Sunday, May 4, 2008

Heidi's Big Race




Two weeks ago was a great time for the family as we all enjoyed the festivities of the 2008 Salt Lake City Marathon. Heidi spent many weeks of rigorous training while meeting the demands of collegiate curriculum including a russian language and literature class.

None of us had been involved in a marathon before and the mood was electric.   Even as spectators the air was full of infectious enthusiasm and excitement.   We all got up early to share in the fruits of her labors.  

We were intrigued to discover that there were multiple races including Marathon, Half Marathon (Heidi's Featured Event) Bicycle event and 5K.  We discovered that over 16,000 people participated in some way.  There were 2,000 people running the full marathon and an additional 5,000 people in Heidi's event.  

The early morning air was chilly but it was arguably the most beautiful day of the year as we drank in the beauty of the Wasatch mountains.  A soulfull choir shouted infectious gospel tunes while gyrating above the Olympic Legacy Bridge atop the campus of the University of Utah. 

 The runners for the full and half marathon were called to their places together.  Soon Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Caroon shouted, пять, четыре, три, два, каждый, идет, and they were off.  There were so many people in this race that those in the front of the race were long gone while hundreds of runners waited in line for the porta-potty's.  

After Heidi passed us at the starting line, GPS sensor tag firmly secured to her running shoe, we navigated via trax train and auto to liberty park to observe the fray.  Heidi passed us there with confident stride and continued the final 3 mile leg.  Amy, David, Jake and Brad were dispersed near the finish line to join us in the excitement of watching her complete the race.  
We were all excited to learn that her average mile pace was faster than she had trained for at about 9:13.  It was exhilarating to see the frenzy of excitement of the crowd as thousands cheered their favorite contests to their individual victories.
Thanks Heidi for sharing your big day with us.


4 comments:

Dave said...

Yes, congratulations Heidi! You're an inspiration to us all, but not enough to make us want to run a half marathon. Good effort though.

Tastes Kinda Minty said...

This was a great day for all of us! Even as a spectator we had a great time. Kind of made me want to run too, (but only kind of!) Thanks for sharing the day with all of us Heidi!
Mom

HR said...

Inspiring... I think I'll start training for a "half" in about four months.

Thanks for the cup-o-motivation!

Tastes Kinda Minty said...

Dad, Thanks for the post about my run. It was an awesome experience and one of the most empowering things I have ever done. It's a great thing to accomplish something you weren't sure you could do. I must say though, that one of the best parts was running on a road that was filled with thousands of people, rather than thousands of cars. It was pretty cool!