Race Photos

The Night Before: Our race gang, well at least part of the Edmond Running Club, Lissa, Julie, William, Cindy, yours truly and Bonnie. We met at a quaint Italian restaurant off the corner of 15th and Peoria and enjoyed pasta and good conversation. Some innocent bystander going in agreed to take our photo as we were coming out.

A loving couple enjoying time with great friends. We were both excited about the upcoming race, Bonnie running the Route 66 Quarter Marathon and me running the Route 66 Marathon, my first leg towards Marathon Maniac status in January 2008.

Race Prepartion: Remember crib notes in school? I decided that my feeble mind wouldn't be able to accurately remember the various paces that I felt I had a potential to run in this race, so I decided it was time for a bit of descriptive artwork. Tattoo artist I'm not....but they didn't run....while I was running and sweating.

At the Start Line: Papa Bear is ready for the gun on Sunday morning. I ended up not needing the headband/ear warmer for this race and it was lost along the way...it didn't make for much in the photo either. I do have to admit the smile was an unusual thing for me to show.....I can't remember what Bonnie said to get it. We started in the same chute that we would finish the race in a few hours later.

The Finish Line: Time lapsed photography and a wonderful wife brings this finish line dash to you. I don't honestly remember "dashing" to the finish. Somewhere just before this was taken I could tell I wasn't going to have my gun time be under 5:30, but I was pretty certain that my chip time would be...and it was 5:29:34.

The Medals: And...here's the end result, they have some of the nicest medals. The lady at the finish line asked if this was my first marathon. I explained to her that it was my first Tulsa marathon and first Oklahoma marathon. That at my one previous marathon they didn't have such a finisher's medal. She said with the effort I had made she felt I should have this to hang in my collection. She wished me well in my quest to run a marathon in all 50 states.

I'm equally impressed with Bonnie's Quarter Marathon Finisher's Medal too....it's very impressive and really more "shiny" than the one that I got. I'm so proud of her efforts and all of her support during this year. She has evolved into much more than what she termed early on as my "atheletic supporter"...yes she does know what that is.....she's my cheerleader, my coach, and most importantly....The Love of my Life....