TOM JACKSON, 55, of Forest Lake, was training for his second marathon when we contacted him in April.
"I ran my last marathon today! At about 14 miles, I started getting shooting pains in my right foot. By mile 21 I had severe shooting pains in the balls of both feet. I struggled to stay ahead of the sweep bus as I was coming down Summit and the officials on bikes were kind enough to tell me that if I ran more than I walked, they wouldn't kick me off the course. I finished, barely, and have never had such an epic struggle to finish an athletic endeavor in my life. I now understand, although mine is on a much smaller scale, why climbers of Everest have such a hard time throwing in the towel when the summit (ironic, no?) is in sight.
It was my neuropathy. I developed the disease in about 2000 and have not run more than 10 miles since. It felt like I had open, bleeding blisters on the balls of my feet.
There is no point to me running that distance again. My goal is to finish strong at the Capitol next year in either the 10K or the 10 mile. I didn't like the specter of being ushered from the course and I would like to enjoy running down John Ireland at least one more time with a feeling of joy, rather than dread …"
Read Tom's pre-marathon thoughts at http://www.startribune.com/running-late-midlife-marathoner-tom-jackson-55/300827711/
BETSY GOMEZ, 57, of Chanhassen, had run five marathons — but the Twin Cities Marathon was the first she had run in 27 years.
"I ran the marathon with a couple of lucky charms — my 1983 TCM finisher T-shirt and a locket with my Mom's picture. One women yelled out, "Hey! I know that T-shirt, it's 30 years old!" I yelled back, "Yes and I'm still running!"
Here's what I've learned in training for and running the marathon: