Marathon Weekend

It was the Fargo Marathon this weekend and I was involved as a spectator!  My parents and sister ran the 1/2 marathon and I knew many other people participating in the various events.  There was a very high chance of rain on Saturday but it didn't happen!  What a relief that was.  I was relieved I wouldn't have to stand outside with an umbrella and soaked feet.  I can't imagine how relieved the people running were! 

I had to share this photo that Andrea took of my parents and their training buddies!  It makes me laugh!  Jake, of course, is tearing ahead, and Wally is running by my dad's side like the typical loyal dog. 

 Jake is such a maniac! He would dominate a marathon if such a thing existed for dogs.

We (myself, Kirk, my cousin Katie, and Kirk and Andrea's neice India) caught the runners as they ran the 6th mile through one of the beautiful, tree shaded neigborhoods.  My dad was leading the pack of people we were watching for but we missed him running by and only saw the back of his head because a paraplegic competitor travelling the course in some sort of wheelchair/bike combo went by with a police escort simultaneously and distracted us.
Next came Andrea and her sister-in-law Robyn. 

They are the ones in the middle.  Robyn is wearing all black and Andrea is right behind her in a blue shirt with a pink hat.  I cropped this a bit but couldn't remove that poor guy in the corner without distorting the image!   

Off they go! 

My mom came next.  She is in the white, turning back to see who was yelling in the crowd! She was not at her best because her ankle has been acting up.  She had a veteran high school basketball coach tape it for her a few times and said felt like she had a spring in her foot afterwards! I think my dad tried to recreate the effect hte morning of the race. Taping is a new concept for this family...we seem to have highly performing ligaments and tendons.  I always thought the taping routine that so many of my teammates and classmates endured daily during sports seasons seemed tedious. Hopefully now that this race is over she will heal.

Results can be seen here:
 http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/330

Good work to everyone! 

Meanwhile, at our house, Justin was having the trees in the backyard trimmed. 

I will have to see this in person to really see the results but it looks better back there.  Hopefully our garden will get more sun this summer and we will have better results!  I love the trees and shade back there but there were some nasty branches up there.