Well, it wasn’t pretty, but it is done.

Luckily, the weather was breezy and cloudy so the sun was not a factor.  It was still dark when we got to the start line and the buildings were lit up and the National Capital was covered in staging.  It had a metal fence around it, but the start line was alive with live music.

The minute I stepped off the bus I was accosted by a young man who wanted my shoes.  It is almost impossible to get shoes larger than the European size 40, so my 45 was a target from the start.  They had to slice the backs off of their shoes in order to make them fit.  I brought three pairs of running shoes with me and gave them all away tonight.  They met me at the hotel to get the shoes.  The young man that hit me up as I got off the bus showed me he finished the ½ marathon in 1 hour and 17 minutes and promised me next year – with his new shoes – that he was going to win.  I gave him my Boston 2014 singlet as well, and imagine it will be flying around Cuba for a while.

So…back to the race.  Even though it was cloudy and breezy, the humidity made it feel like breathing mud.  The first half was a normal pace and felt good.  At mile 17 I passed the hotel and Maria was out front with an ice cold Coke and a package of Oreo cookies.  I wolfed down both and looked twice at the hotel and listened as Maria asked me to just stop and said “no one will care if you stop now”.   So, I took the last sip of my coke as Maria gave the extra packages of cookies to some youngsters who were watching the waves break over the sea wall and the marathon.  The look on the kids’ faces was priceless because at first the parents said “no thanks” and then changed their minds and accepted Maria’s offer.  They were ecstatic.

The last nine miles were slow and steady, and with one goal in mind…to finish standing up.  The water stops and police were great.  They were out in the heat for a long time and were always smiling and waving.  Everyone at the water stops really wanted to talk and make sure you were getting everything.

Here comes the bad part.  The tour group had promised to give you a ride back to the hotel, but when I got to the finish line, there were no buses.  I ended up having to walk back to the hotel -which was over four miles away.  So, lesson learned!  Make sure you take taxi money with you when someone other than your wife offers you a ride.

I have a ton of pictures from the GoPro, but won’t be able to share them until I get back to the good old USA.  I will also send another blog with some observations of Cuba and the people of Cuba.