Ogden Marathon.....will i ever get there??

This last weekend i went down to Utah to support my cousin Jesse who was has been training hard for the Ogden marathon. Instead of just being a spectator, i thought i would participate and run the 5k. I love these little races. They get me pumped and excited to run and continue my training goal of completing a marathon this year.

My friend Mindy thought it would be fun to train as well for a marathon. Her dad had ran several marathons and is no longer with us, so i think this is an opportunity for her to get closer to her dad by participating and striving towards something he enjoyed. She is great, always been their for me and a great supporter. She did just that the day of the race too. It was a privilege to run along side her. Partly too because the elevation was killing me! :) I felt like i needed an oxygen mask. Utah is about 2500 feet higher than Boise. I now know why athletes come early to a town to get accustomed to the elevation- you can really feel it!
Another thing that was really fun is after the marathon, they had a kids K. A one mile run that allowed the kids to run threw the finish line. There were 800 kids that participated. One was Mindy's daughter Madi. We call her my surrogate daughter. I just adore her. I met up with them to finish the race. She grabbed my had and ran to the end. I really enjoyed that!
A special shout out to my cousin Jesse. He did a great job. It was such a hot day. Hotter than expected and it affected a lot of the runners. Jess cramped up at mile 19 and struggled, but he finished strong and "endured to the end!" I am in awe that he accomplished this. It is a lot of hard work, hard on your body and very time consuming. He is such a supporter to me and my training and i want him to know how proud i am of him. Here you come Boston! I know you can do it!!This picture is of him. I love it. He is pointing at his family. Way to go Jess!! Utah was a blast this weekend! It was really fun to see the new house my parents are building and spend time with family and friends. My mom spent the whole day with me at the marathon and i really enjoyed that time with her.