This is the first race that I have attended without my parents, who are seasoned race enthusiasts. I made the mistake of assuming that Robbie had the details all ironed out, but it was okay, because they were only slightly, um, wrinkled. (This is where my parents come in handy.) It ended up being a really fun weekend with only a couple of minor bumps. On Friday night we drove up to Richmond and met up with friends from our ward, Mari and Josh. To save money we shared a hotel room with them on Friday. This is how you make friends out here, we have discovered. We all feel much closer than ever. Two other couples in our ward were also in town for the race (Erik recruited Robbie and then Mike), and Vanya, an awesome girl from Mike's work who has also been coming to our ward for the past few weeks.
Anyway, the nice thing about Richmond is that the marathon starts at 8, which gave us a little time to get our bearings. (And the guys didn't have to leave for the starting line until 6:30ish, as opposed to 4 or whenever we left in St. George.) Mari and I also found out (too late) that Julianne (Erik's wife) and Kelly (Mike's wife) had signed up for text message alerts so that we could see everyone at certain points in the race. (It didn't matter in the end because both mine and Robbie's phones died.) This marathon is super accessible, so it wouldn't have been hard to drive and see everyone if we had planned it better. But Kelly and I ended up hitching a ride with a cop and then running/walking another 2.5 miles to get to the finish line (it's a really long story) to catch Mike and Robbie. Luckily for me, Robbie just happened to be running under a bridge about 200 yards away when the cop dropped us off at about mile 24.
Very flattering pictures, I know. But I was so happy to see him. And he told me that he had fallen in the race at about mile 16 (a runner had tripped in front of him and when he kicked out his foot Robbie tripped and fell), which made me sad. But I like to think that it was a big morale boost for Robbie when I saw him. I know, I'm such a good wife. And we have good couple ESP. I still can't believe that I recognized that it was him from so far away and that we didn't just keep walking.
Needless to say, we didn't make it to the finish line in time to see Robbie. But Kelly saw Mike finish (seriously, it was such good timing) and we saw the back of Josh finishing (but Mari didn't, which we all felt really bad about), AND we just happened to see Vanya when we were waiting for Erik. So it all worked out in the end.
Here's Robbie at the end. The end of the race looked like a FEMA disaster with all of the solar blanketed people hanging around. And what was with all the junk food? At the end they had pizza, and Robbie said that they were handing out gummy bears and BEER during the race. (This marathon is also a Boston qualifier [which is why the junk was baffling], and known as America's friendliest marathon. I guess the beer might explain everyone's friendliness.)
Team Franconia Ward.
My sign. I told you, I'm a really good wife. Behind us is the trash can that people kept on puking in, very un-subtly. I love marathons.
Side note about Josh--he served in the Toronto mission with Joel B. and Cory R. This will only mean something to a few people. But there you go.
So yeah, good times in Richmond. We had a lot of fun and I really hope that I'm in good enough shape to do it next year. And we'll know how to plan better.
7 comments:
It is much harder to be a marathon runner's supporter/fan than most people realize!! Sounds like you did an admirable job however.
The first year in Boston, I think it was dumb luck that allowed me to see Dad twice on the race route and to be able to catch up with him afterwards. The key was having little Harry in LA following things on the computer and then calling me to report where Dad was.
In the years since then, I've still had someone giving me updates from the computer, but it has gotten harder and harder to wade through the traffic to get to the points where you want to see someone. We finally just picked a rendezvous spot and I'd meet Dad at the end of the race.
It helped one year to have Matt and Eliza there - because Matt knew his way around Wellesley, so we got to see Dad there - and he even stopped for a photo op - it was unseasonably cold that year and Dad wasn't focusing on his time - just staying warm!!
And one year I was literally stuck on the subway - while Dad waited not-so-patiently at the park because I had the car keys and the hotel key! So I've really given up on the route at Boston.
And of course one year we missed his finish at St. George - because he'd run faster than we'd thought he would!!
So it is indeed a tough job to be a spectator sometimes!!
It is always good when the wife blogs about her husband so her MIL can keep up with everything. (Notice how savvy I have become with the blog lingo!) That qualifies you as a great wife in my book!
Also, I am sad to admit that I had not realized he was running this weekend. So you are doubly appreciated. I have not had any experience with marathons so it is interesting to learn about what happens behind the scene.
way to go robbie! and I wonder if Josh and my Cory R. have touched base at all?
courtney did the 1/2 last year with carrie dalzen. richmond is courtney's hometown. after courtney finished she got a free massage. that was her favorite part.
Awesome job Robbie!! I couldn't have, nor would want to, run a marathon. So cheers. I can't believe, because it wasn't until I went to college that you even started jogging at all, that you have developed this habit. Very cool goals you have set for yourself! When's the next marathon??
Way to go Robbie!
There really is no way to become better friends with someone that to share a hotel room:)
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