Illinois Marathon

** Updated with links/photos!! **

Jon, Caty, Derek, and I ran on a relay team for the 2010 Illinois Marathon. A relay is the full marathon (26.2 miles) divided up by 4 people. Everyone ran between 6 and 7 miles each. We were Team STFU – Speed To Finish United! It was such a blast! The energy and excitement was great, with over 14,000 runners! The weather held off and although it was humid, it was a great run!

There were so many funny moments, from both runners and spectators! My favorites:
-- A runner dressed as a banana (See here!)
-- A runner dressed as Abe Lincoln and carrying a giant Illinois flag (See here!)
-- A relay team dressed as pirates!
-- A guy who ran the entire marathon barefoot.
-- A couple running with shirts that said "Just Married" and the woman had a veil.
-- A spectator who got out his garden hose and provided a cooling stream of water for runners who needed it!
-- A spectator who created his own "aid station" to provide runners with "BEER" – and many runners actually took him up on it!
-- My Dad, who was in the stands watching us finish, said there was a proposal at the finish line (50 yard line at Memorial Stadium) right before we crossed!

And my personal favorite...
-- A spectator within a mile of the finish who had a sign with a picture of Kanye West on it that said "Imma Let You Finish!"
(SEE HERE!!!!)



Overall we had an amazing time! We had a celebratory pizza party at our house afterwards, which was also tons of fun!

Happy Running!
(see all my pics from the day here!!)