Day 28

My sweet friend and faux "cousin", Rachel (Mikes girlfriend)

Today was the DC Marine Corps Marathon!  Chuck and I went to support our friend and neighbor who was running, and we also had friends in town who were running as well.  The city was jam packed with people, and I mean jam packed.  Thankfully we got to see each of our friends a couple times, and even got to see them near the finish line.  If you have never been to a marathon, it's a really special thing to witness.  I choke up several times every time I see a race.  There are always amazing people doing amazing things.

I've seen a teenaged daughter jump from the sidelines to run next to her Mom for a few miles to encourage her Mom to keep going.  I've seen a Dad push his daughter in a wheel chair the whole race.  I've seen two Marines running while carrying a guy who got injured just so he could finish the race.  I've seen people bleeding, and continue running.  I've seen men without legs pedal a bike with their arms and hands.  It is truly an amazing experience.

The fans on the sidelines cheering and yelling for the runners is super inspirational.  I love cheering for our friends!  Chuck has run the MC Marathon in the past, and today he was motivated to want to run it again.  I loved how he described the race.

"It's like you're running and you feel miserable and awful and you think 'I hate running.  Why am I doing this?' And then when you finally cross that finish line, you forget about how awful it was.  You feel so pumped full  of adrenaline and there's nothing like it."

It encouraged me a lot about my life.  A lot of times life is miserable and awful, and I think "I hate life.  Why am I doing this?"  But today God used Chuck to remind me that when I FINALLY cross that finish line- be it Heaven, or whatever trial it is I'm enduring at the time- I will forget all about the pain.  Hallelujah. 

Here's to our friends who endured all those 26.2 miles today! 

 

 Congrats and amazing job Mike!

I have no idea who that obnoxious woman is cheering in the background...

Congrats and amazing job Marco! 
My sweet husband finished the race with his friend- LOVE him!