Join me as I travel around the country to fulfill my goal of running a marathon or half marathon in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Luck of the Irish

What was un-lucky about this year's St. Patty's Day was that I slept through my alarm and missed the start of the USA Rock N Roll Marathon (don't freak out...I wasn't supposed to be running it, just spectating). 

What was lucky was that I sprinted to the metro just in time to catch a train that would lead me to the Columbia Heights metro (about mile 7.5 on the race course). 
These runners were lucky to get through the intersection just before a firetruck came across the race course!

I had only signed up to track and receive messages for my cousin, but somehow as I stood there cheering for so many runners I was lucky enough to spot several friends and bloggers. My friends James and Sarah passed by looking strong. My friend Eileen was super surprised to see me. Emily over at Sweat Once a Day probably thought I looked like a crazy woman waving to her. Not sure if SR heard me yell "Go SR!" but I was pretty stoked about picking her out of the crowd when I didn't even know she was running. I was so lucky to see so many friends and runners, but the absolute best part was seeing my cousins Emily and Christina run with their dad. Our family is pretty awesome and we all wore these "Team Gallo" shirts that my uncle had his friend make:
My family was lucky to have near perfect running weather

I don't mess around when I say I'm getting dressed up to cheer on runners!

Back of the shirts reads "Family Matters"
Tons of random people cheered for my cousins and uncle just because of the shirts. I even heard one lady yell "I love your wine!" Haha!

In the haste of running out the door that morning I had accidentally left behind the poster I had made. Luckily my aunt brought it with her to mile 9.5 and said it was a big hit with a lot of the runners. 
 
 I also had a stroke of luck when I spotted a Capital Bikeshare rental right next to the race course in Columbia Heights. I grabbed a bike and was able to catch up with my family several times throughout the course and then just returned the bike at the finish line near the Stadium Armory metro. Congrats to my cousin Emily on her first half marathon! She ended up finishing with an awesome time of 2:10. 
Emily, Uncle Steve, and Christina

I'm lucky to have such a wonderful family. 
 

5 comments:

Kurt @ Becoming An Ironman said...

Seems like everything came together in the end despite bumps along the way.

As necessary as I'm sure it was, I would be pissed if I got stuck behind a firetruck during a race.

Dr. said...

Love those t-shirts!

Richard Amernick said...

It was a great day! We, DC Capital Striders Running Group, were at mile 17 on the course offering volunteers for a water station. Hope to catch up with you again at a DCCS event!

Rick Amernick
www.rickamernick.com

Julia said...

awww congrats to your cousin!!! love love love the shirts!!!

Erik Ammon said...

Sounds like an awesome time!! I'm glad your family runs together. The family that runs together, grows together!! Sorry I've been absent from your blog, too!