Marathon!
I spent last weekend in Portland, OR because Emily ran the Portland Marathon.   This is the second time I've waited at the finish line of a marathon and it proved to be as inspiring as ever.

Emily trained for the marathon with Team In Training, who are affiliated with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Basically, you agree to raise funds for cancer research and in return, TnT trains you to complete a marathon (or a triathlon or a century bike ride).  Then, TnT arranges for everyone to travel to the race location and stay in the same hotel.  In our case, we drove down to Portland on our own (the TnT people took the train) and we all stayed in the Portland Marriott.

On the first day, we went to the race expo to get Emily registered and look at some schwag.  I talked with the folks from the Portland Running Company about getting some new shoes--between the lack of sales tax and the 20% expo discount, it seemed like the right time to buy!  Unfortunately, they didn't have my size at the expo but extended the discount so that I could visit their retail store after the marathon and still get the discount.

Later, we went to the TnT pasta feed/pre-race pep rally at the hotel.  They had a tasty dinner and some motivational speeches that made pretty much everyone in the room (including the hotel waiters) cry.  There were cancer survivors and families of cancer patients there to cheer on the runners--they formed a human tunnel through which the runners had to pass to get to the pasta feed, and then during the race, they were scattered all over the course to provide support and encouragement.  I'm totally sold on TnT--what a great organization!

I don't think Emily slept much on Saturday night.  We woke up super-early to pound some breakfast and meet the other TnT'ers in the hotel lobby at 5:45.  They walked to the starting line together at 6:00 while I wandered around looking for a good place to take pictures of the start.

I got one photo of Emily at the starting line and then walked down the street to Naito Parkway, where both the two mile and five mile markers were (the course included a lot of "down and back" loops).  I got another photo of her at the two mile mark and then my camera died.  I stood next to some TnT supporters at the five mile mark, and Emily ran by right after 8:00--right on schedule!

My plan then was to run/walk down to the 11-mile mark, but I quickly got lost in the industrial area and decided to turn back to ensure that I could see the finish.  I spent some time at the hotel, charging up the camera.  Then, around 10:30, I headed back out to the finish line.

At the finish line, you see the professional hardcore marathon people crossing first, and then the parade becomes increasingly more, I don't know...amateur?  You see some people who look like they have no business whatsoever running a marathon, but they have just achieved this monumental personal goal.  Both sides of the street were lined with people yelling their guts out and it was a lot of fun.  I saw one guy who ran the race in a bunny suit.  Many people were crying with joy (or was it pain?).  And of course, there were lots of purple TnT shirts and "Go team!" cheers.

After five hours, I started to worry a little about Emily.  She is typically clockwork on her long runs but I knew she was a little psyched out about not being trained for the whole distance.  Once the 5:30 pace balloon went by, I started walking up the course toward the steel bridge and the mile 25 marker.  I was checking my cell phone to see if she had called or if the race people had called, but no news was good news.  Finally at about 5:40, I saw her come trotting up the hill.  She even managed to smile for a photo before I started jogging alongside her.  We "ran" the last mile together, until about a block before the finish line when I had to turn off, and then I met her again in the reunion area where she gave a very tired victory pose:



We spent the rest of the day recovering (i.e. drinking beer) and resting before heading back to Seattle via Astoria and the Washington coast on Monday.

Once again, I am in awe of the marathon.  Anyone who completes a marathon has done something truly amazing.  I don't see one in my future but I'm happy to tag along and cheer anytime.