It was Patriot's Day, also known as Marathon Monday. This year was the hottest in years. It was awful for the runners in the mid-high 80s. It was also the first year we had a friend running. Thora's dad Sean was running this year on an MGH team to raise money for childhood cancer research. I took the day off work, and Becky and Ally had the week off, as it's their Spring Break. We texted with Sarah (Thora's mom and Sean's wife) the night before so we could predict when Sean would reach our spot. If we go to watch the race it's always about mile 24. Keep in mind that watching the marathon in person always makes me cry. It's something about the triumph of the human spririt and mind over body and the fact that I hate running so very much I have the utmost respect for people who run such a long distance.
With the record heat forecasted Sarah was not sure when Sean would make it. She was watching from mile 20 and would let us know when he reached her so we could better guess when to look for him.
We headed over and hung out with some friends at their store, The Tiny Hanger, it's a children's boutique right on the race route. Olive, pictured win Ally above and below go to school together and we've known her family for several years now.
Becky and I brought the girls to a park to play while we waited for Sean.
After a while we headed back to the air conditioned store to cool off. Here are the girls posing with their picture from the store opening about 6 months ago. My has Ally grown up since then. It was kind of bizarre to have a life sized picture of her on the wall right next to her. Such a comparison.
Finally it was time to wait for Sean and cheer him on. Ally and I had made signs "Go Sean" and "U can do it" to hold and by the then crowd had thinned considerably. We waited and waited. Ally at one point screamed in her stroller "I am too hot.....it's too hot for me" I just looked at her and told her to drink more water and calm down. Becky turned the stroller around so Ally's back was to the sun. I think it's obvious from the picture above how Ally was feeling. We were not leaving until Sean came. I figured if he could run for what was now over 4 hours in this scorching heat we could wait. We knew what he was wearing and he is very tall but we waited and waited. Finally Olive's dad Drew texted her mom Lucia that Sean was close. (each runner has a microchip tracker in his shoe so you can follow them online as they progress thru the race. Drew was manning the store while Olive and Lucia watched with us.) Finally I spotted him and Ally quickly ran and got on my shoulders so she could see. Becky and I held our signs and we all yelled for him and cheered him on. He actually smiled when he saw us and ran to give us high fives!
It was truly amazing to see. Even now the memory gives me chills. He was trying so hard and was so determined to finish. This race this year was not about time it was about the battle and the finish.
In my excitement I did not get a picture of Sean running towards us. But there he is in the yellow tank top and grey shorts running away, down the hill towards the finish. Less than 2 miles more to run.
I saw Sean this morning for the first time since those few seconds he was running. I told him I thought he did great...amazing running, completing the race, doing it in the heat. He thanked me to cheering him on and said it meant a lot. It meant a lot to us too. Thank you Sean for the memory and the example of setting a goal, doing it under less than ideal conditions and for having a smile for friends. I know Ally and Becky and I will always remember the year Sean ran the marathon.
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