Our Race History at Route 66

I was going back through drafts and found this one I wrote shortly after the Route 66 half in 2019 and never posted. With Boston approaching, I thought this would be a fun time to post about our history at the Route 66 Marathon.

In 2016 I was so excited for the Route 66 Half Marathon, I went back and did a little recap post of all our races at Route 66 over the years. I enjoy going back and looking at it before we run the Route 66 race each year to be reminded of all the fun we've had. I thought since we've run the race 4 more times since I wrote the post originally, I should probably go ahead and write an updated post. There's just something magical about the Route 66 race for me. They've changed the course a few times over the years but I always have a great time! I've only had one bad experience at the race but that was my fault for running the full marathon while having bronchitis and a sinus infection, it had nothing to do with the race itself! I think part of it is it's being our hometown race, I just always have such a blast!

• 2006- Jeremy's first marathon, he finished in 3:19:43. I loved watching Jeremy race and couldn't wait for the chance to run the race myself. It was crazy to me that Jeremy was running for long enough we had time to watch him start, go to McDonald's to eat breakfast, watch him at numerous points along the course, and then watch him finish. One of the big memories of this race for me was Jeremy running around the same pace as a guy who was running in an orange banana hammock. I guess he lost a bet but Jeremy said no one wanted to run with him. Most people would speed up to pass him.

  

  Jeremy running ahead of the banana hammock guy.

  

  Jeremy finishing his first marathon.

• 2007- Jeremy's second marathon, he finished in 3:23:32. Thomas' first half-marathon and my second. He finished in 1:32:08 and I finished in 1:32:39. I remember Thomas passing me around mile 8 while wearing his shirt as a cape. I figured he would die when we hit the hills and I would pass him back but he rocked the hills and kept pulling further away from me. I was pretty excited to finish 5th overall female in such a large and competitive race.
  

• 2008- I ran my first marathon and Jeremy decided to run it with me. It was awesome to have him there with me! When we hit around mile 20 or so Jeremy started having stomach issues and had to use the porta potty. He told me to keep running and he'd try to catch up. He never did and I conquered the last 6.2 miles of hills alone. Back then the marathon course was flat for the first 20 miles and then the last 6 were all up and down hills. It was brutal. I knew from looking at the elevation map that it would be like that so I saved back a bit for the hills and was so thankful I had when the time hit. I finished in 3:40:05, qualifying for Boston. I walked back to see Jeremy finish and really started to worry about him. He ended up finishing in 4:27:31. He had to stop at the restrooms multiple times and had to walk some because his legs started cramping up. Thomas ran the half marathon, finishing in 1:34:40. He was late to the start because he was out watching us in the marathon which back then started before the half. He ended up having to pee on a tree because he didn't have time to go to the porta potties.
  

• 2009- Jeremy and Thomas ran the half-marathon, finishing in 1:37:31 and 1:43:05 respectively. I ran the most miserable race of my life, finishing the marathon in 3:58:04. While training for the marathon my goal was to break 3:40. Then race week came and I was sick. I refused to accept the fact that the marathon wasn't going to happen. I knew I should probably transfer to the half but was determined to run the full. I ended up having to walk in the second half and threw up as I crossed the finish line. I went to the doctor the next day and was diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection. 

• 2010- Jeremy and Thomas ran the half-marathon, finishing in 1:35:55 and 1:54:41. Ty and I were in Topeka for Paul and Amanda's wedding.

• 2011- Jeremy and I ran the half-marathon together. He hadn't really trained and I again got sick the week of the race. Training for a half or full marathon at the end of November as a teacher is rough because you are putting in long runs and compromising your immune system right around the time when sickness starts going around. We finished together in 1:51:40. It was my first time running the race as a Cox rather than a Hurford.

• 2012- I decided just a couple weeks out from the race to do it. I was 32 weeks pregnant on race day and had gotten the okay from my doctor to run it before I signed up. Jeremy and Thomas hadn't trained for it but figured since their hugely pregnant sister was running, they probably should. Jeremy finished in 1:32:10, Thomas finished in 1:47:39, and I finished in 2:19:57 (with a couple restroom stops).

  

  I was large and in charge on race day, lol! Ty was pretty proud he got pictures of me switching to a short-sleeved shirt mid race. My belly was much more impressive bare, that's for sure!

• 2013- We ran the Jenks half-marathon instead. I can't remember what we had going on race day, but something conflicted so we picked a different fall half-marathon. I ended up being so glad as the weather was terrible that year with icy roads and miserably cold temps. All my friends who ran it said it was awful.

• 2014- I was pregnant with Elise and decided to just run one half-marathon earlier in the season to make it easier on my body. We all ran the Prairie Fire half-marathon in early October instead. Mom, dad, and I all volunteered at a water stop during the race and it was an awesome experience. Seeing it from the other side made me appreciate the hard work volunteers put in to make the race possible.

• 2015- This was Ty and dad's first time running the race! They changed the course this year so it started and finished at different locations. Instead of just the last portion of the race being hilly, the hills were more spread out within the race, but there were also more of them! Jeremy finished in 1:34:17, I finished in 1:35:43, Thomas finished in 1:57:00, Dad finished in 1:57:12, and Ty finished in a PR of 2:08:03!
  

• 2016- I finished the half-marathon just shy of a PR, finishing in 1:31:49. I was bummed to miss a PR by 14 seconds, but pumped to have nearly beat my PR on a challenging course! Jeremy ran the race less than a year after his accident which left him with a fractured skull, femur, and pelvis along with a traumatic brain injury. He finished in an amazing 1:41:23, totally unbelievable! Ty finished in 2:50:43 after suffering stomach issues and spending a significant amount of time in and out of porta potties along the course.
  

• 2017- Jeremy moved up to the marathon for the first time since his accident. He finished in 4:20:19. I had intended to run the marathon with him but it didn't work out and I surprised myself by pulling out a PR and running my first sub-3:40 with minimal training. I finished in 3:38:58! Thomas ran the half and finished in 1:43:32.
  

• 2018- Jeremy and I were both back for the marathon. My goal was to run a PR but I really wanted to qualify for Boston and I hoped to be enough under the standard to actually get into the race because I had hopes of running Boston in 2020. I was able to do just that by breaking my PR by 13 minutes, finishing in 3:25:27! Jeremy outdid me by beating his time from last year by 35 minutes, finishing in 3:45:13! Thomas finished the half marathon in 1:37:11, beating his goal of breaking 1:40! Ty ran a huge half-marathon PR finishing in 1:58:12! It was a big day for our family.
  

• 2019- I decided to run the half since I would be running the Boston Marathon in the spring. I prefer running one marathon a year rather than one a season so bumping down to the half for this year just made sense. Thomas decided to run the full as his last ever marathon which he declared before the race, but stated even more surely afterward. Jeremy was also in the marathon and Ty ran a drinking challenge half which he and Thomas came up with the night before. Our cousin, Ian, travelled from Nashville to run the half and experience the race with us. I finished the half in 1:32:32. Ian ran it in 1:33:44. Ty took 14 shots during the race and finished in 2:26:27. Jeremy once again killed the marathon, knocking 8 minutes off his time from last year and finishing in 3:37:12. Thomas had a really rough last 10k and was forced to walk up all the hills due to severe cramping. He finished in a valiant 4:20:43.