Before I even begin I just want to congratulate and applaud every single runner that toed the line for the Chicago Marathon this morning. Mother Nature delivered unto them a day that would test their very will, determination and heart. The blood, sweat and tears I witnessed today left me humbled and in awe. I can not even fathom what it took each of them to endure all 26.2 miles but I admire them all for their courage and I can only hope they all know what absolute and complete BAD@SSES THEY ARE FOR FINISHING!!! You are all my HERO!
That being said, here's my spectating racap from Mile 22.5 of the 2010 Chicago Marathon (CM10):
I arrived in the city just as dawn was breaking and many a marathon runner was anxiously awaiting the start of the marathon...
7:00 AM and all is calm...
As promised I set up shop at Mile 22.5, just off the corner of 31st St and Wentworth Ave. and just after the aid station. While I awaited the action to get under way I read a book to pass the time, made a few calls and became friendly with the other spectators that began to show up when it got close for the Elite's to start the day...
The socks didn't last long but the tunes did! Spectating Success!
At 1:47+ in, the Elite pack zoomed by...
...and shortly after the first woman. They all looked amazing in action!
Do you know what the best part of spectating is? Recognizing your runners!!! Who could this be in the orange bandana you ask?!?!? None other than the one and only, speed machine that is known as: The Running Laminator!!!
GO LAM!!! I was so excited to see him!!! YAY!!!
Not long after I spotted Sam from Operation Jack!!!(Easily spotted by shirt alone! CM10 was #50 of the year! GO SAM!!!)
Just after Sam ran by Nicole from Runner Nic and Erika from Chasing My Monkeys came and spectated the next few hours with me. I was SO thankful to have them there, have some company and rally together when the sun made even spectating tough.Ready to hear about the absolute most craziest thing to happen while spectating today? We saw Dean. As in Dean Karnazes the Ultramarathon Man!!! Kid you not!!! Nicole looks over and spots him running up the sidewalk, we all scream like star struck high school girls and he THANKS US for spectating as he runs by!!!! HOW FRIGGIN' AWESOME!?!?! Had I have had any common sense I might have snapped his picture as he ran by but I was just too in awe do anything but be in awe! LOL!
To end this, throughout the course of the morning I saw a few more friends (it's much harder to spot and snap pics once the crowds thicken), but missed most, met a few readers (Thank you all for coming up and saying hi!!! I hope you all had great races!!! Be sure to let me know how you did!!!!) and helped more than a few runners along the way. I saw things that inspired me and things that broke my heart. I saw things that I don't even know where to begin to discuss. As I said in the beginning of this post, the blood, sweat and tears I witnessed today left me humbled and in awe.
Congratulations to all the CM10'ers out there recovering from what was surely one of the toughest days they've ever endured. Lest you forget, let me remind you again:
YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!
46 comments:
So awesome! Kudos to you for getting up early & cheering everyone on. And I'm so jealous you got to see Lam kick butt!
thanks for the lamjustwentbytext today :) what's up with the pink suitcase? spare batteries for the boom box?
you are awesome for heading out and spectating alone! i thought for sure you knew someone else to watch with. you are brave.
what a great post! and it leaves me wanting to hear some stories from the day.
I agree with you that the best part of spectating is recognizing your runners...
I enjoyed your post.
I looked for you today - saw your sign in the garbage can, because I am SLOW. The sign was still great tho - thanks for being out there. Specatators are awesome!
That's awesome that you could be there, seeing so many familiar faces AND seeing Dean. Wow! I'm sure they appreciated seeing The Redhead cheering for them... I know I always did! :-)
Bummer about about seeing a sign in the trash.... :( Hanging out for the slower runners is tough b/c as you know, WE take forever, but hey, what we lack in speed we make up for in determination.
CONGRATULATIONS to all the Chi-town Marathoners! Well done, guys! You are an inspiration!
*hugs* from Orlando
You are awesome. I am sorry that I missed you. :(
You are an amazing spectator! Jealous of your Dean encounter I didn't even know he ran road marathons!
It was beyond great to see you out there today. You were like a tutu-clad oasis in what was pretty much running hell!
good work on the cheering! i can't imagine how miserable it was to run today...it was so hot here, and i'm sure the other side of the lake was worse. i watched the race online before i did my last "long" run. the men's finish was heart-stoppingly good. even my husband got excited to see the sprint to the finish.
see you next week!
Sorry I missed you! Today was HARD. The heat really got to me, but my goal time was to break 5 hours, and I missed it by only a bit more than 7 minutes. I KNOW I could have done it if it wasn't for the weather, and that makes me feel good.
Plus, one of my friends got dehydrated, cramped up at mile 18, fell down as she couldn't move her legs, and used her arms to crawl out of the course until someone helped her up. She arrived at the finish line in an ambulance. So just finishing today was a huge accomplishment for me.
You saw Dean??? How cool s that?!?
You look precious in your spectating outfit. I'm sure your encouragement helped many a runner make it a little further. Thanks for being out there for them!
It's awesome that you got up early to cheer everyone on! You look great!
You are the BEST supporter! :)
WOW you saw so many people! And you saw Dean! That is awesome! Sounds like so much fun!
That's so great that you were out there to give encouragement to the other runners!
..and i'm SO jealous you saw Dean! Sounds like a fabulous day!
i'm sure they needed you out there yesterday with how hard of a day it was. i have a friend who ran it and it was a tough day. but i still want to do it some time...
you are totally the best spectator, I love it!! So fun to see the elites and man look at that form!
What great support you were for all the runners! I watched the live feed of some of the race, looks fabulous. Maybe one day I will run Chicago!
It sounded brutal out there. I'm sure you gave tons of people a boost they needed at that point. Thanks for the recap from your perspective...
That race sounds tough. Awesome that you saw Dean!!
i love spectating and you did a great job out there girl! i cant imagine running a marathon in those conditions - they are all awesome!
You ROCK so hard you don't even know. I kept telling myself that Red will be there at M22 so you better not slow down or walk. Didn't want to make a bad first impression. Ha! Thanks for coming out and motivating.
I was wondering if Dean was actually going to run or if he was just showing up to the expo to speak.
I was the gal in the yellow marathon maniac shirt that ran up to. I finished in 4:53, slowest ever but I stayed well hydraded and felt great at the finish because I did that. Thanks again for your cheering!
Now all I hear about is: "Dean's abs are waaaayyyy better than yours" or "Dean is faster than Spike."
Thanks Dean.
Morgan you are so awesome!!!!! I am the one who yelled, "hey Morgan, I read your blog" just as you started to walk away. You don't even know how happy I was to see you!! And you gave this stinky runner not one but two hugs! This was my first marathon, and I fell way below my goal. I am really upset because I trained better than that. A part of my running spirit died in Chicago on Sunday :o(
I am so happy that you are cleared for take off for the GR half!! I am for sure going to be there with a cow bell and a kazoo and other crazy things I can round up. I will figure out where I am going to be and let you know.
Morgan you rock.
Love your spectating get up and your signs! I'm sure all those exhausted runners appreciated it too!
You are so right: anyone who braved that race yesterday is a complete rock star and bad ass in my book!
And...you're a rock star for spectating in that horrid heat! You probably did more than you can even imagine for all the people that passed you! Again, I want to be your spectating pimp - you are good!
Had so much fun marathon spectating with you! :)
I'm so bummed I didn't see you :(
I had no idea Dean was running that one!! How Random! :) I wouldn't have thought quick enough to snap a pic, either. I mean...it's DEAN.
Yum.
Love this recap! I wish you were cheering in Denver next weekend - that'd be just the boost I'll need at mile 22.5! I mean, that tutu. ow owwww ;)
Thank you so much for being out there to cheer us all on! The crowds definitely helped us pull through that heat!
And I'm so glad you found Nicole! When I saw her screaming up and down (twice!) it totally made my day!
Footraces are one of the few events where you get to see the elites up close and personal. Great job on the spectating!
No one spectates like you. No ONE!
How great! I love the fact that the runners are commenting on this post too.
You make spectating sound awesome! I loved the pics, so neat to see the elites run by.
ooh I wish I knew u had a sign. I looked for you from 22 to almost the end. IDK how I missed you!!!! Darn... next time!!!
NIIIIIIIIIIICE!! I like the recap from a spectator's point of view! It's relieving to hear that you knew just how hard it was in that awful awful heat!
I wish I had read your blog sooner, I would have ran/crawled passed & waved!
Thanks for the support!
Based on Spike's comment, I think that I need a ab by ab comparison between him and dean. Set that up if you could. Did you think that Dean was shorter in real life than you thought he would be? He was to me for sure.
I love the tutu that you always wear. so bright!!
You are quite the spectator! Hilarious! My favorite sign at the marathon I was at last week "26.2 because 26.3 would just be CRAZY!" For whatever reason I found this funny! I met Dean Karnazes at the Fargo Marathon. Little man-totally surprised me! Love the tutu!
Thanks for coming out! Spectators are what make Chicago so awesome!!!
I saw Dean at the expo... I could have stood in line and talked to him but wasn't really feelin it... For some reason it seems cooler to spot a Dean in the wild.
It was great having you girls out there under those conditions! Thanks for the coconut water :)
Morgan, I'm so sad I didn't see you. At that point in the race, I couldn't even focus on the crowd so I may have run right past you. I knew where you were going to be though and that kept me motivated to keep going strong. Sunday was a tough day - I didn't meet my goal but did manage to basically tie my PR, so I'll take it. Thanks for being out there cheering - it made a difference for me!! Good luck in your training for the half! I hope you are back stronger than ever soon! I'm working on my CM recap for my blog - hope to publish tonight.
I love the pic of you in your tutu. Super cute. :)
I saw Dean at the expo and was going to take a pic, but my battery was dead!! Argh!!!
I tweeted about your awesomeness but I wanted to make sure I also told you here about it. You are awesome!! Seeing a vibrant and enthusiastic fan such as yourself will lift anyone's spirits. You rock!
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