RUN Forest RUN!!!

It’s MARATHON DAY!!!

One of my favorite days of the year. Our Memorial Marathon is in it’s 11th year and getting bigger and bigger with each race. This year, over 20,000 runners are projected. The weather this morning is the best. It’s chilly. Breezy. We’re expecting to be a little wet towards the middle of the run.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

I spent last night making posters to turn into signs that we’ll stick into the ground. One with my favorite KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON, one for Mandrea who’s running her first half marathon and one that says BEER AHEAD! We’ve got our cardboard cutouts of John Wayne and Paris Hilton and new to the party this year, Gold Lame Elvis. I’ve made a marathon playlist and we’ll be playing some music for the runners that includes, Born to Run, and Oklahoma! as well as the ROCKY theme.

I’m just so proud of these runners. I see people that I know. I see many more that I don’t. Each one is working through their own private war with the elements and the pavement. And at the end of the day, we are all running and participating and cheering and volunteering to honor and remember those that we lost on April 19th.

It’s quite a moving experience. I just wish I had Cindy or Kizz here with their cameras.

Over in another state, my best good fried CHROME is doing her own race! On a bike! and she raised a gob of cash for her favorite charity. She inspires me and I wish I could be there cheering for her, too. I’ll just yell a little louder from Oklahoma my dear. I’m sure you’ll hear me!

A special shoutout to my roomate. Mandrea has been training her little heart out for months. I am so proud of her commitment, and her courage to tackle this. I have no doubt that she’ll do it with the grace and style she does everything else! RUN MANDREA RUN!!!

Sidebar: It poured down rain the whole time. The race was delayed because of lightening and started about 30 minutes later. I got to Martha’s and we loaded up with gloves and umbrellas and said, “As soon as we see Mandrea we’re outta there” We won’t decorate with the cardboard cutouts or anything just go out.

well.

We decorated with flags and had our music and I took Mandrea’s sign and stuck it in a tree. Randy and Lindz and Sam all showed up to cheer and Martha and I departed about 3 hours later. Both of us soaking wet and chilled to the bone. We loved every single second of it. We were the last one’s standing. I’m home, took about a 30 minute hot shower, am now curled up on the couch with coffee and watching the rest of the marathon coverage.

All before 10am.

HALAKALEEM!!!