We got back Monday afternoon and I hit the ground running at work, so forgive me for taking so long to check back in. We had a (mostly) great weekend and we’re both still SO GLAD we went because our team for Rally Foundation raised almost $10,000 for childhood cancer research and we have zero regrets! Such an amazing accomplishment and thank you SO MUCH to all of you that donated! We made a real difference together!

I’m not going to say much about the half although 3/4 of it was GREAT for me and I think it was mostly good for Scott. After about mile 9, I started feeling horrible and (as we would later find out) I had a nasty case of food poisoning. I made it through the race and barely made it back to the room. I mean, I guess if you’re going to throw up for four hours a Disney hotel room isn’t the WORST place in the world to be. And BONUS we stumbled upon a Will Ferrell movie marathon so the day wasn’t a total loss. If I hadn’t been begging for death I might have even found it humorous . . .

A group of my Amazing Running Friends before the half! And before the great sickness;)

I felt pretty puny here but put my biggest smile on anyway;)

But the day I really want to tell you about is Sunday! We were blessed to be at the Boardwalk Villas and in a room that was almost directly above the race course. Perfect view and SO convenient for cheering as I only had to go down the steps and I was right there at the mile 24 marker.

I got up (for the second morning in a row) with Scott to be sure he got off OK. For those of you contemplating Goofy or worse, Dopey, I will tell you I have NO DESIRE to ever do this again and I didn’t even run the second day! The 2 mornings in a row of pre-dawn get ups is just crazyville. CRAZYVILLE I TELL YA! But TOTALLY WORTH IT because we knew he was running for a great cause so out the door he went! And I went back to bed;).

Around 7:30 I heard the music as they were pumping up the volunteers and couldn’t help but glance out the balcony to see the first few runners pass by the mile 24 marker. So, if math is your thing, that put them 24 miles in 2 hours into the race which means these humans were running 12 miles an hour. Go get in your car and drive 12 miles an hour. And think about a human being running that fast for 26 miles. Blows my mind.

 I went to quickly dress and I could feel the course calling for me! I headed down with my signs and thought I’d cheer for the front of the pack and then go get breakfast or something and come back and cheer for Scott and Larry (his friend also running for Rally) but instead I couldn’t leave! In fact, I held that stupid sign and screamed my head off FOR FIVE AND A HALF HOURS. I know. I don’t know what happened I just kept thinking “these runners need me!” And the longer the race went on, the more I felt it.

I saw a lot of humanity that blew my mind and encouraged my heart and bolstered my spirit. I saw men and women running in memory of their lost children and wives, whose lives were cut short by cancer. I saw a blind runner and his guide. I saw several amputees with prosthetics. I saw every shape, color and size of human. All together, running the same direction. Different paces, different reasons, different levels of genetic makeup and tenacity but all doing it. All finishing a marathon. I teared up and my heart swelled more times than I can tell you. And yes, it was an analogy for humanity and because I’m into that kind of thing, not a bit of it was lost on me.

But my favorite were the runners at the very back. There was a group of us (rather rowdy in fact but these ladies were awesome!) and when we realized the balloon ladies were gone we started telling the runners that they’d made it! They wouldn’t be swept! The balloon ladies were gone! And the cheers and sighs of relief were delightful.

And there was the sweet woman at the very end who was clearly in pain who let me walk with her and encourage her, the same way the random guy who came out of nowhere had done for me when I was dying from a blister in my first marathon. And I cried. And she cried. And it was amazing.

I loved being able to cheer on my sweet husband and his friend, Larry, Goofy brothers for life now, I suppose:) Such amazing guys!! I also saw my friend, Pete, who finished his first marathon and has a great story to tell. You can read about his journey here. WTG, PETE! So proud of you!

We celebrated well that night with a great meal at Flying Fish and the next morning bright and early our journey was over. 13.1 miles for me, 39.3 for Scott, and a life changing day for me of cheering and encouraging some of the best people in the world. More than ever, I love runners and the running community. And am so blessed to be part of it.

This cracks me up! Yeah, your face looks a little different AFTER;)

Happy Running! And if you’ve ever wondered if you should cheer or volunteer for a marathon DO IT. It will change you and you will get so much more than you give!

Jen