There are times when it is nice to get away from the hustle and bustle. These are the times when running for miles without seeing another person can be enjoyable. But when you sign up for a road marathon, you don’t go into expecting lonely miles. You expect to see people out along the way offering words of encouragement and cheering you on. It really doesn’t matter that they sometimes say things like, “your almost there” when you have 7 miles to go, because you know that they mean well. These are the folks that help to keep you moving when your body is saying STOP. They are wonderful.
I have been lucky enough to have a few folks who have been there for me in my past races. I have run marathons where I get to see them along the way, others where they are only at the end, and one marathon where they were cheering from the other side of the country. Knowing that they are cheering me on makes such a difference. It is especially nice to when I can look forward to seeing them in the miles ahead.
Today was my day to give a little bit of that support back. I especially wanted to be out there for Cindy, who has lead my cheering squad on a number of occasions.