WOW...WHAT A DAY!
April 16, 2018 will go down in my book as one epic day!
I'm sure most of you are aware of by now, but this past Monday, April 16th, was the Boston Marathon.
We have been talking about this day for the past 5 1/2 months.
Now that it is over, I thought I would give you a little recap.
Prior to heading to Boston, I had my eye on the weather....for about the past 2 months!
The week of the race, all forecasts showed that there was a 100% chance of rain and wind...and boy did they get that one right!
From the time I woke up on race day, until the time I shut the lights out at night, it didn't stop raining.
We got to the Starters Village (fortunately, we had a house that was right at the Village that we were able to be in before the race) and when it was time, my St. Jude Teammates and I made our way to the Corral
Due to a steady rain, all those from our Wave (there were 4 waves of runners in this marathon and each wave had multiple corrals that they would send out one at a time), were walking toward our corrals, we heard over the loud speaker that due to the weather, they weren't going to hold us up.
They said to keep moving and when we get to the Starting Line, GO!
It was cold, windy and rainy.
At times, we experienced wind gusts up to 50 mph, but mostly we dealt with a driving rain and steady wind.
I heard, later on, some of the Elites who have ran this race multiple time says that this was the worst conditions they have ran the Boston Marathon in.
So off I ran with a stocking hat and rain poncho that I intended to discard at the start, end up being the items that kept me sort of dry and warm for the day.
The hat....an old stocking hat I grabbed from the closet before we left home. It had a Superman logo on the front.
Because of the rain poncho being over my St. Jude race singlet, no one knew who I was running for. Usually, someone might call out, "Way to go St. Jude." "Come on St. Jude" and so on, but since they couldn't see my singlet, instead I heard, "Come on Superman." "You got this Superman" and so on.
The first time I heard it, it took me a few seconds to realize they were talking to me.
I thought, "I'm no Superman. I'm just a guy who loves to use running as a way to represent and promote a cause that is greater than myself."
I thought about ditching the hat a few times and just putting on my St. Jude ball cap that I was carrying with me. Each time I was about to do it, something would happen; a wind gust....a sustained downpour of rain....or I just forgot about it.
Nearing the end of the race, with about a mile to go, I decided I was going to get rid of the rain poncho.
I knew I missed out on many pictures that photographers were taking during the race (they identify you by your bib number and since mine was covered all race, no pics would show up) and I at least wanted one of me crossing the finish line.
Honestly, it was a little tough to let go of this flimsy, plastic poncho. It had been my comfort blanket for better part of 5 hours. WE ran the Boston Marathon together...but hey, I wasn't THAT sentimental with it...so off it went!
I thought about doing the same thing with the Superman beanie, but I reflected back on the race. Each time I heard, "Come on Superman" "You got this Superman" it made me think about WHY I was running this race.
It made me think about ALL of those who supported this great organization.
ALL who supported me and my fundraising efforts.
I thought about the kids who were currently in the fight.
Although I'm no superman, it reminded me of all those who truly are.
So I kept on the hat, over the finish line, so the hat could tell the story!
The Superman Hat....the red rain poncho...they helped to keep me calm in the storm that day.
Go out and be the CALM in somebody's STORM today.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Our St. Jude Team of 12 runners helped to raise over $210,000 for ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL on just this race alone. The fundraising is still open. PLEASE consider a donation to this GREAT organization and cause. To do so, go to:
ANY donation is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for joining me on this journey as we continue in our BEST YEAR YET!
Here are some other scenes from the 122nd Boston Marathon
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