Chris's Marathon Race Report

A few weeks ago Chris ran his first marathon - the NC Marathon in nearby High Point. Race day started quite early (I think we were up at 4:30 am and out the door at 5:30 or 6). Post-race backpack in tow and with a handful of signs, we packed in the car with his parents and set off in the dark. While Chris warmed up, his parents and I found a nice bench nearby to watch the sunrise on what turned out to be a beautiful Spring day! After he was all warmed up and laced up, we walked over to the start where I gave him a big ol' hug and wished him the best, glad that I wasn't about to do what he was setting off to do - 26.2 miles!

As the start gun went off, his parents and I drove up to the 3 mile marker to meetup with some friends of ours, Ben and Ashley, who graciously drove down from Raleigh to cheer on Chris (or maybe they just wanted to see exactly how crazy he was). At the 3 mile mark Chris was greeted with our ridiculous signs as he rounded the corner. Seeing as he had much more to run, the five of us stopped by a delightful bakery and had some coffee and pastries. Then on our way to the 10 mile mark with just barely enough time to catch Chris, I got us lost! We missed him by less than a minute I think. So we plopped our chairs down and cheered on the other insane runners on their route until the lead runners started to come down the other side of the road which was the 17 mile mark. Not to miss Chris again, we darted across traffic and set up the cheering section again. When he came through us at 17 miles he was looking GOOD! I was so excited for him (and proud of course). We had a blast cheering for him and meeting some of the nice folks cheering at the corner with us.

We packed up and headed down to the finish line to cheer Chris in. The course ended with a sharp left turn before a 2 block straightaway into the finish line. Anticipating him to come in a little ahead of his goal time based on mile 17's time, we (or maybe just I) started getting jittery waiting for him to turn the corner. We had positioned ourselves halfway down the 2 blocks and couldn't see the runners until they turned the corner. Then all the sudden we hear people start cheering "Go Chris!!!" which totally threw me off because nobody else's name was being cheered and the "Team Jordan" crowd was all standing with me (his parents, his brother/sis-in-law, Ben & Ashley, and other friends Garrett & Amanda). (Turns out it was the others from our cheering section at mile 17 and they remembered Chris and cheered him in around the corner!) Chris finished strong with a 3:43 time which was great considering some of the beastly hills the course threw at him the last 8 miles! So proud! We ended the day at Raylen Vineyard's Oyster Roast festival with some wine, food, friends and fantastic weather - perfect day! Afterwards we enjoyed a ridiculously awesome/tasty cake made by his sister Lori in the style of his racing shoes!

They say not to ask a 1st time marathoner when they will run their next 26.2 until at least 10 days after. I guess 10 days are needed to forget exactly how insane/painful it is. But no - the next day he was on his computer looking at nearby Fall marathons with fast courses so he can better 3:43! That night we booked a bed and breakfast in Manteo, NC for the OBX Marathon in November - looks like we'll both be doing 26.2 that day! I can't wait! Pictures of the marathon day are here.

A very thankful-to-be-done Chris!