{He Ran 26.2 Miles}

It's official. David ROCKS!
He recently ran his SECOND FULL MARATHON!!

This one was the Phoenix PF Chang's Rock-n-Roll Marathon.

He has worked so hard and consistently with his training. I'm amazed with his dedication and

the way he keeps himself motivated. He is competitive but with himself, which I just think is

the very coolest form of being competitive.

It's been awesome watching him on his journey. He's stronger, happier, healthier, calmer, and more together because of it. I wasn't in Seattle with him when he ran his first marathon. So, it was really very special for me to be able to witness my best friend make this incredible accomplishment first hand.

I couldn't have felt more proud of him. I mean ... it's a freakin' marathon! That's a BIG DEAL.

A huge life accomplishment. And he's done it TWICE.

Here's some race day details:

Combined Registrants: 36,196
Marathon Registrants: 7,372
Marathon Finishers: 5,703
1/2 Marathon Registrants: 24,521
1/2 Marathon Finishers: 21,458

David crossed the finish line in four hours and eight minutes.

He was disappointed with his time, as his goal was to finish in

under four hours. But I thought it was amazing that not only

did he finish, but he did it in 18 minutes less than his first

marathon -- a significant jump in time!

I was there to cheer and document. Here are some of the things we saw ...

Art (D's dad) was in town, and he was a trooper -- flying through the course

with me so we could see David and cheer him on during his race. We got up at

4:30AM to get to the starting line in plenty of time for the 7:30AM start.

The ultra marathoners took off before the sun was up. They had the special

honor of running with Dean Karnazes. This is the guy who ran 50 marathons

in 50 consecutive days in 50 states. (Can you say INSANE?) He's a machine!

(Check out this short video.)

These races always make for good people watching. Case in point ...

1) I love when runners wear stuff like Batman shirts.

2) We were entertained and amazed by crazy barefoot guy who ran his WHOLE

ultra marathon with NO SHOES.

3) And then there was Elvis, guitar and all. Naturally.

David headed off to the warming zone, with just under an hour until the race.

It was cold out there! This is a place that you could buy tickets to get into where

they have snacks, water and a warm place to stretch.

Art and I waited outside, cheering on the ultra marathoners and watching the sun come up.

And then things started to happen.

First off ... the very impressive men who did the marathon from their chairs.

These guys blow my mind. Awesome, awesome.

And then all the marathon runners were off! (No pictures of this.)

Most runners wear layers to keep themselves warm, ditching them when the race starts.

Goodwill comes through and picks up all the clothes for donation. Pretty cool.

Once Art and I got to the car, we got down to the business of reading the race course map

and doing math on the time so we could make our best guess as to where we could see

David and cheer him on along the way.

We managed to see him three times after the start -- at miles 7, 13 and 20.

Then again, at the finish, of course!

There was a high school spirit line at mile seven.

I made signs for Art and I to hold. This one got a lot of attention

and laughs from the runners!

We waited, cheering. Hoping that we got to mile seven before David did.

And we did!! That's him, heading toward us in YELLOW. Yay, David!!!!!

Looking and feeling good at the seven.

I guess I didn't take any photos at either the 13 or the 20. I'm confused which

mile the next photos are from, but it's from one or the other.

Here's another one of the signs I made. It was fun to have these out

while we were waiting for David to run by.

Art held this one for David. It was so funny. While we were standing

here, this guy who was running the marathon saw this sign, stopped

and took a picture of it. He said, "Hey, my name is David!" It was cute.

Here comes our guy, again in YELLOW!

He didn't say anything when he ran by us this time. Just kind of looked at us,

made a noise or two and kept running. So, I jogged with him for a second to

make sure he was doing okay. And he was.

Time to head to the finish!!!!

Traffic was a little crazy, and there were so many road closures.

So, I wasn't sure if we'd make it on time, but we did!

Barb and Jason were there with Gavin and Patti.

Barb ran the half marathon (13.1 miles) . She finished in an impressive two hours.

It was so nice of them to hang around and wait for David to finish. They're such

good friends.

It was hard waiting for David. I just knew he had to be hurting. I was so hoping he was

doing okay. Of course, every time I saw a yellow shirt, I thought it was him. So, it was a

huge relief when we saw our guy come around the corner and down the HOME STRETCH!!!!

At this point, I was jumping up and down - crying - screaming his name so he knew we were there. It was so exciting, and I felt so proud.

Every single step at the final stage in the race was painful and glorious. He had been

cramping up pretty bad for the last few miles, but he still ran through the finish!

After the race. He made it!! He did it!! And with an impressive time, to boot.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning. :)

Honey, I am SO PROUD OF YOU!! You were (are) absolutely awesome.