A Marathon Weekend

It's been a busy weekend! Completely consumed by running & marathons. It all revolved around the Med-City Marathon - which, in case you didn't know, is so named because Rochester has given itself "The Med City" as somewhat of a nickname. (I like it.)

So Saturday morning was the Med-City Kids' Marathon. They run 25 miles in 1/2-mile increments, and then run the final 1.2 on race day. Honestly, I'm not sure how hard my kids trained. They both swore up & down that they ran all of the 1/2 miles - and I don't think they lied. They did both have to walk during part of their mile, but that's ok - they both still finished. Maybe we should've carbed them up on Friday night. :)

Pre-race

Baileygirl

Baileygirl2

The long-haired kid in the middle is mine

Post race

Brian was planning to run the marathon on Sunday with his friend Erik, so Saturday night we had Erik and his family over to our house for the big carb feed. Spaghetti, mac & cheese, garlic cheese bread, and a salad for good measure. I was pretty carbed up myself, although I had no good reason to be (other than the fact that I'm going to have to temporarily give them up soon). Brian slept surprisingly well last night - I'm not sure I would have been able to. At 5:30 this morning I took Brian & Erik out to the start line in a neighboring town.

Before the Race

By the time I'd gotten home & showered, it was time to go out to cheer them on at the first designated marker, Mile 9. For some reason I forgot the camera at this stop. Then it was on to Mile 14:

Mile 14

You can't really see them on the bridge but I like this picture

Erik's wife Erin was also helping to cheer them on with their kids. We staggered the stops so that they'd have plenty of support & sustenance when they needed it. She saw them at Mile 17, and then Bailey, Joey, & I caught them again at Mile 20.

Mile 20

The nice thing about the later part of the race was that the runners were spread out enough that I could get out on the trail to get a good picture.

We next stopped at Mile 24. Eventually they started to approach the finish line.

Last Turn to finish

As they turned that last corner to the finish line, I actually got choked up. Just because he'd worked so hard for this, and I was (and am) so proud of him for sticking to it and doing something that was stinkin' HARD. There's no way I'd ever even attempt it.

Finish line

Their two goals were to finish without having to walk any of the race, and to do it in under 5 hours. As you can see, they made the time goal, and they also didn't have to walk. They said it helped a lot to have all the support that they did. What was really cool was the random support that all the runners get as they're running along. You don't have to know the people running, you just cheer for them as they run by because they're undertaking such a huge thing. It's like a giant support system.

After the Race - Still Standing

So after we had a bit to eat, the guys headed off to the massage they'd booked. Before the massage they could barely walk, and afterward, Brian was feeling pretty good. I suppose now he thinks he's going to need a massage after every marathon. :) I think they're out in the hot tub now with margaritas - a well-deserved treat, I'd say.