Yesterday I got the opportunity to run with my friend Sean during his marathon for moral support. I met him at around mile 18 and ran two miles to where his wife and daughter were waiting to cheer him on. We then quickly got into a car and raced to the finish line six miles away, so we could cheer him on at the finish. It was really a fun day, and I am glad I “participated” in Sean’s 2nd Portland Marathon.
A few things stood out to me during the festivities.
1. There was way more people than I expected participating. There were over 8,000 runners. That is 8,000 people deciding it would be fun to run 26.2 miles.
2. The atmosphere was great. Within the two miles of the course I ran with Sean there was a high school cheerleading team, a group of belly dancers, and hundreds of people cheering these runners on. I was astounded at the support for strangers from the community.
3. Running 26.2 miles really affects people in different ways. There were numerous people that were smiling at the finish and looked like they could run more, people that could barely walk away from the finish line, and people that had to be helped across the finish line. I don’t think I could ever run that distance, but it was really touching to see the runners at the finish line. One person in particular fell down within 100 yds of the finish line and couldn’t force his body to stand up. Two runners provided assistance to him, and he was able to cross the finish line being supported by what appeared to be complete strangers.
If I read the webpage correct, they are going to have a half marathon next year. If this is the case, I will definitely participate in this.
In case you are curious, Sean finished in 4:02:05 a pace of 9:14/mile finishing 2430 out of 8103. Now I really know that I slowed him down during our training runs.
14 years ago
