Soooo, this happened last weekend!!
In case you don’t know, this is Olympic medalist Meb Keflezighi. He was at the race because he was awarded the Akron Marathon Ambassador Award. Meb won the silver medal for the marathon in the 2004 Olympics, was fourth in 2012, and won the Boston (2014) and New York (2009) Marathons (he’s the only person ever to have won an Olympic medal in addition to winning both the Boston and New York races)! He is such an inspiration, particularly his story of winning the Boston Marathon: he was given only a 1% chance of winning, as he was 39 years old the field was so deep that year. And yet he persevered and took home the title. This year he ran the Olympic marathon and wasn’t as successful (his fourth Olympic appearance at age 40!), but his perseverance shown through as he finished 32nd, having been sick throughout the entire course. I managed to grab this selfie after seeing him finish the first leg of the relay, getting a high five from him, and then running up to him as he was walking up Broadway, and asking for a picture. For those who know me well, this is certainly not in my nature to be so forward, it was complete impulse. But I thought when am I ever going to have this chance again??
But I digress! Last weekend was probably my favorite race, the Akron Marathon. I’ve participated in the relay every year for the past 4 years, and it is such fun. The Akron races really deserve the praise they receive: they are in my opinion the most well-organized and well-run races around. And the relay is the biggest in the country! I have a great time every year, I love the comradery of being on a team, the spectators are always great, and you get pizza and beer at the finish, how can you beat that??
This year I ran the last leg of the relay. This leg is always a fun one because you run through Highland Square, where there are always a lot of people out cheering, and then through downtown to the finish at Canal Park, collecting all the medals for your team after crossing the finish line. This year did not disappoint. The weather was great as usual (though a bit warm by the time it was my turn to run), so I was able to work on my “tan” (such as it is on my pale skin) one last time.
It can be a little stressful putting together a relay team, as my friends can attest, but I have such a good time every year that I always come back to the relay when I’m considering which event to enter. I will admit now that I’m already signed up for next year, along with my sister-in-law, so if you’re interested, Sept 23, 2017, we need three more runners!!!