Claire Gunning
Opinion Editor
One marathon, something that this senior can check off her bucket list!
Mira Costa Senior Madison McDonald ran the Skecher’s Preformance Los Angeles Marathon on Mar. 19 and placed 14th out of 810 in her age division. The race started at Dodger’s Stadium and ended in Santa Monica.
“I wasn’t very serious about running until this year, my senior year, because now I have way more time in my schedule,” Mcdonald said. “I started looking forward to running, and was originally running to clear my head, which led to me running almost everyday so I wanted to set a goal for myself.”
Photos: McDonald during her marathon and running on the greenbelt.
During the race, McDonald had a time of four hours, seven minutes, and twenty-three seconds with an average mile pace of nine minutes and twenty-seven seconds. McDonald was sponsored by Skechers, which made the whole experience even more special, Mcdonald said.
“I am so grateful to Robin Curren because of all the benefits that being sponsored by Skechers gave me,” McDonald said. “Staying in the VIP room at the Dodger Stadium was awesome because I was surrounded by experienced runners who gave me advice as well as other first-timers who shared my same anxious nerves.”
To train for the marathon, McDonald ran everyday on her own. Although McDonald did not train with a professional coach, she ran consistently while upping her mileage as the weeks progressed. McDonald also enlisted the help of a family friend, Annie Seawright, who also runs with Costa’s cross country team, to help prepare McDonald with tips for the race.
“The longest run I went on before the race was 18 miles, because I had gotten sick and had to take a break from running for five days a week before the actual race,” McDonald said. “It was ok in the end because I was planning on running 22 miles the weekend before which could have been too tiring before the race.”
When McDonald first decided that she wanted to run a marathon, her family and friends were very supportive in helping her realize her goal. Her mother helped prepare McDonald directly for the race, by providing her with the essential food energy chews to eat during the race. Her friends also biked alongside her during particularly long runs.
“I was a little nervous when Madison announced five weeks before the marathon that she was going to run it,” Mcdonald’s mother, Tracy McDonald said. “When she ran by us at mile 19 with a big smile on her face, I knew she was going to finish and with a great time too.”
During the actual race, McDonald was accompanied by her parents and her fellow Sketchers sponsorees. Although she had no immediate friends racing alongside her, McDonald quickly made friends with the other people on the bus that took her to the race. She was greatly inspired by the people cheering on the sidelines, she said.
“I did the race all by myself and didn’t go with any friends so I had to meet people there,” McDonald said. “I was separated by my friends after the start line because there was just too many people going through at once, so I just went my own way.”
McDonald hopes to complete in more marathons in the future. Running alongside people motivates her more than when she runs alone, and she hopes to continue running in the future, even debating whether to join a run club while in college.
“I like being able to run on my own time and to be able to listen to my music,” McDonald said. “But, running with all of those people provided me with a great energy, and really motivated me because of all the people surrounding me had the same goal in mind.”
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