Missoula Marathon

This is the image that I will always remember from the Missoula Marathon...

crossing the finish line hand-in-hand with my husband.

WOW!

It took a tremendous amount of training, planning, pavement pounding, ice, and preparation to get to that point.  This picture was taken the night before the race...at the restaurant where we "carb loaded" for the big day.

 Brian (Phil's oldest brother) and his family were in Montana for the marathon as well. 

 The three of us never ran a single training run together, 

but we certainly shared the experience on many levels.

 This LINK will take you to the starting video from the race.  You can hear the real cannon blast that signaled the start as well as the fireworks that lasted for the first few minutes of the race.  You can see the three of us run by within the first few seconds of the video (between 0:30 and 0:33).

 Here's our BLUE CREW!  We undoubtedly had the BEST cheering section (my parents, Phil's parents, and Brian's wife and kids) of the entire marathon!

 Here's another quick peek...around the 9-mile mark.

We were still feeling pretty good at this point.

 Notice that Phil and I are running in opposite directions.  That is because Phil accidentally missed Clare's hand the first time he ran by, and he had to run back and catch her to make sure to give her a sufficient high five.

 It was 55 degrees when the race started at 6:00 AM.  As soon as the sun rose above the mountains, it warmed up very quickly.  We were used to running in heat, but we were not used to the altitude and quick climbs in elevation.

 I will spare you all the details of the painful miles that haunted me between 14 and 26.  It was my 6th marathon, so I foolishly assumed that I would be the experienced veteran of the group.  It was Phil's 1st marathon, and he was awesome.  Strong.  Supportive.  Encouraging.  Consistent.  Awesome!

After running for 3 hours and 49 minutes, we crossed the finish line holding hands.
It should be mentioned that Phil could have finished far ahead of me.  He still had spring in his step, and he was strong all the way through.  I told him to go ahead, but he wouldn't think of it.  I love that man, and I would have had a very hard time finishing without him.

I always dreamed of running with my husband, and he helped turn that dream into a reality.  It was such a fun experience to share with each other; and now that three weeks have passed, the pain has faded from our memory.

All of the kids wore shirts that said, "Go Team Hillary" on the front.

No matter than pain, these faces made us smile!!!  :)

The backs of the shirts were individualized for each family:

Brian's boys' said, "I cheer for my Dad, Uncle Phil, and Aunt Corrie."

The back of Clare and Isaac's shirt said,

"I cheer for my Mom, Dad, and Uncle Brian."

The Blue Crew

The Whole Gang...after the race...and still smiling!



Once the running was done, we were happy, happy, happy!!!

 We are taking some much needed time off of running; but I will have you know that my husband, who told me MANY TIMES that the Missoula Marathon would be his first and last marathon, already told me that he was looking up dates for future races.  I think it's in his blood now.  Watch out!