The "Bandit" runner ! in the Calgary Marathon 2018...

Without specific training to complete this marathon in a competitive time I decided last minute to just join as a "bandit" inspired by a few friends from MITO Canada. Blaine Penny wanted to break 3 hours for the marathon pushing his son Evan who is in a wheel chair !! So, he recruited a few fast friends to help him on the endeavor and I came alone to experience first hand how a group of 8 super fast runner would do that ! Ciaran, Jody, Kevin, Jeremy, Richard, Tristan were the main crew, I knew that 4:05 was fast for me, so I didn't officially signed up for the race... hopping I could join for the first half and go home.
They started super fast at around 3:45 min pace and I was pushing hard to stay in the group, I got dropped at around 7k and could only see them ahead of me for the remaining of the race... Since I was already there, I was just focusing on catching them, was hypnotized by the ocean blue color of MITO's t-shirts and all I could think of was that I was running for those who can't, and today I was running for Evan !! will all my heart I was pushing him, sending him and the team good positive vibes all the way.
My running buddy Ken gave me a tip to stay energize, and I wanted to experiment that /
5 gels, taking one every 7k (100cal/each). I carried them as well as my two bottles of Vitargo which is apprx 250cal. Although I didn't feel like taking gels every 7k I stoke to the plan and have them exactly at 7k marks.
I believe they worked really well and kept me focused and with enough energy in my system.
   

 Since I was running "Bandit" I didn't want to use anything from AID stations, although when things got really hot I used a few sponges :-).
The Calgary Marathon is not a flat course... the first 20k are a grind... with almost 300mts of elevation gain. After that, things get slightly better, but with tired legs it is difficult to spin them fast in the downhills.
I was hopping to catch the guys at one point (never loosing my optimism) and was counting on their stop to do so, however with a 2+ min gap it was hard for me to do so..
Right before the turnaround point (probably 35k mark) I saw them coming back!! I got all pumped and high five them all for such an amazing race, yelled at them GO GO GO and kept going. When I turned around with 7k to go or so I knew I could still break 3 hours, I tried pick up the pace and stayed focused. I saw a girl walking in pain.. was cramping bad ! So I stopped and went back to give her a soy package I had to help with her cramps, didn't say much, just said "take this for your cramps, trust me" and kept going (I hope she took it).
In my last 5k I managed to passed to guys that went ahead of me at the 20k mark, I pushed them and tried to convince them to come with me, but they were done &^%$# I sure gave me a confidence boost knowing that I couldn't catch them for 18k and know I was leaving them in the dust @.

I crossed the finish line and saw the guys celebrating their accomplishment, great feeling, super strong team ! something to really admire/

Overall my experiment with the gels went well, my stomach was great during and after the race, no pee stops and almost a need for a number 2 half way through and the needs despaired with the lack of port potties in that section of the course..

It was a great experience racing a full marathon without even registering for it :-)