Thirty or so nervous pre-marathoners gathered in a back room of the Kill Devil Hills Recreation Center on Saturday to hear Runner's World's John "The Penguin" Bingham offer words of wisdom and last-minute advice on running Sunday's inaugural Outer Banks Marathon on the North Carolina islands.

Unexpectedly, Bingham told us that, after months of training, we should throw away all of our notions of preparedness because, in the end, you really can't prepare for everything the marathon has in store.

None of us could fully understand the prophetic nature of his words. Approaching this marathon with Bingham's "sense of wonder" proved the best advice for an adventure race with all the terrain and all the weather packed into one event.

The Outer Banks area hadn't expected to fill the field of 4,000 for this inaugural event, a marathon and half marathon that extended the tourist season a few more weeks.

But the lure of a fairly level point-to-point course with a probable tailwind, mild temperatures and gorgeous scenery made this an attractive event for runners.

Designation as North Carolina's USATF Championship with monetary rewards ensured a quality field for the marathon and closed registrations more than a month before the event.

About 2,000 runners assembled at each starting area in the predawn darkness for the 7 a.m. start of both the half and full marathon. Although the weather was uncertain, with a rainy, possibly stormy front due to chase away the previous day's brilliant sunshine, the day broke with pink skies and mackerel-scale clouds. It also was delightfully overcast and cool.

The marathon field wound through Kitty Hawk neighborhoods lined with balloons and cheering spectators. We took in scenery and salty air before turning toward the paved trail of the Wright Brothers Memorial. Dozens of family members, including mine, had chosen the memorial's easy access as a meeting point.

We hit mile nine and the packed dirt road of Nags Head Woods Preserve. The sky darkened, giving the boggy forest an ominous cast.

I felt at home on the rugged trail. A few runners behind me complained about the footing, but the undulations of the spongy chipped surface offered relief from the constant pounding on the level pavement.

Too soon we left the peaceful trail for the wide expanse of five-lane highway that stretched before us from miles 12 to 20. As we reached the starting line of the half marathon, I thought that the half marathoners had missed the most interesting part of the course. They also missed the most interesting weather, as the dark clouds finally let loose in a torrent of rain at about two hours into the run.

We battled wind-driven rain for the next hour. I grabbed a hat from my support crew and jammed it down to my ears to keep it from blowing away in the gusting headwind, then pushed the brim to my eyebrows to keep the water out of my eyes.

With my hat pulled over my eyes, I disappeared into a world of my own effort. I heard the encouragement of spectators as I passed, but focused on the pavement about five feet ahead of me. Raindrops plopped craters in the half-inch deep lake of the road and passing cars sprayed arcs of water into our path.

The route headed west toward Roanoke Island. The rain eased and the punishing wind became a gentle tailwind helping us over the 35-foot incline of the bridge to our final destination in Manteo. A hint of pink appeared on the horizon and the fog lifted, but I was too deep in concentration to notice the scenery of the sound.

Finally, we made the turn into the village of Manteo. We had caught up with the last of the half-marathon finishers and weaved around them through the narrow streets.

It was hard to keep from tripping over the speed bumps in the high school parking lot and the entrance to the track was sloshed with mud, adding to the agony of running on exhausted legs. I managed a smile and a relatively strong finish on the straightaway of the track and raised my arms weakly in victory.

My legs had managed to carry me, one foot in front of the other, for 26.2 miles. Now I struggled to shuffle across the grassy infield on blocks of wood. A friendly voice called my name: Leslie Kramer of Slippery Rock who had finished far ahead of me.

Our eyes met and she smiled that knowing smile of marathon finishers. We had survived, endured and triumphed in our own way in this adventure that none of us could have predicted or scripted.

To first-time marathon runner Dorothy Moxie, who completed the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 29 in 3 hours, 58 minutes, 42 seconds.

Saturday, 8 a.m.: Up-N-Running Group Run, Valencia. Run first or coffee first with friends. 724-898-2525 or www.runpa.comSaturday, 9 a.m.: Fight for Life 5K, Apollo. Benefits American Cancer Society Relay for Life 2007. 724-568-2517 or dzukas@cancer.orgSaturday, 9 a.m.: YMCA Turkey Trot 5K, Oil City. 814-677-3000 or www.oilcityymca.orgSaturday, 10 a.m.: Somerset Turkey Trot 5K Run and Walk for Scouting, Somerset. Begins at Somerset Area High School. 814-445-6213Nov. 23, 9 a.m.: Greensburg Turkey Trot 5K Run-Walk, Greensburg. 724-836-5310 or chpalcic@msn.comNov. 23, 9 a.m.: Latrobe Turkey Trot 5K Latrobe. Starts at Memorial Stadium. 724-537-4331 or dawn@latroberecreation.orgNov. 23, 9 a.m.: Downtown YMCA Turkey Trot 5-Mile, Pittsburgh. Sixteenth annual event, also 2-mile fun run. 412-227-6460 or turkeytrot@shamraevsky.comNov. 23, 9 a.m.: Gobbler's Gallop 10K Run, Ellwood City. Benefits Riverside and Ellwood City high schools cross country teams. Also 5K at 10 and 5K noncompetitive walk open from 9 to 11. 724-758-6227Nov. 23, 10 a.m.: Harry C. Holland G-U-T-B-U-S-T-E-R, Frick Park, Pittsburgh. Choice of 8 miles, 4 miles or 2 miles, part of Greater Pittsburgh Road Runners series. 412-441-1776 or wlh47cah@adelphia.netNov. 25, 10 a.m.: Hollidaysburg YMCA Turkey Trot 5-Mile and 2-Mile, Hollidaysburg. Sponsored by YMCA. 814-695-4467

<B>Outer Banks Marathon, Nov. 12: </B>Philip Cheriyot, 1st Overall M, 2:27:35; Alison Holinka, 1st Overall W (2nd Overall), 2:44:13; Leslie Kramer, 1st 25-29 W, 3:23:40; Patricia Neubert, 2nd 50-54 W, 3:51:17; Scott Pearson, 3:20:34; Debbie Courtney, 4:06:32<B>Outer Banks Half Marathon, Nov. 12:</B> McDonald Ondara, 1st Overall M, 1:06:22; Maragaret Karie, 1st Overall M, 1:16:10; Rebecca Miller, 1:53:38; John Campbell, 1:59:18Send comments and suggestions to: 435 Cherry Valley Road, Saxonburg, Pa. 16056. Phone or fax: 724-352-4395. Email: bigp16@connecttime.net