26.2

i did it! i ran ogden's marathon and finished! i have to thank my dear new friend, adam, whom i met on the bus ride to the starting line. i really think i couldn't have kept going if you hadn't kept me talking and distracted from how far i was running. adam, i hope to see you at other races in the future.
my day yesterday started at 4am. i got dressed in layers and ran out the door so i wouldn't be late and miss the buses since they start loading at 430am and the last bus leaves at 5am. i parked my jeep at the weber county building and walked to where all the people were. as i was passing a bus, the loading lady said she needed one more person. i was alone...so i jumped on. the open seat was next to a nice looking man. i sat down and was thinking about trying to sleep for the ride up, but my nerves were getting the better of me. i decided to strike up a conversation with my seat partner. we chatted back and forth for the ride up there. he asked me a lot of questions about my family and why i decided to run the marathon.
when we pulled off the road to unload in a meadow at the start, my stomach dropped and i knew this day was here and i wasn't ready. adam kept me talking as we made our way to one of the many campfires. the elevation at the starting line is approximately 5400 and the finish is approximately 4350. this makes the temperature quite chilly at 530 in the morning. we waited and watched as more and more and more people were dropped off by the buses. my adrenaline started to kick in. it is quite an amazing sight to see so many people crazy enough like me to be running a marathon. of course you have some that are there to win, some that are just trying to qualify for boston, some that have run many marathons before, some who are just there to run, and then those who have never run a marathon before.
adam and i laughed back and forth about different things and sometimes poked fun at those who were trying so hard to just get a game face focus on. i think that life in general should be an adventure and fun, not so uptight and serious. adam was amazed at how many people were loosing sight at the excitement and fun of the marathon. he was just there to enjoy it especially since he hadn't ever run ogden's marathon before. adam has run st. george's marathon twice. time didn't quite go fast enough as we waited for the officials to tell us to find our pace flags to get in line to start. i almost think they need to start the race at 6 or 630am instead of 7am. my nerves were just wanting me to be done. still, time flew quite quickly and the officials announced 5 minutes to throw your bags in the trailer and 10 minutes to start. adam parted ways with me there. i quickly shed out of one layer and stuffed it in my bag to put on the trailer. then nature hit and i made my way to the port-o-johns. i made my way to my pace flag, and found adam waiting at the same one. i thought for sure he would be nearer the front.
we chatted a bit more then before we knew it, we heard the shot to officially start the time clock. because there are so many people running, everyone can't be at the starting line when the race starts. each runner is given an electric time chip that doesn't start your time until you cross the starting line. so basically, those people who run before they get to the actual starting line are wasting energy. adam didn't want to run with music, and i had brought my mp3. i just put one earphone in and adam and i continued to talk. before i knew it, half the race was over. i shed another layer at the aid station at mile 13.1 and there is where the real challenge began. i was stupid and had only run every now and then and the farthest i have gone in this training was 9 miles. adam kept me distracted as we continued talking about life and family and religion. i apologize to you adam that i couldn't answer more of your questions about the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. i am a horrible missionary.
the miles flew past as we hit 17, 18, 20, 22, and then at mile 23 all of the water and powerade i had been drinking at each aid station caught up to me. i fully expected adam to just continue on so he could make his time of at most 5 hours. he waited for me. adam said that our time was looking really good and we hadn't even stopped a whole lot to walk, so he was going to see me through to the end of my first marathon. mile 24, 25, and then finally i could see the finish line.... about a half mile away. adam and i were just running along at the steady pace he kept when i saw lisa standing by the side of the race trail. she hollered at me to pick it up, and i tried, but then i realized adam wasn't keeping pace. i turned around and he waved me on. i yelled back at him that he got me this far, so i wasn't going to leave him. adam closed the distance and we finished the race with the crowd cheering and me very close to tears. i did it. i just ran a marathon. i just ran 26.2 miles. i finished with time to spare before they tell people they are done. i finished with a new friend who kept me going when i had no idea if i was even going to be able to start let alone finish. we high fived and hugged and had huge smiles on our faces. adam finished with the time he was hoping for, and i just plain finished. i didn't care about time this marathon. i heard my name called and turned to see my roommate erin standing just past the finish line. i walked over to her and then the tears came. i turned around to introduce adam to erin and thank him again for helping me finish, but he was gone.
adam, where ever life takes you, i wish you the absolute best. good luck with school. i am sure you will finish in less than 6 years. best of luck with the other 8 st. george marathons you plan on running. i hope to see you there if i can recover and convince myself to run another marathon. thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me, a complete stranger, to the finish. i really don't think i could have done it or done it as well if you hadn't kept me going. have fun when you go back east to visit your family. and don't forget to add spelunking to your bucket list. :) thank you again! 26.2 another check off the bucket list!