Marathon number 5 was the Memphis Marathon on December 3, 2000. The temperature was cold, starting in the 30s and making the low 40s. Having nothing really to prove, I tried once more to make 3:15. I stayed at a steady 7:20 pace through the first half and began to drop just after the half. I was at 7:23 pace at 15 miles, but hit the wall hard at 20 miles and finished in 3:39:24, an incredibly slow 8:23 pace given a reasonable start and the fact that I didn't walk at all. The race was small, only 695 finished, but well supported on the course. We finished in the Memphis pyramid. I was 136 out of 696 finishers, 29 of 101 in my age group and 122 of 497 males.

We rode a sleeper car on the City of New Orleans to Memphis from Champaign and stayed at the Peabody hotel. We had a great pre-race day watching the Peabody ducks and walking around Memphis. Unfotunately I had to fly to DC after the race and Rachael and the kids rode the train back without me.