(see Ken Swab - Frederick Marathon 2006 for Ken's own report)

2+ miles @ ~11 min/mi + ~8 miles walking

Since I feel some vague sense of responsibility for suckering Comrade Ken into running his first marathon, I go with him to Frederick to cheer and photograph him during the event. The course zig-zags enough that by brisk walking and a little jogging I rendezvous with Ken at miles 1, 3, 6, 11, 16, 23, and the finish, and manage to get some decent photographs. Ken in turn has a superb experience and — the rat! — finishes faster than my marathon PR by more than 6 minutes. (In my opinion this calls for a severe thrashing, the next time I get him alone in the woods.) The only excuses I can offer on Ken's behalf are: he had geniuses for coaches and training partners (i.e., C-C & RM & me); he took special "food supplements" that Barry Bonds gave him; he is blessed with good genes; he had near-perfect weather conditions; the Frederick course is "easy" (compared to some of those I have suffered on); he got beer at mile 18, without even being carded; he disabled the competition by explaining US sugar import-tariff policy to anybody who tried to pass him; he trained hard (no fair!); he paced himself near-optimally (~2:20 first half, ~2:23 second half); he's incredibly lucky. Maybe all of the above. Just wait until his next marathon!