Looking back now, it is still a mystery exactly why I made the decision to pace Karla in the Myrtle Beach Marathon in Feb 2005. I had not signed up for the race , had no intentions of going to the race and had a full slate of ultra's to run including the Uwharrie 40 miler the weekend before. I barely knew her and had just run with her once on Jan 1st of that year. Our lives are guided by the decisions we make but sometimes and I certainly believe in this instance my decision was guided from above. That one decision led to my miracle of qualifying for Boston in 2006, sharing that day with Karla and the very special friendship that led to this past weekends celebration of life in Boston.
Although my race didn't go as I had hoped (the gory details will follow in another post) I am still very pleased with the trip and sharing the long weekend with great friends. Once again her husband Frank was along as well as his son Eric and his girlfriend Andrea to cheer us on. Lisa our wonderful training partner the past two years and her husband Mike were along too. Lisa as most of you know qualified in the same race as Karla and I last year.
While we were at the Athlete's Village in Hopkinton I had just enough time to wait in the port-a-potty line with the ladies before heading over to my start since my wave would begin 20 minutes before their wave. As I headed off I gave Karla a hug and despite my best effort , we both got choked up for a minute. 5 years later and I still get emotional every time I think about it. Sometimes I wonder if I ever will be able to not get emotional about it. I hope not. But that passed quickly and
it was all smiles now. this was and is a celebration after all and we were back at The Boston Marathon and healthy !
Here is a link to some photos from the 2006 race. I ran with Karla's camera and Frank was able to take a few at a couple of points along the way.
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