My First Marathon

The true story of Elton's first marathon as he reminisces on his life that got him to this point. Half way through the marathon, Elton faces debilitating symptoms and he ponders on quitting the marathon.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The Advocate for success, season one episode two. My First Marathon.

(00:06):
Produced by Elton Thomas.
Mission Advocate is a store on Etsy where you can buy apparel to express your advocacy.Shirts are designed by the producer of the Advocate for Success Podcast, Elton Thomas. Empowerment can be expressed through your apparel. Visit www.etsy.com/shop/missionadvocate

(00:35):
November fourth, 2023, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
At 6:45 AM, the national anthem was beautifully sung by a gentleman with a British Accent.
It was a picture perfect morning, brisk, and sunny.
At 7:00 AM, the race started for marathon and half-marathon runners.

(00:56):
As I walked towards the start, my guide, Gabe, let me know there was
a steep curb cut, then he let me know when we got to the
timing pad, and I took my first step to begin the 26.2 mile marathon.
I remember thinking, oh, my gosh! [pause x-strong]
Elton Thomas, was born with an eye disease, known as, retinitis pigmentosa.

(01:19):
He describes his vision as like, seeing through a ring.
There's nothing in the middle, and nothing on the outside.
So when I walk, things disappear and reappear, right in front of me.
Elton feels comfortable running in areas he is familiar with, however, when it comes to following
signs at race courses or running in new areas, he needs a little guidance. [pause x-strong]

(01:42):
There was very high energy in the first mile of the marathon as hundreds of people ran together.
There was a hill that went up about a 30 degree angle, and at the top of the
hill it turned right, and another, steeper hill, about 45 degrees, went up the rest of the hill.
Gabe, and experienced marathon runner, did his homework before race day.

(02:04):
The marathon is two half marathon loops, the first six miles of
the half marathon loop is hilly, and the rest flattens out.
Gabe and I walked up the steep hills to ensure that I my legs
would not burn out, and took advantage of gravity to assist in running downhill.
The day before the race, the running group I belong to, Achilles International St. Louis,

(02:27):
rented two twelve passenger vans, for our four and a half hour trip to Kentucky.
We were uniting with an Achilles chapter from Nashville to participate as one Achilles group.
During the long drive, I read several chapters of the book, Max
Starkloff and the Fight for Disability Rights, by, Charles Claggett junior.

(02:48):
Max Starkloff opened the first independent living center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The name of the center is ParaQuad, short for paraplegic and quadriplegic,
where I serve as Vice President, on the board of directors.
Max Starkloff was paralyzed from the neck down with limited control of his left bicep and triceps. He escaped institutional

(03:11):
living, and created an independent living center so that other people with disabilities can escape the institutions as well.
Max believed in something called, the independent living philosophy, that locking people with disabilities up in institutions is
wrong, and everyone deserves to live an independent life, not just people who do not have a disability.

(03:32):
Perhaps, my participating in this marathon, is an extension of that philosophy.
The night before the race, after we arrived at the hotel,
we went to the running expo at the local baseball stadium.
A pasta dinner from Pizza Hut was provided, and one of the volunteer ladies came to our table.
Bowling Green is a college town with a university with a

(03:56):
mascot named Big Red, and signs of the term, hill toppers.
I asked the lady at dinner if she could explain what a, hill topper, is.
She explained that it's someone who runs over the tops of hills.
The first six or seven miles were, well, hilly, and it sure did take a toll, on my legs.

(04:16):
My guide, Gabe, described the buildings as we ran through campus, and even described a log cabin.
The buildings looked old, however, appeared to be very well kept up.
After we traveled through the campus we ran the numbered streets back downtown, then through a section of alleys.
On mile seven we followed a main street, Fairview, where the course

(04:39):
flattened out for the next few miles, and through a residential neighborhood.
Then we followed Fairview back into town, where the first loop
would end, and mark the half way point of our race.
When we were about two miles from finishing the first loop, we
saw another Achilles runner doing the half marathon up ahead of us.
At this point I felt my legs losing strength, and becoming shotty.

(05:03):
My mind wondered to the book I was reading about Max Starkloff.
At the age of twenty one, Max became paralyzed in an accident
when his sportscar flipped over, and he could not feel anything.
When word got out about the accident, many of his friends came to the scene, and
as Max was being put into the ambulance, he kept shouting the words, pray out loud.

(05:26):
I asked my Achilles team mate to pray for me when he finished
his half marathon, and then started thinking about my running journey. [pause x-strong]
In 2016, Elton was doing his typical routine after work, watching television. But this day,
something did not feel right, and a thought entered Elton's head, wow, I'm way out
of shape. He then put on a pair of exercise pants and tennis shoes.

(05:51):
There is a bridge near Elton's house that's a quarter mile long, He ran the quarter mile, and was too
tired to continue, so he went back home. For the next month, Elton kept running a bit farther and farther,
until he could run a full mile. By 2017, he was running 3 to 4 miles at a time.
In spring of 2017, Elton ran the Delta Gamma's Run for Sight 5K race, which raises

(06:17):
money for children who are blind, from birth to toddler aged, and through childhood. Elton finished
the 5K with an 8 minute and 26 second average mile, his best ever.
In the Fall of 2017, Elton attended an Accommodations for Success event, where he first met Colleen
Starkloff, Max Starkloff's late wife. It was a reverse Job Fair, where people with disabilities set up

(06:42):
booths to show their skills and experience, and Job seekers come to look for a good match.
Elton did not live far from the event, so he decided to walk home, and picked up some items at
the convenient store along the way. Carrying a grocery bag of goodies in one hand, and a white cane in
the other, Elton was crossing a side street that intersected Hampton Avenue, a four lane busy street, A car sped

(07:08):
around the corner, Elton flew up on the hood, the car slammed the breaks, and luckily, Elton landed on his
feet in the middle of Hampton avenue. Luckily, there was a gap in traffic. The car then sped away, so
Elton walked home, which was just a few hundred feet away, and called the police.
Elton explained that he is blind, and did not see the driver, or make or model of the car.

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And since there was no camera at that intersection, the police said there was nothing they could do.
Elton was not too worried, after all, he felt fine, but the next
evening, Elton had a major seizure and spent the weekend in the hospital.
Up until early 2019, Elton had to take seizure medication, which also came with a side effect of chemical depression.

(07:55):
The seizures had stopped for about six month, so Elton decided to stop taking the medicine. To this day there
has never been any seizure activity found, thus, the loss of consciousness and convulsions were likely caused, by something else.
In May of 2019, a disability running group began in St. Louis, called Achilles International St. Louis. Achilles International is

(08:18):
an international organization headquartered in New York, and empowers people with disabilities to participate in mainstream running events, and participate
in practices twice a week in a public space like a park by pairing people with disabilities with guides. The
person with a disability is called an athlete, and the volunteer who assists them is called a guide.

(08:42):
Elton served for a short time on the founding board to assist getting headquarters
to approve the Charter for St. Louis. And since he was in graduate school,
stepped down from the board once everything was approved and good to go.
Elton attended Achilles practices twice a week, and his running kept improving. That December
he ran in the Hot chocolate 15K, his longest race ever, and averaged 9

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minutes and 26 seconds per mile in the 9 point 3 mile race.
In spring of 2020, St. Louis was facing a stay at home order due to COVID19.
Since Elton's work at the Lighthouse for the Blind contracts with the Federal government and Military,
he was given essential worker papers so he could travel to and from work everyday.

(09:27):
On the morning of May 15th, it was raining and stormy. Elton tried to order an Uber to work,
but none were available, thus, he decided to get his rain coat and take the bus, which picks him
up at 5 40 AM, at the same intersection where he was struck by the car in 2017.
Elton stood waiting at the bus stop, his white cane in one hand, and umbrella in the

(09:51):
other. At 5 36 AM Elton heard an unbelievable crack and everything glowed bright white. He felt
an intense shock similar to static electricity in his right hand, which was holding the umbrella. Elton
tried to let go of the umbrella, but instead his grip clinched very tight.
The bus pulled up a few minutes later, and since Elton felt fine, decided to head into

(10:15):
work. A few hours later, the right side of Elton's body, leg, arm, and neck, started cramping
severely and curling. He then took an Uber to an Urgent Care near where he lived.
They looked for a burn mark on his feet to see where the lightning bolt traveled, but
found none. When Elton explained how he was holding the cane in one hand, the tip touching

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the ground, they looked at the bottom tip of his cane, and found the burn mark.
They explained that sometimes after a lightning strike the water in the body does not
distribute properly, which causes the cramping. They gave Elton an full bag of saline solution
with an I V, the cramping then stopped, at least for a time.
For the next six months, Elton struggled with getting back into running. Achilles practices were suspended due to COVID19, but

(11:04):
Elton still wanted to run on his own time, but could not because of the periodic cramping of his limbs.
He would from time to time have to go back to Urgent Care to get an I V.
In the summer and fall of 2021, Elton was bouncing back, and participating in local races
again. He joined back with Achilles, and in Spring of 2022, was planning on running the

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Cardinals 5K, in hopes of beating his time of 8 minute and 26 second average. Since
Elton was familiar with the downtown course, he decided to run without a guide.
Over half way through the race course, Elton was feeling great, and he was sure to have a new personal
record. Running down the street in front of the Arch, Elton picked up his pace as he approached the Laclede

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station bridge, where there is also a metallic speed bump he had walked and ran over hundreds of times before.
But this time, Elton's big toe got caught on the steel plate, and he tripped falling hard.
He stood up quickly and began to run fast, when he felt a sharp pain in
his left toe, then his toe went numb. Elton sat on the curb for a few

(12:13):
seconds, then decided to run the rest of the race with his numb toe.
After the race, Elton walked around the ballpark field, then went to urgent care. They took and X-Ray,
and to Elton's surprise, found out his left toe was broken. He was not too worried though, because
he knew a broken toe could heal in a few weeks and not interrupt his running.

(12:35):
In June 2022, Elton went to Space Camp with friends in Huntsville Alabama. On one of the last evenings
of the camp, Elton tried out the Multi Access Trainer, which spins you vertically and horizontally at the same
time. After he got off, Elton noticed that everything was still spinning even though he was standing still.

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The camp trainers mentioned that he likely had vertigo. When Elton got home he tried doing exercises
and it stopped for a few weeks, then came back. After six weeks of physical therapy, the
vertigo was almost completely gone, however, this had a very negative impact on Elton's running.
By 2023, Elton had put on weight and could barely run a mile. Feeling defeated, he pondered if

(13:22):
he should just give up on running altogether. I mean, what's the point of even trying if life
is just going to keep beating you down. Then, in spring 2023, Elton learned of Achilles first out
of town race in Bowling Green Kentucky, so he signed up for the 26.2 mile marathon. [pause x-strong]
At the end of the first loop, I was feeling defeated. Legs shot, and feeling overwhelmed

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of the next six or seven miles of hills, I truly thought I was done, am
a gonner. I made a deal with myself that I would keep trying until i collapsed,
After the first loop my energy chews were gone. Though two packs lasted twenty miles running in Forest
Park in St. Louis, the hills required lots more energy in Kentucky. Gabe reached out to our group

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as we passed by that I needed more fuel. Our chapter president, Annie, called Gabe and suggested we
pick up a banana as we pass our hotel, which was part of the course.
Gave ran up ahead of me, retrieved a banana, and brought it to me. I ate
the banana and after a few minutes, felt the strength come back to my legs.

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During the first loop we did not partake in the snacks and Gatorade provided at stations and only took water.
The second loop was much different, At each station I got a cup of water, sometimes two, a cup of
Gatorade, and a snack, usually a granola bar, chips, or some stations had energy gels I would suck down.

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Miles 14 through 16, we assessed if I should end the race, but as I
kept fueling, I kept gaining strength, thus, we kept going. Mile 16 was the hardest
as it was all up hill, but after mile 18, the hills were behind us.
The second loop was much different than the first, there were not many of us out there doing

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the full marathon, and as Gabe and I approached busy intersections, the police would get up and stop
traffic, just for us, and volunteers would block entrances and exits to parking lots of plazas. Truly, witnessing
a community coming together like this, just made me want to try even harder to finish the marathon.
Many of the volunteers to direct us on proper direction during the first loop,

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were still there three hours later as we completed the second loop; cheering us
on, and some ringing cow bells. The feeling was nothing short of, incredible.
At mile marker 21, Gabe took a picture of me holding up five fingers, indicating that there
were five miles left to go. And as we passed each one I would hold up one

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less finger until we got to mile marker 26, where I held up zero fingers; then we
ran the last point two miles, and finished the marathon with our president, cheering us on.
We decided to walk a half mile back to the hotel for a cool down,
it was up hill of course. And when we entered the lobby, Achilles members from

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Nashville and St. Louis, cheered. It was so unexpected, and nothing short of, amazing.
This was my first marathon, and the journey to get here, well, that was a marathon as
well. While a marathon can be defined as a long distance run, It can also be defined
as a long-lasting or difficult task. Perhaps we all have a first and only marathon, called life.

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It took me 6 hours and 17 minutes to finish the marathon, which does not fit into
the definition of an impressive time, however, finishing a marathon in any capacity, is impressive in itself,
and even those who try, and do not complete a marathon, are winners in my book. A
true loss would be to not even try at all, and the beautiful thing about winning is,

(17:13):
how close we often come, to not even trying. And when we do try. We win.