This was a full, fun weekend! I flew out of Portland early Thursday morning, getting to Cincinnati late afternoon. Gerry picked me up at the airport, and drove me to his and Tonya’s house. I got to meet KiKi, the new and really little kitten!
We got up really, really early Sunday morning. Ohio time is 3 hours ahead of Oregon time, so waking at 4:00 in the morning there was like 2:00 in the morning for me. And the race started at 6:30 Ohio time, so 3:30 in the morning for me! We all met at the D gate of the football stadium for starting pics, then we went towards the starting area.
It as raining before the race start – not really rain, just drips. I wore the Tyvek jacket, but not for long!
Time to go to part 2...
Friday we went to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. This is a beautiful historical museum, with a huge developing botanical garden and petting zoo and planetarium. We enjoyed it (and feeding Gomer, the camel) then drove back to OH to the marathon expo to pick up our bib numbers. We went to bed early that night, for we were going to meet up with computer pals and Tonya’s nephew, running the last marathon mile with his school friends, and it was going to be an early start to the day.
We got to the meeting place before the 10K start, but no one was there! So we watched the start, then walked over to the finish. We had time before Tonya’s nephew came. Watching the 10K finishers, across the street, I thought I saw Mike. I looked again, and sure enough, I recognized his boys from pics, and we called to him. First forumite we were able to meet. Tonya got a message from Luis that they’d overslept (no one doing the 10K as it turned out) and were on their way in for the 5K. 
Meantime, Tonya’s nephew came for the kids’ run, and we got pics of him getting ready. There were SO MANY school kids running – great start for future long distance runners. He was so fast, that he had finished the 1.2 miles before we got to the finish line to see him!
Meantime, Tonya’s nephew came for the kids’ run, and we got pics of him getting ready. There were SO MANY school kids running – great start for future long distance runners. He was so fast, that he had finished the 1.2 miles before we got to the finish line to see him!
Next, we met more friends for the 5K. Joanne was there, I’d been so looking forward to meeting her! And Doc SusanRachel, and the surprise runner, Xanthen! SusanRachel and Xanthen were walking the 5K with Joanne – very fun, and very special! We watched their start, and started toward the finish. Tonya got a call from her sister-in-law that her keys had ended up in her nephew’s goodie bag. So Tonya went off to pick up the keys, and I did a quick up and back on both sides of the bridge to get pics of the Ohio River.
Met up with Tonya again, and we went to cheer the 5K finishers. We went to the top of the hill just before the 3 mile mark, and clapped and cheered and whooped the runners. And we saw Joanne and SusanRachel and Xanthen coming in!
Joanne was ahead of about 150 more people! We stayed and cheered the very last ones – they all did great out there! Best of all, the forecasted rain held off, and it was a beautiful day!
We went to the expo again, looking around and looking for more friends. We called Penguin MaryD, and she’d just gotten to the hotel, so we walked over to meet her. I hadn’t seen Mary since Berlin 2004! We sat and talked, and soon Carol came. Carol had just finished the ½ marathon in Indiana, and had driven straight to the hotel. And was running the ½ marathon on Sunday at Flying Pig. J She got a shower, and we all talked, waiting to hear from Bill (Billiam), Terry (Tater), and Phil. They did call, and were looking for cheap parking, and circled the hotel several times before finally choosing to split the valet parking cost and get checked in. Very fun to meet them all! We went to the expo for everyone to pick up their numbers.
We went to the expo again, looking around and looking for more friends. We called Penguin MaryD, and she’d just gotten to the hotel, so we walked over to meet her. I hadn’t seen Mary since Berlin 2004! We sat and talked, and soon Carol came. Carol had just finished the ½ marathon in Indiana, and had driven straight to the hotel. And was running the ½ marathon on Sunday at Flying Pig. J She got a shower, and we all talked, waiting to hear from Bill (Billiam), Terry (Tater), and Phil. They did call, and were looking for cheap parking, and circled the hotel several times before finally choosing to split the valet parking cost and get checked in. Very fun to meet them all! We went to the expo for everyone to pick up their numbers.
That evening, we all ate from the pasta buffet at the hotel, and really enjoyed getting to know more about each other. And Tonya’s friends, Scott and Mary, joined us, too. They were walking the ½ marathon in the morning with Tonya.
We got up really, really early Sunday morning. Ohio time is 3 hours ahead of Oregon time, so waking at 4:00 in the morning there was like 2:00 in the morning for me. And the race started at 6:30 Ohio time, so 3:30 in the morning for me! We all met at the D gate of the football stadium for starting pics, then we went towards the starting area.
It as raining before the race start – not really rain, just drips. I wore the Tyvek jacket, but not for long!
Time to go to part 2...
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