Baltimore Running Festival 2012

This past Saturday was the annual Baltimore Marathon. The time for the city of Baltimore to come out and show the runners of the world what a great town we are, despite the hills!

While I wasn’t running Baltimore this weekend–I was supposed to be tapering for Marine Corps Marathon–I did have plans to cheer on Noel and his team Positive Splits teammates, who were running the Baltimore Marathon relay. Because of some logistical challenges, we decided that I should hang out in our neighborhood and spectate at the neighborhood association block party. We live about a half block off the course, so it was super easy for me to head over there with some fresh made homemade muffins for the block party and some candy for the runners!

The block party was so much fun! They had a keg and the music was blaring, and we made nearly a scream tunnel on both sides of the road for the runners to run through. Dad came, we met up with Elizabeth, and we cracked open the bubbly. Dad had the great idea for me to put the candy I bought for the runners–hershey kisses and little packets of candy corn–on a tv tray I had so it would be easier for runners to grab as they went by. So I spent about 3 hours holding a tray of candy out into the passing crowd. At the end my arms were tired, but it was so worth it–because I’ve never seen so many people so happy for a bit of candy!

I missed most of the folks I knew who were running the race, but don’t worry, I screamed for everyone. I think that now that I’m a runner, I get how much it means to people to have someone cheer them on. Dad was also a great cheerleader, picking out people that he thought needed a little extra boost. We were at an interesting spot, mile 16 of the full marathon, but only mile 3 of the half, so we saw people at lots of different mental points in the race.

And then we saw Noel! He chucked some cold weather gear at me and I told him I loved him :-) Dad and I were excited, because Noel looked so strong when we saw him. He had a particularly hard leg, with lots and lots of uphill, so I was glad to see him with a smile on his face and going strong.

After Noel passed, Dad and I continue to cheer on the full marathoners that continued to stream through. Dad was a great cheerleader, picking out people who looked like they needed an extra boost as they went by. People also continued to be grateful for the candy, which made holding that tray very worthwhile.

All in all, cheering for the marathon was a super fun way to spend the morning. And yeah, it made me miss running even more than I was before. I do feel like I’m healing, and I’m staying in shape with short runs and a ton of spinning. So hopefully I’ll be back at it soon and racing before I know it. And who knows, maybe I’ll even run Baltimore!

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