We came to Death Valley on January 27th, 2001 to run the 'Death Valley Marathon', my 4th Marathon and Anastasia's 3rd. Although it was January, we never expected to see heavy snow in one of the hottest places on earth. So the Marathon course was changed at the last minute from a scenic mountain run to the valley floor. The new route (through the 'Devil's Golf Course') was just a flat, straight road, running 13 miles out and then 13 miles back. After running the first 7 miles, we both lost interest and decided to turn around and head back, so we only completed a half Marathon.
Because we signed up for a full marathon and ran half the distance, we were the first runners back to the finish. Unknowingly, Anastasia crossed the finish in first place and didn't tell the judges we ran half way. A few days later she was sent a 1st place trophy for her tremendous run. Fantastic !!