Marathon Man
Last month Jared ran in his first (and, he would point out, LAST) marathon, the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio. You see, Jared’s not crazy like our friend John who ran the Air Force Marathon with Jared and then just a month later ran the Baltimore Marathon. Anyway, I've been bugging Jared to write about it on here but blogging is just not his thing. The last time I brought the subject up Jared reminded me that he had already written about the marathon in his journal. I jumped right on that and asked him if I could just copy his experience from his journal to write on here. So everyone who reads this post will be able to say they've read Jared's journal!
Jared and John post-race
Today was the day! I ran 26.2 miles in 5 hours 41 minutes. After doing it I wonder why anyone would ever run a second marathon. We started off the day by meeting one of my old commanders, Colonel Jamerson at his house on Wright Patterson. He gave us a parking pass so we could park closer and then gave us two DV (Distinguished Visitor) passes to get in the DV tent. It was really nice to get the DV experience. I ran the marathon and around mile 20 hit the wall. I did a lot of running/walking for the last six miles and pushed my way through it. It was a great marathon with a lot of neat things along the way. There were bands playing on the side of the road and people cheering at certain points. We ran through the town of Fairborn and had a lot of the locals cheering for us which really lifts your spirits. There where times when I could have used that later in the race and not just at mile ten. I thought how these people in the "race of life" need people cheering and encouraging them and how sometimes we may forget to cheer them on and let them know that we support them. And how good it feels to be the recipient of their encouragement. Also, how we need to ensure the the encouragement is through the whole race to be the most effective. I am sure there are a lot of analogies I can pull from running the marathon. It was a good experience and I am glad that I have done one. We drove back after the marathon and I am staying the night at the Kennedy's before leaving for my Mom's on Sunday morning. I am tired and sore!
Just a few things that Jared didn't mention in his journal. First, he sent in the registration to run the marathon, but then found out that there wasn't any more room for runners unless he wanted to run for one of their charity partners and be a sponsored runner. He would have to donate or raise at least $500 to be able to run instead of the normal $85 registration fee. Jared really wanted to run in the marathon (because he's crazy) so he started raising money; his initial goal was to just make it to $500 so he could run. In the end he raised over $1000 and was a featured runner for his charity, the Air Force Enlisted Village (AFEV). It was amazing to see the love and support from our family and friends come pouring in. He quickly reached his $500 goal so he raised his goal to $750, and then $1000. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped Jared make it to the marathon.
Second, as Jared wrote, the last six miles of the marathon were really difficult. It took Jared four hours to run the first 20 miles and one hour 41 minutes to run the last six. I am really proud of him and impressed that he kept running. Somewhere in those last six miles Jared told me that he was passed by an old lady, like grandma old. He couldn't stand the thought of being beat to the finish line by an old woman but as hard as he tried he couldn't catch up and pass her. He was telling a friend of ours about it and we learned a new phrase. Apparently, when a girl passes a guy at the end of a race it's called "being chicked". We've decided that Jared wasn't just chicked, he was Grandma-ed. John had already finished the race (in 4 hours 16 minutes), but he came back to run the last mile with Jared. I love that John is always there for Jared, even if it means running 27.2 miles.
Finally, a big thanks to my sister Charissa for keeping Natalie during the race weekend. Jared loved having Natalie as his travel buddy, but she wouldn't have been the best running buddy. Natalie loved being at Charissa's house and has told me many times since she's been home that she wants to live with Charissa because maybe there she could have her own room.
Jared and John post-race
Today was the day! I ran 26.2 miles in 5 hours 41 minutes. After doing it I wonder why anyone would ever run a second marathon. We started off the day by meeting one of my old commanders, Colonel Jamerson at his house on Wright Patterson. He gave us a parking pass so we could park closer and then gave us two DV (Distinguished Visitor) passes to get in the DV tent. It was really nice to get the DV experience. I ran the marathon and around mile 20 hit the wall. I did a lot of running/walking for the last six miles and pushed my way through it. It was a great marathon with a lot of neat things along the way. There were bands playing on the side of the road and people cheering at certain points. We ran through the town of Fairborn and had a lot of the locals cheering for us which really lifts your spirits. There where times when I could have used that later in the race and not just at mile ten. I thought how these people in the "race of life" need people cheering and encouraging them and how sometimes we may forget to cheer them on and let them know that we support them. And how good it feels to be the recipient of their encouragement. Also, how we need to ensure the the encouragement is through the whole race to be the most effective. I am sure there are a lot of analogies I can pull from running the marathon. It was a good experience and I am glad that I have done one. We drove back after the marathon and I am staying the night at the Kennedy's before leaving for my Mom's on Sunday morning. I am tired and sore!
Just a few things that Jared didn't mention in his journal. First, he sent in the registration to run the marathon, but then found out that there wasn't any more room for runners unless he wanted to run for one of their charity partners and be a sponsored runner. He would have to donate or raise at least $500 to be able to run instead of the normal $85 registration fee. Jared really wanted to run in the marathon (because he's crazy) so he started raising money; his initial goal was to just make it to $500 so he could run. In the end he raised over $1000 and was a featured runner for his charity, the Air Force Enlisted Village (AFEV). It was amazing to see the love and support from our family and friends come pouring in. He quickly reached his $500 goal so he raised his goal to $750, and then $1000. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped Jared make it to the marathon.
Second, as Jared wrote, the last six miles of the marathon were really difficult. It took Jared four hours to run the first 20 miles and one hour 41 minutes to run the last six. I am really proud of him and impressed that he kept running. Somewhere in those last six miles Jared told me that he was passed by an old lady, like grandma old. He couldn't stand the thought of being beat to the finish line by an old woman but as hard as he tried he couldn't catch up and pass her. He was telling a friend of ours about it and we learned a new phrase. Apparently, when a girl passes a guy at the end of a race it's called "being chicked". We've decided that Jared wasn't just chicked, he was Grandma-ed. John had already finished the race (in 4 hours 16 minutes), but he came back to run the last mile with Jared. I love that John is always there for Jared, even if it means running 27.2 miles.
Finally, a big thanks to my sister Charissa for keeping Natalie during the race weekend. Jared loved having Natalie as his travel buddy, but she wouldn't have been the best running buddy. Natalie loved being at Charissa's house and has told me many times since she's been home that she wants to live with Charissa because maybe there she could have her own room.
Um, sorry Natalie, you can't have your own room. I wish I could have my own room, I kicked Don out of bed just last night for moving too much! Anyway, we loved having that sweet little girl in our house, she reminded me to see the bright side of everything! She just loves everything and is fascinated by so much!
ReplyDeleteWow, way to go Jared! I don't think I could do even a half marathon! That was cool to read about it in his own words! :)
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