Born to Run

Well, my knee decided not to cooperate after all, and I was unable to even put a dent in my training, much less actually run the New Jersey Marathon. To say I was, and still am disappointed would be an understatement. But I quickly assumed the role as cheerleader, backpack carrier, and masseuse for Shelby and Nicky.

Unfortunately, Nicky also suffered a knee injury and was unable to complete her training. She had trained enough however to run the half marathon. Upon our arrival in Long Branch, New Jersey, Nicky and I were headed to the "trouble tent" the day before the race- Nicky had to switch to the half and I just gave back my chip completely. I basically paid $90 for a long sleeve t-shirt. It is dry-fit, if that makes me feel any better.

At the starting line...

Shelby was a rock star and was set to face the entire 26.2 miles on her own- definitely not how any of us had pictured this going. My Aunt Kathy is an avid runner and came down to cheer us, I mean, them on- then we had an idea. I still had a bib with my name and participant number on it... Kathy could pin it on and run part of the race with Shelby for a little extra motivation.

The race was a 13.1 mile loop, which the marathoners had to run twice, so my Aunt Kathy jumped into the race after the first 13.1 miles and ran the rest of the way with Shelby. Needless to say, some of the other runners were not impressed with Kathy's energy and enthusiasm, seeing as how she had not already run the same 13.1 miles they had. As Shelby and Kathy ran, people on the side of the streets began cheering them on- but apparently they liked cheering for "Marge"a lot more than they did "Shelby." Kathy got a ton of "Go Marge!" cheers which made them both laugh pretty hard and I'd like to say helped Shelby finish with such an awesome time.

When Kathy crossed the finish line they handed her a finisher's medal and hat, and the race coordinator's even sent me pictures of myself running. So Kathy gave me the medal and hat, and I in turn gave Kathy the pictures of herself cruising toward the finish line.

Being there gave me even more motivation to complete a marathon, so wish me luck as I hope to run the Marine Corps Marathon this coming fall.

Me posing with my "finisher's" medal...

Post-race dinner and drinks