Russellville runner finishes grueling race
By Staff
Scot Beard
There is a good reason Shawn Greenhill spent three hours in a medical tent in Oklahoma City receiving intravenous fluids. He had spent the previous 13 hours racing 140 miles.
Greenhill began running in high school as a member of the track team at Belgreen High School.
The joy of running followed him to college where he ran on the cross-country teams at Bevill State Community College and the University of West Alabama.
Following college, he quit running for a while but the urge hit him to lace up the running shoes one more time.
"I didn't run (competitively) for four or five years," Greenhill said. "Rick Suddeth told me to try marathons, so I trained for three months then ran my first marathon."
The 26.2-mile runs appealed to Greenhill, who has run six marathons in the last four years.
Eventually the lengthy running began taking its toll on Greenhill's body and his doctor told him to begin riding a bicycle to cross train.
Greenhill figured if he was going to ride a bike, he might as well try competing in triathlons.
In September he competed in the Red Man Full Iron Man Triathlon and finished 82nd out of 200 people who began the race. The race – which consists of 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bicycle ride and concludes with a 26.2-mile run – was so grueling 19 participants failed to finish.
"I wasn't worried about time or place," Greenhill said. "I just wanted to see if I could finish."
He completed the race in 13 hours, two minutes and 11 seconds. He was pleased with the results, but felt he could have finished better if he had trained more.
"Most people put in 30-40 hours per week training, but I put in about eight to 10 hours," Greenhill said.
He said in addition to the lengthy races there were other obstacles that impeded the competitors.
Heavy rains delayed the start of the race 45 minutes and flooded part of the bicycle course.
Unusually cool temperatures took their toll on the swimmers – Greenhill included – that did not have wet suits.
Despite the set backs and the exhaustion, Greenhill said it was worth it for the experience.
"At the time (I crossed the finish line) I was hurting so bad, it wasn't a good feeling," Greenhill said. "Two days later it was a good feeling knowing I finished without putting the time into it I should have."
While the Red Man Full Iron Triathlon might be the most challenging race Greenhill has competed in, it will not be the most prestigious.
In April Greenhill will travel to Massachusetts to run in the Boston Marathon.
There are many famous marathons, but Boston is the only one in which runners have to qualify to compete. He qualified for the race during the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville.
Greenhill is proud of this accomplishment.
"It was kind of a main goal of mine to qualify for Boston," Greenhill said. "It was a relief; like a monkey off your back feeling."
