Race Day Fandom

It wasn’t too long ago that I laced up the running shoes, plugged in the iPod, and completed 26.2 miles in the Marathon.  I was reminded of just how fantastic that experience was yesterday when we went out to the Park to cheer on our good friends Stephen, John and Summer in the Manhattan Half Marathon.

It’s a different experience being “outside the ropes”, but we were so very proud of the accomplishments of our friends. Prior to training for the half, Stephen was a classic “run a couple miles on the treadmill perhaps a couple times a week” type runner.  At the urging of his best bud John, Stephen put in the time and training and they both ended up completing the course at a speedy 8:18/mile clip.  To top it off, Summer also did the full 13.1 despite not being able to do a full training regimen beforehand.

Tracy and I took Miller and John Jr. to the finish line to cheer for last 0.1 miles.

Summer couldn’t resist getting a little smooch in to give her the last bit of energy to the finish line.

In the end, there were 3 happy finishers.  And the best part - it sounds like this isn’t a one time thing.  There’s already talk about Brooklyn in May, and perhaps the Mansfields can join next time!