An absolutely gorgeous day, great times by all, the most incredible support crew, fun post-race celebrations and cracking (thanks to a late surge of VERY generous donations) $4,000 raised for Active Minds – yesterday was a FABULOUS DAY!!
Official times (G & R are half marathon):
me – 3:35:02 (OH YEAH!), time at half 1:34 (oops, a bit too fast!)
Gareth – 1:52:28 (GO GARETH!!)
Ryan – 2:04:31 (GO RYAN!!)
Current fundraising amount – $4,004!!
We couldn’t be happier with these results!
Here is an assortment of raceday pics:
The Team prerace (predawn...almost) - Nice haircuts boys!
We LOVE our shirts - thanks Momma!
Lining up
Me at Mile 14.
Gareth sprinting to the finish!
Ryan high-fiving on his way to the finish line!
Cheerleaders! (Jen and Mandy)
Cheersquad!
Me doing my best to finish strong!
FINISHED!!
Post race support (Dad and Shane)
...walking it off.
The team - medals and all!
The full TEAM DAN support crew!
For a little more detail about my run…I came out feeling really good and confident about trying for a 3:10 finishing pace (7:15/mile) and kept that up until a little after halfway (half marathon time was 1:33:57). It was a HUGE push to see Mandy and Jen at mile 14 – you guys are the best! From there on my legs started locking up a little bit and as “the hurt” steadily increased my pace decreased till all I could do was keep running. I definitely felt the extra strength of Dan and everyone’s support that helped me get on through! My time was in the range that I had hoped for, and was a real triumph in holding up for half at my ultimate goal pace and to still finish running. I figured “go big or go home” for Dan and though I ended up going out a little too big, I have no regrets!
A special thanks to supportive messages from the Fraziers and LaBontes (see comments on “What it’s all about” page) sharing what they have gone through with the loss of loved one’s to suicide. Suzy asked that I run 16 steps in memory of her son Zachary, which I was very honored to do. Bibb and Dolly Frazier very generously donated $10/mile ($262!!)- thank you Bibb for your huge generosity as well as all you are doing to bring awareness and action to help prevent suicide and aid suffering college students in Rockingham County (and beyond)! The Frazier family’s loss of their son Austin, a junior at JMU, in October 2009 has many parallels to our loss of Daniel. It means a lot to have been able to connect with these other “survivors” that have lost family members to depression and means a lot to have them part of this marathon effort.
Once again, the real triumph here is all the AMAZING support for the work of Active Minds and brining more awareness to depression and other mental health issues! Over $4,000 in donations from over 145 people (and 2 dogs) – 4 times our original goal and still going! This is a true testament of love for Dan and the importance of this cause. All I can say is WOW – THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH!
What it's all about. Love you brother.
Hey Thomas, thanks for the thorough and thoughtful pre-race comments and the post-race summary of all. I am soooo grateful for friends who’ve helped HOLD EACH OF US UP in the last year. Love of friends is the most treasured gift.