Philly Half Marathon

Jason has done "it" again; he did something I think is completely insane- run 13.1 miles.  Thankfully after he ran a full marathon, he swore to never do one again; however, he plans to run more half marathons throughout the country.  I love the idea of more trips, but I asked he only run them in the even years to give all of us a break from his training runs.

Months ago Jason decided the Philadelphia Half Marathon would be his first out of state running festival.  Our dear friend Kristen was enthusiastic to run it with him.  Good, Jason has a buddy and I had another spectating parent and kids with me.  We were all a little nervous about run being in mid November.  You never know how cold it can be.

Here we are on race day and the weather was perfect; 50's at the start, rising into the 60's by mid-day.  Kristen and Jason were up and out early for the race.  Jerry and I took all the kids into the city by 8:00 to park and make our way to somewhere between miles 12 and 13.  We opted for no strollers; the kids were troopers walking about a mile from the parking garage to Boathouse Row.  We picked a perfect spot on the street where very few spectators were standing, just a half mile below the finish line.

The cheering squad

After a disappointing spectator experience 2 years ago (Daddio didn't see us), I was determined to be standing in an idea spot for Jason and Kristen to see us.  We spotted Jason coming and made as much noise as possible....

Victory!  It really helped Jason was running with less
runners around him.  We also set up ahead of time for
them to run on the left side after mile 12.  Good planning!

It appears by this picture that Braylen and Jason connected on the
high five.  Braylen burst into tears once Daddio passed; he
claimed he didn't slap his hand.... :(

Pops was stationed up at the finish line to see Jason finish.  Jason's goal was 1 hour, 40 minutes.  He was a few seconds shy of 1:41; goal met!  

Checking if his goal was achieved

Jason and Pops made their way back to us, where we regrouped to cheer Kristen on.  

Girl in purple and black pants!  We're 2 for 2.
I love how excited the boys look to see their mommy and
how happy K looks to see them :)

Round 2 of high-fives

It was Kristen's first (and probably only) half marathon.  We were super impressed and proud of her run! 

We got a few pictures with our runners

Well done Daddio.  All those early morning
runs paid off.  Add that medal to your board!

... then the long walk back to the cars for everyone...

The forecast for tomorrow... super windy and low 40's.  Can I get a big AMEN that the half marathon was on Saturday?!  A-M-E-N.