Finishers Wanted...

The motto that my mom and I wanted to have was to use the words from a Pres. Monson talk where he saw the sign that said, "Finishers Wanted." On Friday we went and mapped out the course and got to see the beast that we'd tackle the next day.

Krissy and I at the start. The starting line is at 5200 ft. elevation.


The finish line is at 2600 ft. elevation and so you're heading down hill most of the way. There is a hill outside the town of Veyo that is brutal, and a few other little ones, but the down hill parts were definitely a nice treat.

We woke up at 3am, and jumped on the bus at 4am to take us to the starting line. The race started at 6:45am and sunrise was at 7:15am so the first bit we were running in the dark. It rained and was pretty windy for 24 miles of the race...once we came in towards the finish the rain let up. We sure did love the cloud cover as opposed to the hot sun though, so no complaints here.

It was a welcome sight to see Krissy, and get the boost I needed for the last mile. Cramps had set in by that time and so it was down the home stretch. People talk about a "wall" they usually hit, I think mine started around mile 24...cramps and shin splints came on then, but it could have been worse...


Krissy managed to snap the photo just in time. Mad props to her. From start to finish it was a journey...overall time was 5 hours and 59 minutes...just under the 6 hour mark I wanted to finish by...

My mom was a champ. On runs you have your good days and bad days. Unfortunately on race day she had leg cramps for the majority of the run. Nothing seem to do the trick to get them to subside. However she persevered and finished her 1st marathon, and she managed to do it before her 60th bday...cross it off the list of things to do in her lifetime...

After an hour or so we could finally stand up straight and give some smiles for the camera...


Lesson Learned from the Marathon experience....I would have to say that the whole 4 1/2 month training process and then finally the 6 hours of race day experience taught me that some goals are tougher than others...some require a lot of time to achieve them...however, if you want something in life you gotta go get it. Nothing is given to you. No matter what. It's important to have a good support system. Pray a lot! Many thanks to all who supported me in it...especially my wifee...without her I couldn't have done it.