Last week I made my second trek across the country to participate alongside other SparkPeople members in a racing event--the Seattle Rock ‘n Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon. The minute I stepped off the plane the temperature was a good 25 degrees cooler than it had been when I left Dallas just a few short hours before. In Texas, we had an extremely warm June with temperatures hitting well into the triple digits so being in the Pacific Northwest was a nice change. I was greeted at the airport by my friend Tami Auntie65 whom I stayed with while in Seattle. We have been virtual friends for a few years via the Rookie Running Group, as well as the Road Runners Group, but we have never had the opportunity to meet one another in person until last week. 
I also had the honor to meet Tami’s younger sister Teri TROGERSMOM24, and their friend Lynne AKA Lynnes521 who all lived in the area. At the Expo I was able to meet my Road Runners Group pals Darin AKA OPUS1LOVER ,who traveled all the way from Kansas, and Ann AKA PAG2809 who was the lone member in the group participating in the full marathon. We all met at the Expo on Thursday and spent well over three hours visiting all the booths and venues. We even had the opportunity to meet Olympian Brian Sell. (See below)
The race took place on a cool, compared to Texas standards, Saturday morning and commenced in Tukwila, Washington. There were over 27,000 participants signed up, with well over 20,000 who actually ran or walked the race. It was truly one of the best races I have participated in. While the hills were a little bit of a challenge for this Texan, I did my best to muddle through. I crossed the finish line amongst a throng of cheers and well wishers which well rivaled those I heard in Chicago last October.I waited at the family reuniting area under the ‘S’ for SparkPeople until the others joined me. Teri finished well ahead of me, but was at the finish line cheering for the runners as they crossed their final mat. The biggest surprise came from my two dear friends, Mike, AKA Kayakid and Kim, AKA KGPOSSIBLE who made the three hour trip from Portland, Oregon early Saturday morning to meet up with all of us running the race. What a pleasure to meet friends I have known for years via SparkPeople. I must say the tears were flowing as I was so touched by their kindness to come so far just to say hello and share a hug. Keep in mind, these two members are part of the Hood to Coast SparkPeople team, of which I am also a member, who will be running the 197 miles from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon at the end of August. 
Unfortunately, there were a few members I did not get to meet-- my friend Stacey, AKA STACEYSGETNFIT who traveled from Spokane with her local Team N Training program to the run the Half-Marathon in honor of her Mom and Kimberly 13-1 GIRL who happens to live in my neck of the woods not too far from me. Nor did I get to meet Lori, another member who lives in the heart of Seattle, but just knowing they were on the course or in the cheering section made this day one I will never forget. And I even managed to find a penny on the race course and so did Tami! So what is in store for the rest of the year for me? August 1st I will be heading to Chicago to run the Rock n Roll Half-marathon with even more SparkPeople members. As I mentioned earlier, the end of August will take me back to the Pacific Northwest to tackle the Hood to Coast Relay. In October I will take on the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10-- after all what a great date, right? I will then head to San Antonio in November to walk the Rock n Roll Half-marathon with my girlfriends from high school, as well as a few SparkPeople members. I will close the year out in Las Vegas in my final Rock ‘n Roll appearance of the year with even more SparkPeople members. So if you happen to be in any of the areas I will be running, drop me a line, I would love to meet up. One of the most amazing parts of this journey is meeting so many SparkPeople members. I had to snicker when I was running the Seattle Half-Marathon in my Sparkin’ Hood to Coast tech shirt with the SparkPeople logo splashed across the back, hearing the people behind me recognize the SparkPeople burst. SparkPeople is changing the way we live. Feel free to share your SparkPeople rally or meet up experiences with other SparkPeople Members and how it changed your life. |
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