At 2 pm on Saturday we, Melinda, Nathan, & I, jumped in the car and headed for Cleveland for a marathon on Sunday. It was only about a two our drive, and after a few stops we made it with plenty of time to get the race packets and walk around the expo for a little while. We had dinner, hung around the hotel, and eventually went to bed. 4:45am came way too early the next morning, but we were all up and ready to go. We headed out at ten till 6 in 49 degree weather and a downpour.
Nathan and Melinda before the race
clean, dry, & warm!
clean, dry, & warm!
We got down to the starting line around 6:15 and piled into a little mall where all the runners and their supporters were trying to dry off and stretch before the race. We had parked quite a few blocks away to ensure that we wouldn't get stuck in traffic after the race, but that also meant by the time we got to the start we were all pretty wet from the knees down. We were also lucky enough to run into the Mertens as they made their way into the mall and send them off with a "Good Luck" too.
Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture above, Nathan didn't get to run in the race. Since he hadn't run in about 4 weeks because of work, he didn't want to chance getting hurt, so he sat this one out.
Shortly before 7am, we went out to the starting line. It was still raining and quite chilly, but everyone was in great spirits. Nathan and I tried to get as close as we could to the start to see everyone take off, but it was impossible, so we stayed back and just listened to the announcer over the loud speaker. The horn sounded and the runners took off with 'Cleveland Rocks' playing in the background. We headed back inside to wait for a text message as to when Melinda had crossed the 10K mark. Texting was a cool feature they had at this race. You could sign up and receive texts that would let you know when runners of your choice had crossed certain marks. We signed up for Melinda & the Mertens so we'd have a better chance of seeing them throughout the race.
Nathan waiting in the rain for Melinda before the 12 mile mark
Melinda in the front of the pack, black shirt, green shorts(right in front of the guy in the red shirt)
We tried to catch the Mertens a few times, but were unable to. The course was quite spread out and reaching different points was a little difficult... that could have been my fault since I am a little slower these days.
Three hours and forty seven minutes after the beginning of the race, Melinda crossed the finish line. By this point the rain had stopped and the sun had come out a little. It was still cold and the wind was terrible, but at least the runners had started to dry out. Melinda's time was about 7 minutes slower than what she had wanted, but she had a lot going against her yesterday; the weather, an incredibly flat course she wasn't used to, and a nasty cold she was battling. She did incredibly well though, don't you think? I can't imagine running 26.2 miles.
Melinda as she is about to cross the finish line
crossing the finish line(the time was a bit off... she finished in 3:47)
It was so exciting to see Melinda finish, it was a great ending to a long day. I say long day and by this point it wasn't even noon yet!
We hung around for a while longer hoping to see the Mertens finish, and right as we were getting ready to leave (Melinda was freezing, I was freezing, and we both needed to sit down), the Mertens crossed the finish line. Their time was 4 hours and 45 minutes, roughly. I'm sorry to say we didn't get any pictures of them, but if you go over to our "friend's blogs" posted on the side and click on 'Sally Ann Mertens' I'm sure she'll have their adventure up before too long.
All in all it was a good day. We were very excited for our friends and happy it was over and we were on our way home. Nathan said he was very inspired, but that inspiration was actually to NOT run a marathon, but maybe a half. He said he couldn't imagine now putting himself through that. Hopefully we can get him in a half marathon before the year is over. As for me, I'm inspired by all them, but I too will never run a marathon, or a half... or even a 10K. I set my goals a little lower, a 5K will be just fine by me!
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