Race From the Heart was today! Boy, what a long time coming this race was. So much preparation by so many people. And considering it was the first race for this inaugural event, it was incredible that there were very few glitches, amazing weather, and an huge number of participants.
I arrived at 6:00 a.m. this morning to help with set up. Many of the stores in town donated food, water, paper products to this event. The deliveries began bright and early and I got to work cutting oranges and bagels. I also handed out medals to finishers of the 5K.
My friend(the tall one)came home from ND to run in the race. She had lots of company as many people from all over came to support the family.
Lisa's husband Jon started both the 5K and the half marathon:
Most of Lisa's family was there supporting the runners:
Angela and Hilary, Lisa's nieces.
Travis and Julia, Lisa's son and niece.
The Owatonna Baseball players came and helped work at the race and provided the human tunnel the finishers ran through. Travis, Lisa's son in the above picture plays on the team and to see these young men support their teammate was an awesome sight.
The best volunteers ever, Margo and Nichole, awaiting race finishers with me.
Nichole's husband ran the marathon and Nichole was able to present him with his medal. She didn't tell me she was going to hug him and I cried when I saw it! Picture tons of people cheering while Al runs through the tunnel, with his wife standing at the end, placing the medal around his neck. I just thought it was such a great moment. You have no idea how hard a marathon is, unless you run them, OR unless you are at the finish line and see first-hand what these athlete's bodies go through. My co-dependency was in full-force and it was hard for me to see people almost pass out or throw-up due to the sheer amount of energy it takes to complete these things. And this was only a half marathon!
My friend Jill finishing the 1/2. Could she be cuter?
Seeing that many runners (upwards of 750) and so many friends and family of Lisa come together in support of her family, together with Lisa's spirit of generosity and love was so unreal. Emotions ran high, but the experience is something I will never forget and the images will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
Race From the Heart was today! Boy, what a long time coming this race was. So much preparation by so many people. And considering it was the first race for this inaugural event, it was incredible that there were very few glitches, amazing weather, and an huge number of participants.
I arrived at 6:00 a.m. this morning to help with set up. Many of the stores in town donated food, water, paper products to this event. The deliveries began bright and early and I got to work cutting oranges and bagels. I also handed out medals to finishers of the 5K.
My friend(the tall one)came home from ND to run in the race. She had lots of company as many people from all over came to support the family.
Lisa's husband Jon started both the 5K and the half marathon:
Most of Lisa's family was there supporting the runners:
Angela and Hilary, Lisa's nieces.
Travis and Julia, Lisa's son and niece.
The Owatonna Baseball players came and helped work at the race and provided the human tunnel the finishers ran through. Travis, Lisa's son in the above picture plays on the team and to see these young men support their teammate was an awesome sight.
The best volunteers ever, Margo and Nichole, awaiting race finishers with me.
Nichole's husband ran the marathon and Nichole was able to present him with his medal. She didn't tell me she was going to hug him and I cried when I saw it! Picture tons of people cheering while Al runs through the tunnel, with his wife standing at the end, placing the medal around his neck. I just thought it was such a great moment. You have no idea how hard a marathon is, unless you run them, OR unless you are at the finish line and see first-hand what these athlete's bodies go through. My co-dependency was in full-force and it was hard for me to see people almost pass out or throw-up due to the sheer amount of energy it takes to complete these things. And this was only a half marathon!
My friend Jill finishing the 1/2. Could she be cuter?
Seeing that many runners (upwards of 750) and so many friends and family of Lisa come together in support of her family, together with Lisa's spirit of generosity and love was so unreal. Emotions ran high, but the experience is something I will never forget and the images will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
2 comments:
What a wonderful yet emotional day you had. I was tearing up reading about the marathon and listening to Switchfoot. The pictures are priceless. How much money did they end up raising?
LeeAnne, Great post. It was such an incredible morning. Whether you knew Lisa personally or not. It was amazing seeing the support of this community. So cool. great pictures. may i steal one of them to add to my others on my blog?
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