St. George Marathon

Well it was extremely difficult to sleep Friday night, October 2nd. After a restless night I got up at 4:00 and prepared to leave for a most exciting day. So many early mornings of running and making my friends bike with me or Darin and Matthew run with me, we left for the marathon. It was an exciting morning with all the people gathering around the fires at the top of the mountain by the starting line. The wait went quick though and there we were getting ready to start the race. Yes, over 6,000 people had paid to run 26.2 miles! My knee started hurting at mile 5, but I got help at mile 7 with that and it was ok the rest of the race. Mel and Jess were at mile 16 to cheer me on. It was a much needed sight since I was really starting to get tired. I hit the wall by 19 and struggled up the hill at Ledges. By the time I got to 20, I could see St. George, but I still struggled for a bit. With three miles left I had the adrenaline I needed to complete the race and started watching for people I knew. The kids had made three posters that said "Go Shelly", "Good Job, Mom!" and then "Pick it up! Merthon Mom!" Well all the cheering, many miles and hard work paid off because I ran a 3:36 and qualified for Boston. It was well worth it but I am sure I will pay for it for quite some time!