Future Marathoner??

My Parents

These pictures (taken by Andrea) speak a thousand words. It has been a tough year, a tough journey...filled with emotions like; sadness, heartbreak, anger, denial, etc....my twin brother is gone, my parent's son is gone. I ran this race in memory of him and it meant a lot to my parents, as I think you can see in these pictures. It obviously doesn't bring him back, but I am realizing how important it is to remember him....it is especially important to Mom and Dad.

More Race Day Pics.

Thank you to Andrea for these great pics.

Marathon

Well, I did it. I dedicated my run in memory of my twin brother Ben who fought the fight and finished the race.
It felt great most of the time. I ran the first 13 miles on my own and then Mark, and a few of my friends tagged along the the next 11 miles. It was so helpful having people cheer me on! My goal was to run the race in 4 and a half hours. I ran it in 4 hours and 43 minutes. So, not too far off. I stayed on track for a little over half of it. I did hit the dreaded "wall" from mile 22-25, but then my adrenaline kicked in and I felt pretty good. I am sore, but not too sore! I think I may even run another one someday, but not for a while!

Here are a few pics.

Mile 3 and smiling!

Mile 13 and still smiling!

Mile 21 and not so much smiling...even though you can't see my face!
mile 22...almost there...where i hit the "wall".before the race

it was 42 degrees when i started to run.

must go pee one more time!

leaving for the race at 6am.

one of my biggest fans!

At the end of the race, I was emotional as my marathon had less to do with the running as it did it's meaning for me. I thought of Ben a lot and was honored to run in his memory.
K said to me at the finish "Mommy, great job winning the race, I am so proud of you." I didn't, obviously win the race, but in a way I did. Thanks to all who came out to support me and helped make it so special.