 (the chilly one)--all set to go <2:45 after 3 20 milers, a 10 mile training run/tempo in around 58:00, etc.

Sooo, the morning before, I do my shakeout and strides, marvel at how I stayed completely injury free throughout my training, and then start to study for my biochem final that's coming the day after the marathon. As the day went on, I started feeling worse and worse, to the point where I was feeling dizzy getting up out of a chair. Met my friend who was coming in from out of down to run with me, then we did the expo and dinner. After dinner, I got back to my apt and got into bed, under the covers, and started shivering. 101.9* temperature, felt like absolute garbage. The next morning, it felt like the fever was gone, but wasn't feeling too great about running. Thanks to my buddy, I still went and ran the race, but went 1:30/1:50. My body was absolutely dead from the night before.

...AAAAAAaaand after that I had to go back to the biochem, still a bit sick and with legs that were absolutely killing me. How I passed that exam, I have no idea. On the upside, with shorter races, I have only run one race since then that HASN'T been a PR, so maybe SOMETHING good happened there.

There was a kenyan in Boston...2006 I believe, the year it went out crazy fast, who ran like 1:05 for the first half and finished in 5hrs or something ridiculous. I think he stopped to have some beers with the frat boys at BU.

It was mentioned on a couple websites and I think there was a thread here as well.

If anyone can find his actual results I think he would qualify for the all time best blowup.

First would go to Jim Peters DNF at the '54 Commonwealth Games Marathon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Peters_

(athlete)

Second would go to Gerry Lindgren when he claimed he was on sub 2 hour marathon pace up to 20 miles (that would be under one hour and thirty minutes), but quit.

Maybe someone more attentive to details can give us the year and location of this alleged attempt.

Third would go to me back in the 1970's on the east coast I reached 20 miles in sub 2 hours and called it quits because I was told a van would be by to pick up dropouts.

I waited and I waited on the side of the road (more than an hour and a half). An old guy (in his 70's) I knew came by and encouraged me to run with him to the finish. So, I jogged in the final 10K with him and we finished in something like 4 hours and 15 minutes.

The worst for me would have to be Boston 06 where I went out running sub 3 pace with the least training for a marathon, ever. Maybe 15-20 mile weeks, lots of treadmill running, and absoltely no one telling me how to train. I would jump rope, bench, squat, do plyometrics, and run 6 minute pace on a treadmill for as long as I could (actually did an hour once if my memory serves, but I was most likely looking and sounding like I was dying). I went out at like 6:30 pace, I hit the half around 1:35-1:40 and finished somewhere between a 3:45 and 4:00 (being a bandit, my dad was timing me but the start was screwed up due to the waves or something, I forget. After I finally bought a watch, I was still really new to running).

The second worse was at Charlotte in 07, I hit the half in 1:35 even trying to perfectly split a 3:10. The next 13 miles kept going uphill, with a final steep, steep 300M or so hill during the last mile. I've never been so exhausted and ran a shitty time - 3:33.

As far as the slowest mile in a marathon goes, I'm pretty sure I've " ran " about 11 minute pace for the last mile of a marathon. That was the longest mile of my life, I wanted to get hit by a car.