It's true -- Dennis can now say he's a bona fide
marathon man! Yesterday, Dennis ran and
completed the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,
a 26.2-mile road running race that started in
Tukwila, Wash., and finished at Qwest Field
(where the Seahawks and Sounders play) in
downtown Seattle.
More than 27,000 runners from 50 states and
23 countries ran the second annual race, which
included full and half marathons. They enjoyed
ideal race conditions: a cloud cover with dry
skies and temps in the high 50s to low 60s.
Some of you may recall that Tam's sister Tracy
and two of her friends came to town last year to
run the marathon. Dennis ran the half marathon
then. Read the post from that day here!
So how did the marathon unfold? The day before
the race, Dennis visited the expo to pick up his race
packet. There he visited the Brooks Run Happy
Cavalcade of Curiosities.
He also said hello to Tam, who was helping
runners choose apparel in the Brooks booth.
Before leaving the expo, Dennis envisioned
his race-day finish...
Then came race day morning. Here's Dennis
right before we left the house, start line bound.
Shortly after the race began, at mile .7 to be
exact, all runners had to run underneath and
between the legs of the Brooks "Rocker Dude," a
five-story stall inflatable guitarist, complete
with 9-ft tall shoes, tattoos, a mullet, and...
...luscious butt cheeks!
Tam drove around the course to try to see
Dennis and cheer him on along the way. Here
he is at mile 14, exchanging his hat with Tam
for a fresh, dry one. He was smokin'!
Next Tam saw Dennis at mile 21. This is a rough
spot, the point at which most marathoners feel
like throwing in the towel. Dennis was struggling
a bit himself...his legs started cramping and he
really had to push to keep going.
Finally Tam saw Dennis was at the finish
line. Look at that smile! He did it!!!
Dennis's official (chip) finishing time was 3:35:48.
That's three hours, 35 minutes, and 48 seconds of
running at a pace of roughly 8:14 per mile. He
placed 42nd in his division and 328th overall. Here
he is at the finish line VIP tent with Tam, Iron,
and his trusty mylar blanket.
A closeup of his medal...
And some cookies given to us at the VIP tent.
But Dennis took home more than a medal and
some gourmet cookies. After the race, he was
shocked by some pretty banged up toes. Looks
like his feet swelled and arches collapsed more
than he expected them to over the course of
26.2 miles...so much so that his big and pinky
toes filled with blood under the nails. Yowza!
Despite the battle wound, celebration continued.
Here's Iron at one of our post-race VIP parties.
I think Daddy inspired him! First we'll work on
crawling. Or baby steps, as they say. :-)
Congrats again to Dennis, who worked very
hard in a short amount of time to prepare
himself for his first marathon, a great
accomplishment. We're proud of you, Dennis!!!
