I had registered Drew and I both to participate in the Joplin Memorial Run. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite get the babysitting arrangements worked out, so Friday evening after work I drove the 2 hours alone to stay the night ahead of the race.
Chris had been training and was ready to participate in the half-marathon, while Shiloh was going to "run with me" in the 5k. She did, and then some (see mile #3 selfie). The start of the race already had me teary-eyed when I saw the young couple in front of us had brought a memorial arrangement to run with. They had also lined the last 1/2 or 3/4 mile (not sure?) of the run with 161 flags printed with the names of each tornado victim. That is quite a way to finish. Official time was 29:13. That was 210th place overall, 14th in my division, and 61st out of the females. I think altogether there were 2900ish runners in both races.
Note to self: next year, be prepared for a very fit person to be bored with a 5k and take selfies while running. (I'm considering trying for the half marathon instead and she's not allowed to run beside me)
We had a great time and though it was emotional at times, I enjoyed getting up at 5:30 to run for the cause. **See our shirts, they were also for a "cause". One of Drew's dispatchers has a 12 year-old daughter fighting leukemia for the second time. No one should take good health for granted!
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| pre-race photo |
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| memorial flowers being carried |
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| see the name flags lining the street |
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| finished, yay! |
Once we were finished, we calculated where Chris would be and were able to find him at the 11 mile mark.
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| free post race food included pizza, sub sandwiches, and mexican |
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| here's the mile 3 selfie.....such a hussy |
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| official finish line photos from the website |
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| Chris finishing the half |
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