Name: 500 Festival Mini Marathon
Date: May 3, 2008
Distance: 13.1 miles
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Course: Flat and fast (Click here to view course.)
Time: n/a
Pace: n/a
Place: n/a
Division: n/a
Results Link: Click here.
Weather: Cloudy, 60°; then sunny, 70°
Notes: One might think that I would want to stay as far away from the Mini as possible since I was so sad about not being able to run it due to my fractured leg. However, I wanted to cheer on my Let's Go friends in their quests to meet Mini goals. Also, the sting of my Mini loss was slightly eased by the fact that a former student, Gavin, ran with my bib. It was fun to coach him through what to expect, and neat to see him so excited and nervous before the race. Mom, Bridget (Gavin's mom), and I enjoyed watching the entire start and some of the finish. For the first time ever, a tie was declared since both runners crossed in 1:02:52. We started looking for Bedford people after that, and were shocked to death to see Gavin approaching the finish line with the clock still showing a sub-two hour time. His final time was 1:59:09. Wow! The most memorable moment of the day was when Jimmy gave me his finisher's medal. He said I'd trained hard, and I deserved it. I managed to hold in tears until that moment.
Photos: 18 — See below. (Some were taken by Bridget.)