memorial marathon…

This morning I awoke at 5:30 in anticipation of running a 10k portion (I was one of 5 people on a Young Life relay team) of the Memorial Marathon held in Oklahoma City. The marathon is in memory of the lives that were lost in the Oklahoma City bombing in April of 1995, and many were running in honor of their friends and family that were killed. It was a time to remember and a time to celebrate, and that attitude was evident from the beginning. Many were out on the streets of Oklahoma City to cheer on the runners and the volunteers were phenomenal. At the 3 aid stations I passed the excitement and energy of the volunteers were contagious as they passed out gatorade, water, pretzels and other snacks with a encouraging air. My portion of our relay was the first leg, a total of 10 kilometers, which is about 6.2 miles… not a number I am accustomed to running, but it was a good jaunt, I didn’t walk and finished in 50 minutes… which is not bad considering I haven’t run more than 3 miles in a long, long time.