What an incredible feeling....... waiting about 100 yards from the finish line of the 2008 Philadelphia marathon. Waiting to see Jeanna's face turn the corner knowing she is almost done. All of the practice.... determination..... excitement....... struggles. It took her months to prepare for this. There were moments my eyes would just well up. There was so much energy, love, pride, and support from hundreds of people waiting to see their loved ones cross that line. Ry and I couldn't believe how inspiring and emotional it was to see young people, old people (some in their 60's), all shapes and sizes have the determination to commit to this accomplishment. You could literally feel the love and support in the air.
When we saw her running towards us I just couldn't contain myself. When she saw us all there screaming her name cheering her on, she just lit up. Then had about a second of holding back tears.......the pride we all had for her and the pride she had in herself was just breathtaking. It was one of the most amazing moments ever. It took her 4.5 hours.....She knew we were all there waiting for her to finish. I can't even imagine the struggles and determination it took.... We are so proud of you, Jeanna (aunt deena).
We waited for over an hour at the finish line for it (what a build up) and she gave me a high five when she saw us :) I swear every girl runner looked like her so it was hard to tell if it was her or not. Once we all saw her, we just jumped up and down and screamed.
Jeanna is in sight at minute 1.44 of video......
The coolest thing was we were able to get text messages on Ry's iphone of her status so we knew her estimated finish time. She kept a solid 10 minute mile the entire time. She said she even had some beer at a rest stop (I guess the carbs help)
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