GC and I headed out around 8:30 in the morning to watch the Marathon. I like to watch from Dow’s Lake, around the 37km mark – they still have about 5km to go. A lot of them are running on sheer willpower by this point.
The winner, while he was in 6th place
But I don’t really go to watch the elite runners anyway. I go for the ordinary marathoners. The longer it takes them to run the marathon, the more I like rooting for them. The elite runners only have to run for two hours first thing in the morning and then they’re done for the day. They don’t hold a candle to the underdogs who run for six or seven hours under a hot sun.
GC’s a better cheerleader than me. I clap and smile and take pictures, but he talks to them. He says their name (it’s on their bib) and says stuff like “Looking good,” and “Good work,” and “Awesome job.” (This came in handy towards the end when I was limping towards the car, exhausted from all that clapping, and needed a little extra encouragement.)
Last year I saw the very last runner, and the truck following behind him picking up the pilons. This year we couldn’t stay til the end because of other commitments, but we probably saw three-quarters of the runners.
The Fastest Woman
The Second Fastest Woman
A rare case of runner's high
Just another extraordinary human being
We managed to cram a little gardening into this weekend too, because May 24 is, as you know, the official start of gardening season in Ottawa. We bought vegetable seedlings and seeds and took them all over to our community garden plot to plant. Unfortunately there are problems with the water supply there. There is no water. It should be restored by Tuesday, so we brought all our plants and seeds home for the time being. Then we went out for dinner and drew our garden and planned where everything will be planted. This was a bit tricky because some things don’t like to be planted next to certain other things. But we have a plan now, and nobody has to sit next to anybody they don’t like.
Oh. Thank you. I ran the AIDS marathon in Honolulu, and it was people like you and GC that kept me going, and I’m not exaggerating. It’s no small thing, to hear your name called by a stranger who smiles and says, “Good job! You can do it!” There are so many times when you think you CAN’T and then someone says, “Just a little ways more, you’re almost there!” and you keep going. I’m tearing up, thinking of it. Thank you for doing that.
Also, at hour seven in my marathon, I was thinking of those elite runners who’d already had time for two movies and a nap after the race, and I thought, I AM MORE ELITE! They could not run for seven hours! (Okay, they could, I’m sure, but it made me feel better.)
Can I run through Montreal without actually going through Montreal?
Oops. Never mind.
Tom: Highway 40 goes through the north side of Montreal bypassing downtown (just try to stay away from rush hours), OR you can take 148 from Hull (Gatineau) to Saint-Eustache, then take the 640 to Repentigny and meet up with Highway 40 just east of the Island of Montreal (see Google Maps). It’ll be fine… I know you can do it!