11.29.2009

Chicago Marathon 2009!

October 11, 2009 was a celebration day! My buddy, Aaron Williams, and I completed the 26.2 miles of the Chicago Marathon. What a great experience with a great friend.
This photo is of a portion of a huge mural that included every marathoners name. It was located outside of Nike Town on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.



These photos of Aaron, Mallory, Keri, Emma, and I are at the Marathon's expo the night before the race.


I had to snap a photo of the reminder that awaited us outside the transit system! Job and Bethany were life savers and were generous by letting us stay at their place in Evanston. They also helped us navigate busy Chicago.

We got together with our friends, Mark and Angie, on our way up to the marathon. Their son, Braden, was born earlier this summer.

Chinatown!

I wouldn't want to compete against these salty marathoners. They look ready!

14 hours, 40 minutes, and 54 seconds before the start of the race.

This photo was taken the night before the race....Little did I know that the phrase would be so true! The first 20 miles felt great. The last 6.2 were the hardest of my life. The last 6.2 began in Chinatown.... :)

So excited!



The leaders..... I'm still looking for my orange jersey.

Out of 1.5 million spectators, we had the greatest fans!

I was so excited to see Keri.



What an experience.


2 comments:

Daniel Ostendorff said...

That's incredible!! Way to go! Well done bud and such a great experience! So, Boston next year? :-)

The Helmicks said...

Ha! I'm not quite fast enough for Boston. It was a wonderful experience and I would enjoy training for one again.