St. George Marathon

The start was early, but at least Heather and Chad were there too!

Somewhere in the middle of the race...

 The guy behind me holding the balloons is the 4-hour pace leader.

I was ahead of him most of the race.

Until miles 22-24 kicked my butt.

It was getting hot and I was getting very tired.

A very nice girl, whom I had never met, but was running too,

patted my back as I was slowing down around mile 24

She said, "You can do it!"

Later on, I caught up to her and told her thanks!

She said, "I'll run with you for a while"

My new friend Merilee is what marathons are all about-

We are all in the thick of it, cheering each other on, 

wanting success for each runner out there.

And in the end, I made it!

 4:03

That is 30 minutes better than my last time,

5 years and 2 babies later, I beat my own time!

It was an amazing feeling--

And to top it off, they also gave me a popsicle and a Coke!

But I couldn't have done it by myself...

Thanks Heather and Chad for the running advice and pep talks

Thanks to all the fans and volunteers who came out to the race and cheered along the way

Thanks Mom, Jordan, Steve and Kathryn for the finish line support.

Thanks Paul, kids, family and friends for long-distance cheers!