On Your Left

After deciding to revive the superhero marathon as an annual event, I already knew what hero I would dress as next: Captain America. Since I was registered for another full marathon a couple of weeks after Nationwide in October, I opted to run only the Nationwide Half to protect my legs for Indianapolis in November.

Still, I didn’t let myself slack off just because I ran half the usual distance. I went all out with my costume, which featured multiple layers; I also purchased a metal shield that I strapped to my back for the race. Unfortunately, tragedy struck at mile 5 of the marathon. The arm brace I used to secure the shield to my backpack snapped, causing the shield to shift awkwardly on my back. After some adjustments, I managed to coax another two miles out of my shield before another snapped brace buckle resulted in a complete collapse of the backpack system. The next two miles, unfortunately, involved me awkwardly carrying a fifteen-pound metal disk by the edges since the arm brace system on the back was in shambles. Fortunately, at mile 9, I was able to hand off the broken shield to my girlfriend, who kindly agreed to carry the broken mess over a mile back to her car while I finished my race.

While not finishing the race with the shield left a sour taste in my mouth, the overall experience was an unforgettable sequel to last year’s Spider-Man. The crowd kept things lively, at one point shouting, “Way to go, Iron Man!” as I ran past. Sadly, I’ll chalk Iron Man up as a hero I’ll never get to portray for obvious reasons.