Kingdom of God: 3. Baltimore 10 Miler

06 ONE (1) Mile behind me.

I had to pee so bad that I blew right past the first mile marker in search of a port-a-potty!

[Note to RAGS] -- There were enough potties at the Zoo start line. The problem with me, and a couple hundred other runners, was that we had misinterpreted the race start time. I was in a line at the Zoo-potties for about 10 minutes and had moved forward half the distance, when all of a sudden no one was behind me. A race official had called the runners to "get ready," but I did not hear him. The guy in front of me had not heard anything, but no one else was getting in line. So, leaving about 15 runners in each of the 10 potty-lines, I hurried over to my 12-mile pace area. The runners there seemed uncertain of the start time, as now it was a couple of minutes past 7:30 AM.

And then -- we're off! The guy I had left in the potty-line passed me within the first half mile and said he had made it to the start-line with only seconds to spare. I was terribly uncomfortable, but I was reassured to see several pairs of potties staged on the first mile of the race route. However, several people were in each of those lines! Finally, after the first mile marker, I spied a potty with no line. It was occupied, but just for a few seconds! My prostate makes me a slow pee-er, so I think I lost about two minutes. But it was worth it! Now I could run without holding my knees together.

[Note to Corrigan] -- The email for 'final instructions' before the race could have reiterated the 7:30 AM start time. And maybe a second loud-speaker/announcer could have been posted at the front of the potty lines.