Brookings Marathon

Last weekend we had a great trip to South Dakota for the Brookings Marathon. The festivities began on Thursday night when Ben's dad arrived in town from California. We are so glad he got to come, we had a great time with Papa--and it meant a lot to Ben for his dad to come see him in his first marathon!

We took our time driving up to Brookings and stopped at Olive Garden in Sioux City for lunch. Sammy was a devil child during the meal, but we all got through it alive!

We made it to Brookings around 4:30, checked into the hotel and had just enough time for me to change and get over to the University for check-in for the 5K. We got there, checked in, and then had some time to wait before the race.

The wind was really whipping and I was glad I had worn a long-sleeve shirt over my t-shirt! I ran with 72 other people from all over the midwest.

I finished in 25:30 and was 32nd out of 72. I've never run that fast in my life! I was very proud of myself.

The marathon began the next morning bright and early at 7 am. It was a brisk 30 degrees when we got there. Ben and I were very glad Papa was there to stay at the hotel with the kids because it was VERY cold! I couldn't believe all the runners out there in tank tops and running shorts freezing their tails off. Ben had a running jacket that he wore for the first two or three miles. I got in the car and went to find him on the course and he handed it off to me as he passed by.

Around mile 8.

The final 1/4 mile.

The last 50 feet... almost there!

The medal! He did it!

We could see the salt caked to his face and he looked exhausted, but he finished it! The timing chip he had worn around his ankle bobbed up and down for 26 miles and ripped his ankle to shreds. He still has scabs all the away around. The first words out of his mouth once he crossed the finish line were, "Why did I put myself through that? It was so hard!" But not more than ten minutes later, he was talking about the next one. I'm sure this will be the first of many!

You probably can't read it, but his watch reads his time of 4:11:23. It was a great time for his first marathon, we are so proud of him!

The whole family post-marathon.

Later on at the hotel we took advantage of the hot tub and the waterslide. It was a lot of fun! Eli loved the waterslide but Carli didn't want anything to do with it! We had breakfast for dinner at Perkins (the best meal of the trip!), and then fell into bed.

It was a great weekend! Thanks, Papa, for all the meals and the great time, and Congratulations to Ben on his first marathon!