What a beautiful marathon course. We left an hour before the starting time. It was the first time that I've ever seen the fast marathon runners. It was fun to see three wheel chairs pass us about mile 7 and not long after the first two fastest runners. It was a new experience for me to be able to encourage and enjoy seeing the beautiful and strong runners since I tend to be with the slower runners at the end of the marathon.
The start of the race was freezing cold but I had bought gloves for $1.00 and they saved me from turning into an icicle. Then as the morning sun was warming up and sparkling on the water we were passing the resevour. It was so beautiful. It was so fun to run with Leslie as she always knows the right things to say to people and notices things I am missing. Everyone loves Les and she has a perfect pace for me and is always so gracious.
Going up the hill was fun since the rest of the race was downhill. What fun it was to have Harold and Ernie there to meet us at mile 17. A kiss and a few kind words and I was ready to take on the last 9 miles. I decided to try to stretch my legs and see what energy I still had so I took off down the hill. What a lot of fun. I was keeping up with the 4 1/2 hour marathon runners. Coming out of the canyon, there was an awesome little running trail with tall shade trees on both sides. I loved it as I tried to figure out what type of trees they were.
Finally about a half mile from the finish line I could hear a band and announcer. I started stretching my legs again and although I didn't think I could run anymore, somehow I got a surge of energy. The finish line was about 3 1/2 blocks down the road and I started turning it on. How fun to finish a marathon with energy and vigor. I think my timing said 4:38 so I added an hour and a few minutes onto it. After three creamcicles, two smoothies, and two pieces of home-made bread, I was feeling good enough to cheer Leslie on as she came in and we enjoyed relaxing together for the next couple hours before leaving Ogden. Thanks Ogden for a beautiful experience. Thanks Harold and Leslie for being our best friends and support. And thanks Ernie! Good job to all the other runners who participated or encouraged us. | 