Just a quick post!

The real report will be forthcoming, when I get my hands on some pictures and my body is a little less sore ;) but the Diablo Marathon was just amazing!!!!

A Huge thank you to Terry, who stuck with me The whole time even though he's a much better runner :) It was so awesome to get to talk to someone during the race, and even better that I finally got to know a lot more about Terry. He's such a great guy and really made this race for me. I probably might have been able to do it on my own, but it wouldn't have been even close to the great experience it was without a good friend and awesome runner by my side. Thank You!!!!

The race itself was just amazing. The most physically demanding thing I have ever done. It took us 9 hours and 10 minutes (including lots of stopping at aid stations and for photos :D). I have never been active doing something for that long. Ever. And it was just awesome. The views were spectacular (though you had to stop to look, otherwise you'd probably fall, as I almost did a few times!) and the course was just great. The downhills were super scary at times because they were so slippery (one mile downhill took us 36 minutes!!) but the views from the summit were just amazing.

This was the first time I ever seriously doubted my ability to finish a race. The first time I took on something where success wasn't almost guaranteed. I'm a perfectionist and generally like to pick things that I can count on working. This was a whole new ball game. And it was so incredibly rewarding.

There were a million great things about this race, but one of the best had to just be the people. The volunteers, of course, were amazing and just really all around awesome. I got to meet two 'coolrunners' who volunteered: Dirtrunner and Kay, who were super nice. Besides Terry, I also got to see the Zisko family, who I've run into a 2 other races and who are just great (Gail was working an aid station and was very much a friendly face at those points in the race), and Karen, who I had run pirates cove with. It's fun to really feel like I'm becoming part of this community. Sarah and Wendell, of course, were also just so great. Sarah gave me a big hug when I finished and was so genuinely happy for me.

I can't believe it took me over 9 hours to run a marathon.

And I can't wait to try again next year :)



(there are so many details that need to be added, but I'll have to do that later. Rest assured, the whole story is soon to come :) )