I can’t say thank you enough for supporting my efforts to train for and run a half marathon to raise money for my brother Adam’s uncovered medical expenses associated with his needed heart transplant. For me the waiting and not knowing was really difficult and running and having a cause to work toward helped me cope a lot this past winter. With the collective love and friendship and donations to the cause I was able to not only complete the run (in just under 3 hours) but also to raise several thousand dollars for my brother. I won’t run a list here of all of you who contributed (you know who you are), but I will give a shout out to Elgin, for his endless love, support and encouragement (and riding his bike with me on several long runs); to Paul Peacock, who got up at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday to ride 10 miles back and forth and back and forth on McCracken and Baum Rd; and to Bonnie and Bob who were so enthusiastic and supportive of my efforts that they drove all the way to Miami and got up at 5:00 a.m. to stand by the road at mile 5 with my family and wave me on and then drove to the end to cheer me at the finish line! And of course, my brother Adam and sister Amy who were so amazinginly supportive throughout and got up at 4:00 a.m. to drop me off in South Beach where the race began (who knew there would be a traffic jam at that hour as folks decended onto the streets from the bars and clubs)!
The run itself was amazing…13.1 miles…down south beach, across the McArthur causeway past the big cruise ships at the Port of Miami, the Beatles looking down on me from the largest poster I’ve ever seen (iTunes ad on the Miami Herald office building), through the streets of downtown Miami (murals, salsa music, dancing girls), across the Julia Tuttle causeway with blue blue water and blue sky everywhere, past my old high school where the Miami Beach High Tide cheerleaders were cheering and back down to Ocean Drive to the end!
Not much more a gal could ask for! Thank you all again and I’ll keep you posted when I start getting ready for the Miami Beach ½ Marathon 2012 !!!
Love,
My Family at the Marathon End
Bonnie and Bob at the marathon
My Brother and Sister
Miami Beach High Tide Cheerleaders
My Alma Mater Miami Beach High
Colorful Runners.jpg
City Art
The Beatles Over McArthur Causeway
The View from Julia Tuttle Causeway
The Finish Line
Signs to Keep Us Smiling