Skip to main content
RACE DAY Miles 24-25



The man in the powder blue shirt is now a part of our little posse. He passes me on my walk breaks. I pass him back.



I call Julie. I don't know how I sound to her. I think I'm speaking coherently. I just want to get to 25. She's going to get the kids ready and wait for me at the finish line. We hang up and I get a little jolt from hearing her voice. Just for fun, Mother Nature brings the rain down a little harder one last time.



Oh, you minx, Mother Nature.



I'm doping this for Jake.



Then, clarity comes to me that I haven't experienced while running before. The spirituality of this entire race sweeps over my body and I feel enlightened. I am one with myself and with God. I may never run another marathon, but I have experienced the "high" I've always heard about. I'm exhilarated! This is a great day. The rain. The knee. They don't mean anything anymore. I've won. I've raised over 11,000 dollars to fight Cystic fibrosis. And Jacob is healthy. And Sophie is the sweetest little girl in the world. And Julie, my Julie, she is a jewel, a strong remarkable woman.



I’m going to finish strong (mind you, slow, but strong). I can't wait to see my family... my beautiful, loving, goofy, fun, glorious family at the end. I gather the strength to pass man in the powder blue one last time and leave in my dust (well, a few yards behind me).



"You made it to 25." says a Park Ranger as I pass the final water table.



I'm one mile from home.





25-26.2



This is the longest mile. We have to run along a canyon, so the next mile is laid out in front of us. We have to go from point A to point B and the whole stretch is in clear sight. I think, "I have to run that far?"



In the distance the cheers of the finish line echo off of the canyon walls. So cruel. A half mile from the end, Robert calls. He and Peter have just crossed the finish line. Peter did it! Way to go, man. Ever the coach, Robert is going to run back out a quarter mile and meet me to run in to the finish line. This is exactly what I need, the final push to help me cross with my head held up proudly.



I see him, smiling as always, and I adjust my form.



"Way to go, Scott. You were a warrior today. Bad knees and all, you did it."



The rain has scared off most of the spectators and there is a small crowd gathered at the finish line. I don't care if there were 1,000 or 10; there are only three people I need to see. I have no trouble finding Julie, Sophie and Jacob. The kids are wearing new shirts with picture of me with each of them individually. Written across them are the words, "Run, Daddy, run!"



As I pass my family, I get sarcastic. "I thought it was supposed to be sunny today."



An announcer calls out my name over the PA as I cross the finish line with my fist pumped and a huge smile on my face. It's done.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MARATHON FOOTNOTES (for those who didn't think I would really footnote a stream of consciousness thought): Footnote #1 Academy Award Winning Best Picture Films from 1969 to the Present: Midnight Cowboy, Patton, The French Connection, The Godfather, The Sting, The Godfather II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Footnote #2 Members of the band YES, from 1969 to the present: In 1969, Yes is formed with Jon Anderson on vocals Peter Banks on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Chris Squire playing bass. This group records...

A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 9: Mötley Crüe, "Girls, Girls, Girls"

Column 3, Row 13: Mötley Crüe , Girls Girls Girls. I was never a big fan of Mötley Crüe. I liked their radio hits, but I never listened to one of their albums in their entirety until 1989’s Dr. Feelgood , which was orchestrated in a way to dominate radio stations and suck in casual fans, like me, who had trouble getting past the Crüe’s purposeful sleaziness. That said I always admired them more than the other Sunset Strip bands. Bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee were such a formidable rhythm section and laid down a solid groove to all their music. Guitarist Mick Mars had a knack for making his guitar hiss sinister, matching his perpetual scowl. Vince Neil was nothing to write home about as a vocalist, which made his unpolished singing just a little more intriguing than most of the other front then who dominated mainstream rock in the mid-late 80’s. Girls Girls Girls was released in May of 1987, just in time for a long summer of Mötley Crüe taking over the mi...

A Short Tribute to Jacob on his 23rd Birthday

Jacob turns 23 today.  As I write this, he's in the other room watching Deadpool and Wolverine laughing his ass off. I love that he's held on to his affection for comic books and video games into adulthood and how he's able to quote a movie after seeing it only once.  What I love more is that he remains a caring and empathetic human being, despite the hardships he's faced in life, that he continues to be funny and creative, that he's passionate about the issues that are important to him, in particular LGBTQ rights, and that he's supportive of his friends, his sister, and all of his cousins. Is he perfect? I don't give a shit. He's my son and I'm so damn proud of him. He's a fighter and he inspires me almost every day. I started blogging 21 years ago, as I began training for a marathon to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you dig around in the "Thunderbolt" archives, you'll find updates on his health, the many Basem...