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May 9, 2005
With a little help for my friend
When I signed up for the marathon training group in January, we had to state what our goal was. Some people want to do there first marathon or half, or get faster, maybe qualify for Boston. My goal was to do Around the Bay and the Forest City Half Marathon. I achieve the first part, completing the 30km Around the Bay in March, however didn't get to do the half due to my uncorporative ankle.
One of the reasons I had such a wonderful experience and loved Around the Bay so much was Pat. We ran together every step of the 30k route. So on Mothers Day Pat was running her first marathon. Before I got injuried, we had decided that we would run the first half together and then depending on how I felt I could run a bit of the second half of the marathon with her. Ankle put a stop to that. However, I figured the ankle could take 5km, it would be the last 5k of her marathon and therefore would be slower and easier.
I showed up early on the day and watched alot of the people I run with finish the half. I cheered Pat on as she passed the half way point, she looked great with a huge smile. The weather was very warm, the warmest day of the year so far without a cloud in the sky ... perfect for spectating not so perfect for running!
Pat's goal was 4 hrs 45 minutes, so I headed out to meet her and run the last 5k with her. Due to parking and road closures I ended up at the 7k marker, no sign of her yet so I started walking. During the next 2km I saw and cheered on lots of runners I knew, they all looked exhausted, hot and ready to stop. Then around the corner came Pat. I joined her armed with candy, water and pop. She wasn't feeling great. The heat had taken it's toll and she was really tired. So we walked for the next 2 minutes while she ate candy, drank some water and told me tales of the last 33km. We started running. For the next 8km we did a mix of run walk until she made it to the finish line. I don't think I have ever seen a happier face than hers when she crossed that line!
Posted by Ali at May 9, 2005 11:45 AM
Comments
you're a super star for helping out a friend like that. having that support to look forward to late in the run is a huge help. i'm sure pat was very appreciative of your presence.
Posted by: jeff at May 25, 2005 3:07 PM