Thank you all for your positive energy, thoughts, prayers and donations. Team Tata succeeded and conquered the course, which I think is the hardest course I’ve run. From bridges over the intercoastal (twice btw – there & back), to an onramp that is angled (also twice) to a stretch of sand along the ocean, this is not an easy run.
The entire course seemed to be pink and the spectators decorated their houses with breasts cancer awareness flair. Their cheers plus the signs on the backs of other runners kept us all motivating and moving. Over 10,000 people ran this year and every one has been touched by breast cancer in some way. Shirts read “In memory of… in honor of… I’m running for….” and my favorite, the mom who had a big picture of her baby on the back of her shirt with the words “I’m running so she never has to go through what I did”.
Steph and I completed the half marathon, had our beer (the best tasting bud light in the world) and then made our way back to the relay team meeting point. A couple hours and some heat stroke later, our last relay runner made it to the check point and we all jumped back on the course (including Mindy’s two little girls) and ran the last 100 yards to the finish together. I can’t wait to see the picture of Team Tata plus 2 crossing the finish line, hands linked, faces red and hearts bursting.
I’ll post some photos as soon as I get home. It was rough but I feel ready for my surgery and final biopsy on Friday. I will tell the doctors “this is nothing… I ran 13.1 miles last weekend”!
Aloha –