Marathon country number 9, Brazil, at the Maratona do Rio in Rio de Janeiro. A muggy day on a flat coastal course. Today was a tough day for me for the strangest of reasons: a sore neck and shoulders. By mile 7 it hurt just to hold my head up. Not sure what that’s about but maybe some ibuprofen, a massage, and some rest will patch me up. The race was okay plenty of water (mostly in bottles, some disposable cups with aluminum tops) and Gatorade, but no gu or food to speak of, which surprised me for what I assume is the biggest race in Brazil. In the last 5 miles there were some fig newtons and cut and peeled (?) bananas. I’ve also never seen so many race photographers in my life. Fun fact: For 13 years Rio was the capital of the kingdom of Portugal. Just prior to Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal the court fled to Rio and governed from their colony. In 1822 they declared independence and Dom Pedro I became the head of the Western Hemisphere’s only monarchy. He declared himself emperor and his family ruled for 67 years until they were exiled to Europe in a coup where they have been trying to regain power ever since.
