Marathon Cheerleader

I went to cheer on a good friend at the Bellingham Marathon this past weekend, and had such a blast.  It was a small marathon, with 281 finishers (compared to 5647 finishers at the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon I did earlier this year.)  The course was beautiful, and included some trail running alongside Chuckanut Mountain, which is way better than the streets and buildings of a city.  If I do a marathon next year, this one will certainly be under consideration.

Anyway, I was a little worried that it would make me sad to watch other people running, since I can't run very far right now due to an IT-band injury, but I got over it and was able to cheer wholeheartedly for Andrea.  I cheered for her in a few spots, but it was at mile 23.5 that my eyes started to well up as she passed by.  There's just something poignant about watching someone fight so hard to reach the finish line, after they've worked so hard to get there.  She finished in just under four hours, achieving her goal.  Way to go, Andrea!  You are awesome.