12/10 ~ R is For... Runners! Honolulu Marathon Recap (Photo-A-Day)

There is more than one photo in today's post.  I hope you're in a comfortable chair, this one might be kinda long!

Sunday, December 8th, was the 41st Honolulu Marathon.  Last week I visited the Marathon Expo and was really sad that I wasn't going to be running on Sunday.  I definitely am not trained for that distance and currently have an injured hamstring, so there was no way - even though I could have registered as late as Saturday. I enjoyed seeing a marathon from a different viewpoint - that of a spectator.

Les was also involved in the marathon - as part of the cycling wheelchair escort team.  The "wheelers" go out at 4:55 a.m. - five minutes before the runners.  It is very dark and since they sit low to the ground, they could easily get hit or hit pedestrians.  Roads are blocked, but pedestrians are everywhere.

The cycling crew wore official "Course Marshall" badges, with reflective vests and whistles.  They also had at least two lights in the front and two in the back of their bikes to help the wheelers see.  Their role is important and they all take it very seriously.

Les left the condo at 4:00 to meet up with the team and I wasn't far behind him.  The start line was one mile from our condo and I walked with hundreds of runners as they were making their way to the start.  Over 30,000 were registered and more than 22,000 runners finished the 26.2 mile course.

I got to the start line just as the national anthem was sung and I heard "The wheelers are off!"  After an impressive display of fireworks at 5:00 a.m. the runners were off.

 

There is also a "Race Day Walk" that starts just after all the runners are on the course.   It is a 10K.  I couldn't find any numbers on it, but it looked like several thousand were participating in this event as well.

The course did a four mile loop away from Waikiki before heading towards Diamond Head.  I hurried to the point where they would loop back around and just as I did I heard whistles.  The first of the wheelers were there and so was Les!  They were gone in a fast blur!

 

I stayed at that location for a while and saw the elite runners go by.  I knew I needed to get to the finish line before long - the wheel chair champion completed the course in just over 90 minutes last year.   The support of the race is amazing.  Volunteers are everywhere.  Honolulu Police were also on hand.  They are very protective of the runners - they don't want anyone to get in the way as the runners are coming through.

As I was making my way to Waikiki, there were some areas where spectators were sparse.  At about mile five I took this video.  The important part is the sound - that of hundreds of pounding feet.  I wanted to jump in the group and run with them!!

The main strip of Waikiki was thumping!!  Crowds were cheering loudly.  So exciting for the runners.  A bag piper was playing "Amazing Grace."  And volunteers were handing out water.

I got the finish line about 10 minutes before the champion wheeler came in at 1:31:14!

The cyclists were to leave the course at the Kapiolani Park fountain, allowing the wheelers to cross the finish line alone.  I got down there about 5 minutes before Les came in with his wheeler, the third place finisher.  The cyclists were pumped!  They loved participating in this way.  Our friend Ray said it best, "I just wish we didn't have to wait another year to do this again."

We didn't have long to wait for the winner to come in at 2:18:47 - averaging 5 minutes and 18 seconds a mile!

Placing 13th overall was the top female finisher. She came in at 2:36:02.  The ladies had a very tight finish with second coming in at 2:36:10 and third at 2:36:13!

The sun finally slipped over Diamond Head.

I watched as more runners came in, then decided it was time to head home for breakfast.  Runners were still making their way towards Diamond Head.  They had gone seven miles with many more ahead of them.  I saw these two fire fighters in full gear, including their air tanks.  Yes, they told me, they were running/walking the entire course - proving once again that first responders are top notch!

If you've ever considered running, walking, or riding in an organized event - go see one!  Check out a local 5K or a full marathon. You will be so inspired!  There are people of every shape and size, super fast to very slow, but they are all making their way to the finish line and that makes them winners.

Honolulu Marathon - December 14, 2014  - Anyone want to join me??

Miracle Crash

This headline in Yahoo Cycling News caught my attention this morning - "Paralympian eyes Olympic glory after “miracle” crash." The story behind it is absolutely amazing:

Monique van der Vorst, a Paralympic silver medalist, has miraculously become an able-bodied Olympic hopeful after a crash reversed her paralysis. Paralyzed from the hip down since she was 13, the 27-year-old handcyclist was hit by a bicycle last year while training in her wheelchair for the 2012 London Paralympics. While recovering from the trauma, van der Vorst’s feet started to tingle and miraculously she began to move them again. From that point on she spent months in the hospital and in the rehabilitation center trying to regain the use of her legs.

She told Reuters that when she took her first steps again in July 2010, she felt just like a child learning to walk. “I wanted to jump in the air for joy,” van der Vorst said this week, and recalled how great and surprising it was to look at herself standing in front of a mirror.

Her website says this:

My life has been full of challenges, after becoming disabled at age 13 I didn’t give up, I looked for opportinities to live life at the fullest and became a professional atlete. I have a mission to take myself to the highest level possible. After winning the World Championships Ironman, I was on a fast track to the Paralympic Games in London 2012.

But... everything suddenly changed.

After an accident in 2010 my body started to change and after a long/hard rehab period I am back on my own feet again! For me a new competition has started now, I don’t know were or when it is gonna finish but I will succeed and I will run!

Can you imagine? I don't know how she became paralyzed in the first place, but think about the terror of being hit while in her wheelchair. Back in the hospital wondering what was going to happen next when legs that had been dormant for 12 years start having feeling again. Simply amazing!

We will never understand all the "crashes" that come our way, but they may be the step to our greatest miracle! I love this quote from Monique's website "If you don’t like something, change it, if you can’t change it, change your attitude, but don’t complain..." Ride on, Monique!