WE DID IT IN WASHINGTON!

Running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC on Sunday was an AWESOME experience! We had a perfect day to accomplish a mighty goal and we are both so proud!! THANK YOU to everyone for all your support before, during and after the race. We flew home on Monday with our shiny new medals and returned to work Tuesday.

Richard was a SUPAHSTAH and did the 26.2 miles in an impressive 4:45:11 (faster than Al Gore when he ran it a few years ago but slower than Oprah.) I was over 2 hours slower than Richard clocking a time of 6:48:37 but as everyone I tell says: WHO CARES, YOU FINISHED. Check MM's Finish Results here. Lynn and Hardish were just behind me. Congrats to all the JeansMarines who made it to the end!

The day was filled with many beautiful memories...

Finding my running partner Hardish at the start line amidst 20,000 people... Running up and down the hilly terrain in Virginia for the first hour before going through the trees of Rock Creek Park and crossing Key Bridge over to the mansions of Georgetown... The energetic high school bands that kept us entertained along the way... Digging in to get to the bridge at mile 19 before it closed... Seeing Hardish's sister Baily and my dear filmfest friends Les Boys: Shawn, Joe & Chris along the route, along with THOUSANDS of supporters with their cowbells and banners... Seeing the funny slogans on the posters: Your feet hurt cuz you're KICKING A** and Pain is temporary - Pride is FOREVER! We even composed a few haiku enroute (will post once I remember them all!)... Seeing people running for fallen comrades or children, many with photos on the backs of their shirts... Running past family homes and then all the glorious buildings and monuments on the Mall (AND stopping to take photos along the way (Rich can't believe I was doing that even with the threat of the bridge)... Getting through the last 6 miles slowly because a) we were bored and b) we knew the medal was within our grasp... Sprinting to the finish because I heard a marine say: "Go and get it" and I DID!... Wearing my medal with pride on the plane ride home and every day to work because I know how many months it took to earn it... Smiling and nearly crying when my manager organized a SURPRISE welcome back reception for me at the office, complete with balloons and a banner across my cubicle illustrated by her daughter --Thanks Jenny and everybody on the L&D team, it was SO NICE of you - I was truly touched!!!

The online race tracking features are truly amazing. Sorry for the hundreds of emails the system sent you if you signed up for tracking (it should only have been 7 with updates for mile 5, 10, half (13.1), 15, 18, 22, and the Finish. You can still see me move through the course (press Play on this Map Track link and watch my dot move along with the elevation). Both our families were able to follow us along the route as if they were there and see where we were when the winners crossed the finish line. Rich's mom sent us printouts at various stages - thanks! - a lovely souvenir for the scrapbook... PLUS the continuous text messages let my local friends know exactly where I'd be on the route so they could be there to cheer me on. My emails will stay in my gmail account for posterity as well as the link to my finisher's website.

Can't believe it's all over... a bit anti-climactic, really. I'm looking for things to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays now. Before the race I never thought I'd run another marathon but now I think I might, not sure how soon. Next year I'm already planning the Big Sur Half Marathon in November 2008 so Wes and Marcella reserve your guestroom now! So maybe this time next year you'll be reading about our exploits on the west coast?

Check back later this week for more post-race posts and official race photos from haikugirl...

Congratulations!
Richard ran the marathon
faster than Al Gore

(this link connects you to videos of the finish line from the Washington Post - find the 4:45 block and look for Richard in a white shirt and cap, raising his hands as he crosses the finish)