Laura and Gracie have been training for a full-fledge marathon on June 14. Will agreed to come over and run with them and with that being the case, we decided to go to Provo and cheer them on. I made posters for us to hold.
And then we packed our bags and loaded up for Provo. We stayed with Kristi and Haini and early the next morning I drove Dan to the finish line where he set up a chair and waited patiently for the runners to cross. I then went to the mouth of the canyon (about 20 miles into the run) where I met up with Kristi and the kids. We held the posters and cheered on the runners and waited for our team. We were both thinking "where could they be" when all of a sudden; there was Laura and Mark running the last 6 with her. She came on so fast that we didn't really even get a good picture of her till she'd passed us right by.
Now we were on guard and watching closer. I saw a couple who I thought looked familiar but Kristi didn't think it was Gracie and Will until....
Will was almost dancing in the street. Of course, you have to remember that this guy runs every day and finishes 100 mile adventure races almost regularly. 20-26 miles is just a morning jog for him.
Now, look at Gracie's face. This is after 20 miles and she's still smiling!!! Can't believe the energy she's putting off. I'm so proud of her and I sure love Will for running with her.
When they passed us up, we loaded the cars and headed to the finish line. We we even lucky to get there before they came running in.
Look at Laura's stride. Mind you, she's finishing 26.2 miles and she's still reaching out for that next step. This is something I struggle with after 8 miles. How she can do it after 3x that much is amazing to me. She kept up her pace through the full 26 and I'm so proud of her. She truly can do anything she sets her mind to, to quote Mark. Amazing!!!
Will, graciously stepped back a few so that Grace to finish on her own. He's such a gentleman and so thoughtful of others. I love him so much!!!
Happy faces!! Tired feet!! Medals all around!!
I call him my "Medal-man". I can't even imagine how many of them he's collected. so far.
As the marathon was closing up another run was started for the kids. Sitani, Marley, Elijah, Jace and Annie were all in the fold.
Sitani sneaked by close to the beginning and I totally missed him but he was really moving. Look at Jace's nice stride. He looks like a natural runer. Also, check out sweet Marley running with Annie so they could do it together. Yeah Girls!!
Will provided so pre-race and early race pictures for us.
They really do look like they're having a good time.
Remember, Will is dancing around them taking these pictures. :-)
The big surprise came after the race at Gracie's apt. I was taking some of the reunion things to her place to save for later when she told me she had a surprise for me. We went into her room and she told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands. I did as I was told and she put something in my hands that felt soft and silky. I said it felt like a nightgown but she said to open my eyes. That's when I realized I was holding a shirt and a decal.
She explained that she and Laura had researched and found a half-marathon that they thought I would enjoy. After all, it ends at Lake Mead (where our family used to go skiing all the time). It's called the Saints and Sinners Half Marathon and it starts near
Hoover Dam and ends on a beach at Lake Mead.
She said, "No pressure but if you want to try to do it, we'll do it with you." We invited Elizabeth and are all going to Vegas in September.
YEAH!!
Thanks Laura and Gracie!!
