Missoula Marathon
Missoula, Marathon
July 11th 2010
Number 11 is now done! I think I have said this in every post, but I can’t believe how quickly this year is going by. For this race, both Dustin and I were pretty tired. We’ve both had quite a bit going on and our lack of sleep was either going to plays it’s card on race day, or we would possibly luck out and would be just fine. Even though we started the day off not feeling the greatest – some stomach issues for Dustin and just not feeling “right on” for myself. I was really starting to worry when we hit mile 4 and 5, how miles 14 and 15 were going to feel as the weather continued to get warmer and my legs would continue to tire. After a needed bathroom stop around mile 6 for both Dustin and I, we both felt great when we started running again, like we had just started our run and well this time. We were even cruising along at a rather good pace, we crossed the half way point at 1:46, which I truly couldn’t believe. I didn’t think we were moving that fast. We wound up keeping the same pace and crossed the finish line in 3:32. It was a good day and Dustin and I enjoyed running this one together. As corny as it might sound to some of you, we finished the last part of the race holding hands. It’s always a great experience when Dustin and I get to finish a race together. It also got the fans going and was great push to finish the race strong.
The Missoula Marathon was also the spot for Race4Equality’s 2nd ever booth. The Missoula Marathon was about a quarter of the size of the Fargo Marathon (5,000 runners vs. 20,000 runners) and still proved to be a wonderful outlet to spread our message. Being from Montana was nice when speaking with everyone, and being at a slightly smaller race felt like we were able to speak to a lot of interested parties. In addition to those I never got to speak with. We never know who we are going to touch, whether we have a conversation with them or not. We never spoke to the person who inspired our 12 marathons a month – and look at what it sparked! I enjoyed the people I was fortunate to speak with and feel I made some great connections for future R4E athletes and others who may be able to help R4E in different ways. It was a blessed weekend and I was incredibly thankful to have been there and spread our message. It’s to be seen on whether we gained another R4E athlete or two or three, but I do think I was able to reach at least one person to do something good and beyond them selves.
We were also joined by Lindsey’s younger sister, Kari, and dad, Mark, who both ran the half marathon. So proud of those guys. They did well and is so awesome to have them join in on something that both Dustin and I love so much.
Next up… #12 – The Elkhorn 50k.
