We're going to finish this f****** race together!

The above were Kiernan's words to me at mile 19 of the Country Music Marathon.

And that was that. No matter what happened, we had each learned the meaning of the word TEAM because at mile 19 of the hottest marathon ever (well, for me, I HOPE), Kiernan, Kara and I knew that we could not finish the race without sticking together. And that's what we did, through walking, running, crawling, drinking, peeing (I did, once), you name it.

I prefer not to recall the exact details of the race (for obvious reason), but the three of us did stick together. We had to walk for some portions of the last 6 miles. Kiernan's hip was hurting, but I was just legitimately tuckered out from the heat. Slow and seady we made it out the third out and back, through Shelby park, and back to the Coliseum, where the Finish line was located. I will NEVER forget the feeling of the last few minutes of the race. Each and every person who was cheering kept saying, "Less than half a mile!!" "You'll see the crowd just around the bend!" and "You're almost there!!!" Sure enough, as we made one last turn off the last out and back, there were huge crowds lining both sides of the road. Many half marathon finishers were already wearing their medals and hundreds upon hundreds of family and friends cheered us in. I past the 26 mile mark and made one final left turn to see the finish line (and my mom and Taylor!) just up ahead.

Now promise you won't laugh, but here are a couple of photos that they took as I passed:

Here she comes:
And there she goes!

Our coach, Ramon, runs each and every runner in toward the finish line. It's really a GREAT tradition if you ask me. My mom didn't get a picture of him with me, but here's an adorable picture of him helping another Team In Training member - who wasn't even from our chapter - down the home stretch:
And, moments later, at 4:26:41, I crossed the FINISH LINE!!!!


Before I was able to meet up with mom and Taylor (something I was desperate to do!), we had to go through this "finishers only" area. We stopped to take this photo (it's blurry because it's illegal, you're supposed to buy it, which I will eventually):


Then, I was finally able to find mom and Taylor. Here are a few shots (some better than others):

Me and Mom (aren't the flowers pretty!? Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hooper!):

PRECIOUS!!!
Delirious:
Me and Kiernan
Well, there you have it, proof that I finished the race!!! And if you come to my apartment, you'll see that medal hanging on my wall. I can safely say this is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life!!!! Although I didn't make my time goal, I did do something I never thought I'd do, and I met some amazing people doing it. A big thank-you message is in order, but for now, please enjoy hearing about my journey by reading and looking at all the pictures!!

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