I have much to get done today, but I thought I would first upload some pictures of Marathon Monday. Then I will get busy with some other pictures of our adventures in Boston and New York. Maybe I'll get around to laundry or something productive later. I am just so excited to see these pictures, and also to play with Zachary today.
Mark met up with an old friend from his freshman year at BYU. It was very fun to see him. I ran with these guys the Saturday morning before the race. It was their easy 5 mile run to just keep their legs working, and it was the fastest I have run in many, many months.
This picture is of the thousands of runners going into Boston Commons to get on one of the thousands of buses to get to Hopkinton. 
This is our spot where we watched the race. We were just before the finish line, and it was amazing to watch the winners sprint by so fast. You can see the crowds were at least 8 deep all along both sides of the streets. It was incredible.
Here is Ryan Hall, the first US Mens finisher, and he set a US record for the marathon. The time he ran this year beat last year's winning time, which was a course record. But Ryan finished 4th this year. He was so fast, and is leg muscles are so strong!
Here is Mark as he waved to us just before he finished. He was hurting pretty bad at this point. If you see him, tell him how much you like the outfit he wore. He loved the wings on the shirt and on the shorts. I wasn't so crazy about it, but he loved it. You've got to love what you wear for a race. It makes you run faster. Seriously. I have my outfit for Seattle all picked out already.
This is Mark and his brother Stephen. Stephen was so nice--he worked 18-hour days all day Saturday and Sunday before the race to get a project done so that he could drive from Hartford early Monday to watch Mark race. He is such a great brother and friend to Mark. We love you, Stephen!
Mark with his medal.
When we got back to our hotel, they had left a card of congratulations and a laurel wreath for Mark.
I loved watching Kara Goucher come sprinting through the finish. She was 4th place, but she had a strong race--especially amazing because she just had a baby 7 months ago.
This last picture I debated whether or not to post. But I sort of decided to just so you can see for yourself what I was talking about it my last post. If you have a weak stomach, just stop reading.
This picture is of the thousands of runners going into Boston Commons to get on one of the thousands of buses to get to Hopkinton. This is our spot where we watched the race. We were just before the finish line, and it was amazing to watch the winners sprint by so fast. You can see the crowds were at least 8 deep all along both sides of the streets. It was incredible.
Here is Ryan Hall, the first US Mens finisher, and he set a US record for the marathon. The time he ran this year beat last year's winning time, which was a course record. But Ryan finished 4th this year. He was so fast, and is leg muscles are so strong!
Here is Mark as he waved to us just before he finished. He was hurting pretty bad at this point. If you see him, tell him how much you like the outfit he wore. He loved the wings on the shirt and on the shorts. I wasn't so crazy about it, but he loved it. You've got to love what you wear for a race. It makes you run faster. Seriously. I have my outfit for Seattle all picked out already.
This is Mark and his brother Stephen. Stephen was so nice--he worked 18-hour days all day Saturday and Sunday before the race to get a project done so that he could drive from Hartford early Monday to watch Mark race. He is such a great brother and friend to Mark. We love you, Stephen!
Mark with his medal.
The Mens winner. Mutai. He set a world record of 2:03:02. But apparently, because Boston has an overall net elevation loss, it can't be considered a world record, despite the 6 miles of killer hills in the last 1/3 of the race. But it was the fastest marathon ever, and the second place finisher ran the 2nd fastest marathon ever. 2 records, and we were right there to see it happen!
When we got back to our hotel, they had left a card of congratulations and a laurel wreath for Mark.
I loved watching Kara Goucher come sprinting through the finish. She was 4th place, but she had a strong race--especially amazing because she just had a baby 7 months ago.
This last picture I debated whether or not to post. But I sort of decided to just so you can see for yourself what I was talking about it my last post. If you have a weak stomach, just stop reading. This was the picture I took of the girl who pooped. What can we learn from this? Well, first of all, "intestinal distress" is the official runner's term for what happened. Bill Rodgers who won the Boston Marathon a few times many, many years ago has a famous quote that often "the race is won in the porta potty." This lady finished 20th overall for women. But she barely squeaked in an olympic-qualifying time. If she had stopped at a potty, she would have been too slow. I don't know that she was trying for that, but she had to be. It makes me feel better to think that she was going for an Olympic-qualifying time and that's why she didn't stop.
But sometimes you just have to wonder if something is really worth it.
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