Well, this is it. The night before the marathon! Today, I went down to the expo with my dad and then Chuck met us for the Dana Farber pasta party. Bill Rodgers made a special appearance and previous three-time women's winner Uta Pippig was on hand, as well as our very own coach Jack Fultz, the 1976 Boston Marathon winner.
All were inspiring, but nothing was as moving as the slideshow tribute to the children at Dana Farber who'd lost their battle to cancer this year - and then a tribute to the patient partners - the children currently battling.
Hundreds of children gathered on the stage, all who have been dealt the cruel hand of cancer at such a young age, with so much innocence. I feel for these children, as I do for the adult cancer patients who've unfairly been given the grueling test of cancer.
Tomorrow, those children will be waiting for us at mile 25, as we crest the hill that takes us into Kenmore Square, and if they don't inspire us to push towards the finish, I don't know what will.
The above picture is at about 5 am the morning of the 2006 Nike Women's Marathon, the only marathon of mine that my mother was able to watch. I wanted to put that picture up today because it shows us together, side by side on marathon morning.
Even though her physical form won't be there tomorrow, she will most definitely be by my side all day, from the morning when I board the bus to Hopkinton, til the moment when I cross the finish line on Boylston street.
Here are the others that I'll be running for tomorrow:
Jean-Guy Pelletier
Justine Caranto
Nora W. Scanlon
Mollie Bishop
Vartan Aleksandrian
Irene Chevalier
Pat Mullin
The Hong Family
Jerry Sherman
William Burke
Ann Schwartz
Theresa R. Picciotti
Gail M. Berry
Ariel Hart
Susan Levinsky
Evan Hawkins
Diane Legg
Geraldine Maxon
Marilyn Forrest
Dale Gaynor
William Mahoney
Emil Matson
Emily Matson
Paul E. Beaulieu
Kevin Brummett
Helen Richards
Vincent St. John
Ann Murfitt
Virginia Garner
Van Garner
Matson/Hopkins Family
Now I've got to get to bed... up at 5. The weather's looking pretty good. 48 degrees, overcast. There's a possibility of some headwinds, but no possibility of heat- so I'm grateful for that!
I'll post my update as soon as possbile...
Thank you to EVERYONE who's supported me on this journey....
It's meant the world to me.
Love,
Julia
So, is Heartbreak Hill as tough as they say?
ReplyDeleteHi! Maybe not tough when compared with a 50 mile hill race like you just did! As you can see in the description above, it's pretty grueling, but the hardest part is actually afterward when you've given it your all and you still have 5 miles left... Congrats on your great race, Kiley! Hope you got my donation!
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