Interesting characters

Marathons always attract memorable characters. I guess that is what happens when people decide to run for 42.2K for fun.
I had a few such people on Oct. 9. I'm not sure how each did because I was a bit too distracted to get a name or bib number. I just recall their relentless drive or unique traits.
First there was Mr. Tall. This guy must have been 6'8”, easy. I'm not sure if he was a run-walker but I'd pass him and he'd pass me back a K later. You cannot forget a guy that size. I remember wondering why he picked marathing instead of, say, basketball. I never asked. Nor did I ask for a heads up if was starting to rain. He had probably heard that joke before.
There was also Ms. White. I think she beat me in the end, but we had a great cat and mouse game going. Mr. Tall was a character early but Ms. White and I saw each other a lot late into the race. As her name suggests, she was decked out in white and was wearing an Ipod. I kept wondering about whether it was wise to run in a white shirt when it could have rained and you'd be stuck out there for three hours. But Ms. White was fast and I expect the most anyone saw of her was her back.
There was Toque Boy, too. He was annoying. We're at roughly 12K and Toque Boy appears out of nowhere and he is chatting about last night's Habs game with the guy wearing a cotton Canadiens shirt (oh the chafing) and was musing about the Canucks' inability to score. I'm trying to maintain a 4:30 pace and loose lips with the knee-high socks, basketball-length shorts and a wool toque is a constant chatter box.
Then there were the minor characters. Like the lady who offered beer to runners around 33K. Or the woman, who I asked at 38K when the “pain was going to end.” And she replied, “When the medal goes around your neck or after the first beer.” There were also two or three guys, likely in the over 40 group, that kept hanging off my heels. They offered some insight from time to time. At one point, I groaned, “I thought this was supposed to be a flat course,” and one laughed and said, “it's a death by a thousand cuts.” That was around 15K, man, I should have listened to him.
There are so many great things about marathons that I love, the people are near the top.