Half Marathon

On Sunday July 10th, John ran the Summerfest Rock 'n Sole Half Marathon with Katie.

Katie has been prepping for this day for months.

She put in a lot of hard work, dedication, patience, and time

training for this half marathon.

We all got up super early and surprisingly Finley, Grandma, Michele, and I

made it to the Lakefront on time, to meet up with John and Katie before the race.

I didn't want to miss out on any part of today and wanted to make

sure I was there to support Katie and John throughout the race!

We gave Katie and John hugs and off we were to scope out a good place to stand.

We lucked out and found a place right by the starting line.

The race started at 8am and we watched all the elite runners take off

and after a sea of runners, we saw Katie and John cross the starting line.

We all cheered so they could hear us... and they did!

Katie's arms went in the air as they passed by.

And off they went over the Hoan Bridge.

Paal, Michele, My Mom, Finley, and I headed north towards the Art Museum

We decided to watch part of the race on the bridge overlooking Lincoln Memorial Drive.

We enjoyed the beautiful morning, the sun shining over the Calatrava,

the views of Lake Michigan, and all the awesome race supporters.

Not too long after we were on the bridge the first 3 runners came cruising by!

They were pretty impressive!

Michele and Paal decided to head further north to catch Katie and John and

the rest of us decided to head back down to ground level so we could

get a better view of Katie and John as they passed by.

We had a great spot just after mile 6...

And were hearing rumblings of lack of water and cups...

Of course... worry sets in, especially since it was already super hot out.

But then we see John walking towards us..... "where's Katie?" I ask in worry

John assures me she is just taking a bathroom break.

I filled up her water belt with my water bottles and cheered them on

as they continued on their journey.

We had some time to burn, so we walked around the lake front

and made our way towards the finish line....which was not an easy task.

It was very crowded, very hot...and not easy for a big stroller to maneuver around...

but we found a great place at the finish line and camped out.

It was awesome to see all the finishers and their family and friends cheering them on.

After what seemed like an eternity of standing in the heat....

like I should be complaining... I don't how how people ran in that heat!

My dad was about 200 yards from the finish line and called me so I could

get ready for John and Katie.

I kept getting yelled at for standing too close to the finish line....

eventually the nice little lady that was scolding me, just gave up.

I had my camera ready...but I wanted to enjoy this awesome moment first hand....

so my photos and video of them crossing the finish line aren't the best.

All of a sudden I see John cross the finish line.... I snap some photos....

wait...again I panic....where's Katie... did I miss her??

I can't get to John......

but then I see Katie.... I turn my video camera on and catch her crossing the finish line!!

I start screaming for her and walk directly towards her,

she sees me and we start hugging and crying as I say "You did it! You did it!"

Such a beautiful moment! I was beyond proud of her!

We head over towards my mom and Finley and head towards the celebration area.

We find John and watch them put their well deserved medals on!

Onto the celebration area we go!

It was so awesome to witness this event first hand.

Katie and John are awesome!

Words can't describe the love I have for both of you...but I'll go ahead and try :)

Katie, I am so impressed with how you trained for this and the determination

you had to complete this race. You truly are an inspiration and I am so very proud of you!

John- you are amazing, you supported Katie throughout the race and kept her going and stood by her the whole time! We are so proud of you! You are such a great brother to Katie!

I love you both very very much!

Here is the slideshow of the race and the post-race celebration!

I also included the short clip of Katie crossing the finish line!