Sunday, November 4, 2012

Jason's Two Cities Half Marathon

I am really, really impressed with people who run.  I mean, it takes incredible determination and an inner strength that I definitely don't possess.  Whenever I see people running, or whenever I read about people's running accomplishments on Facebook, I am always in awe and really inspired.  I am so proud of Jason because he completed his first half marathon today!

After competing as a sprinter for many, many years, Jason decided to give long distance running a try this year.  His goal was to run in the Two Cities Half Marathon, which was held today in Fresno/Clovis.  He has trained consistently for several months, waking up early at least 4 days a week to run.  A few weeks ago, he actually injured himself.  The injury, combined with him catching a cold threw off his rhythm and he didn't run for over a week.  Luckily, he recovered and was able to slowly get back into things.  He was as prepared as he could possibly be heading into today's event, aside from his nerves and excitement.  Our friend, Randy, who has been one of Jason's biggest supporters during his training, pointed out to me that while a lot of people would be satisfied just to finish a half marathon, Jason wasn't one of those people.  He's the kind of person who thrives on competition- he will always expect more of himself and so what he was striving for was a strong finish with a memorable time. Randy was right!

I brought the kids to cheer Jason on near the finish line.  We got there in plenty of time.  We were so excited when we finally saw him as he headed towards the final stretch.  This was the only picture I got of him running since he flew by us! 
Some time later, he came out of the Finisher's Area to greet us and shared that he finished in 1:46 mins.  I don't know much about running, but I know that this is an amazing feat.  His average pace was around 8 min./mile.  After looking through people's times, he found out that he was the 5th fastest time on the Fresno course for his age group.
 What an example he has been to our kids.  Grace said several times today that she really wants to start running with him.
 Jason's Fan Club
Jason: You set a goal, worked hard, and went over and above to achieve it.  You're such an inspiration to me and I am so very proud of you! 

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