Chicago Marathon 2004

(Dad, me, Mum, Andrew and Christina, and my sister Anne)

The whole family turned out to Chicago again for Anne's Chicago Marathon foray. If you've never seen a marathon from the sidelines, do it -- it's a great communal experience, and the positive energy is really inspiring. I agreed to meet Anne at mile 21 and run to the end with her. That's 5 miles -- farther than I'd ever run before (but big hairy deal -- she's running TWENTY SIX POINT TWO). I figured my job was just to keep pace with her, and try to pump up the crowd as much as possible. Oh, and don't wuss out before she did (after all, she is my little sister).

It was pretty wild to run amongst 40,000 people in one race, with the crowds and the bands and the water stations and the people puking in the bushes... the high point was Chinatown, where they had Dragon dancers performing on the sidelines. And with all that aural and visual stimulation, the 5 miles were over in a flash (although I'm feeling all five of them now). I can't say that I've been bitten by the marathon bug, but I did agree to do the last 10 miles with her next time...

Congratulations Anne! You rock!!!