Vancouver Marathon Sunday

This morning I spent over five and half hours riding and running around the city of Vancouver cheering on my friends running half and full marathons.  It was a miserable day with too much rain and no sun.  But despite the weather it didn't stop my friends from running.  Two of my friends were going for specific half marathon times and both were disappointed by missing them by just shear minutes.  I feel for both of them because they didn't make their race goal but I also want to give them a shake.  They both ran solid half marathons with times that I don't think I could  ever come close to.  I'm really proud of them but they are both out for revenge.  In six weeks we have another local half marathon and they both signed up.  The funniest thing for me is that while they don't know one another they are both gunning for the same race time and I believe they both will get it!  Wouldn't it be funny if they met at their next race?

I also had two friends running in their first marathon.  What's special about these two people is that they are work colleagues (okay Ellen just retired last year but I still think of her as a work colleague).  A few years back I started a run club for my staff at school.  I started very slowly with the goal of having them run 30 mins non stop after twenty weeks.  Yes, not a lofty goal, but a goal all the same.  What was so cool about today's marathon is that two of them - Ellen and Janine, ran their first marathons.  I very clearly remember having conversations with them way back when (not that many years ago) about how they could run a marathon if they really wanted to.  At that point in time a ten km race seemed like the perfect goal. and since then they've kept running.  Today they ran their first marathons in amazing times.  If Ellen were a year older she would have qualified for Boston!  Can you imagine?  Needless to say I am soooooo proud of both of them!

Ellen (in purple)

Janine (in blue)

Congratulations to Tammy, Brenda, Michele, Nicole, Doug, Terry, Janice, Andy, Eva, Jim, Greg, Celina, Eric, Ellen, Janine and all the other people that I knew out there today.  It wasn't a pretty day but you were all amazing!