Running with my sister
My sister and I ran the Philadelphia marathon on Sunday, November 19th. This was our 5th marathon together. We started in Chicago in 1999 (we grew up outside Chicago, and our parents came to watch), then ran NYC in 2001 (2 months after 9-11; this was a very emotional run), the inaugural Rock n Roll Phoenix marathon in 2004 (wicked hot, but a great course), and the Marine Corps in 2004 (who couldn't love a marathon filled with history?). We threw in the Runner's World 1/2 Marathon last April just for fun.
We run about the same pace, and our goal is to stick together throughout the race. It's so much more fun to run with my sister than alone. When I'm hurting, she cheers me up. We talk about lives, our work, our kids. The miles fly past, and we always run across the finish line together.
The Philly course is beautiful; it starts in the older part of the city, then heads out to Fairmount park, and finishes along the river. The weather even cooperated, with temperatures in the 40's and partly cloudy skies.
But the best part of running a marathon with my sister is just that: being with my sister. We have fun at the race expo and pasta dinner before the marathon, then support each other during the race. Afterwards we celebrate with a good dinner, and often a movie (this year the DaVinci Code), and of course some wine. She lives in Houston, and I'm in Vermont. We both lead busy lives, and even though we stay in touch via email and phone, it's wonderful to spend an entire weekend together. We motivate each other through the months of training, and share our water bottles and Gu.
Now our youngest sister, who lives near Detroit, started thinking about walking the Disney 1/2 marathon, or even the full marathon. We can't wait for all three of us to do this together!
We run about the same pace, and our goal is to stick together throughout the race. It's so much more fun to run with my sister than alone. When I'm hurting, she cheers me up. We talk about lives, our work, our kids. The miles fly past, and we always run across the finish line together.
The Philly course is beautiful; it starts in the older part of the city, then heads out to Fairmount park, and finishes along the river. The weather even cooperated, with temperatures in the 40's and partly cloudy skies.
But the best part of running a marathon with my sister is just that: being with my sister. We have fun at the race expo and pasta dinner before the marathon, then support each other during the race. Afterwards we celebrate with a good dinner, and often a movie (this year the DaVinci Code), and of course some wine. She lives in Houston, and I'm in Vermont. We both lead busy lives, and even though we stay in touch via email and phone, it's wonderful to spend an entire weekend together. We motivate each other through the months of training, and share our water bottles and Gu.
Now our youngest sister, who lives near Detroit, started thinking about walking the Disney 1/2 marathon, or even the full marathon. We can't wait for all three of us to do this together!
Labels: running
posted by Lynn Grieger and Mike Ryan at
4:58 PM
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