Today I spectated my first race. Usually I am the one participating, but this time, I was reporting for CultureMap and watching for fun. Spectating is just as fun as running, but you don’t have to take a nap and a shower after! And you can walk without pain the next day.
Race results story: Rain didn’t stop the run at Houston Marathon
If you ever get a chance to watch or volunteer for a local race, it is very rewarding and inspiring. I recommend it! Watching 22,000 runners go past you really makes you want to run with them. It’s an awesome experience for the runner, and just as fun to watch too.
Last year I watched the marathoners go by outside my gym and the next day I signed up for my first 10K race. Two months after that, I started to blog. And 9 months after that, I ran my first half marathon. Watching runners is powerful. (Here’s a background to my running story.)
Here are some pictures from today:
Jeffrey is not so great at taking pics on my iPhone. He lacks a steady handedness. This is me before the race, ready to snap pics. I ended up in a rain jacket and rain boots.
My friend Allison and I waited around Mile 8 for her husband, Freddy, to run by. It was his first half marathon. Go Freddy!
A rainy and humid day in Houston, but Houstonians expect this weather sometimes.
The male winner, an Ethiopian, broke all records. Sub 4:30 minute miles is faster than I can put on makeup.
The winning woman crossing the finish line.
At the post-race press conference, three Americans discuss the race. The one on the left had a bad race (came in 6th). The middle guy came in 2nd, and the end woman came in 3rd and did better than she expected.
This is a close-up of her from Friday’s pre-race press conference. Her name is Stephanie Rothstein and she is 27 years old. She ran a sub-2:30 marathon today for her first time to come in 3rd place. Her story is interesting because she discovered she had Celiac Disease last March. Her running was not doing well and she struggled to run longer than 25 minutes. After she started changing her foods, she bounced back.
She will come back to Houston next January to try to qualify for the 2012 Olympic team.
I bet it was really fun spectating the race! I’ve never done that, because all the races in my town are super small anyway. We don’t really have marathons or half marathons and I’m usually running in any 5K or 10K we have locally, so… no spectating for me
. But I always stand at the finish and cheer on the people who finish after me.
That’s so awesome about that man finishing the marathon in 2:07- that’s faster than I ran a half marathon earlier this month and twice the distance! Neat that they let the runners talk about their experiences like that, too.
A.L.
You’re right — spectating at races is so fun and motivating! I didn’t go to the race today — you’re a brave spectator going out in that weather!!
Light rain wasn’t as bad as cold. I’d love to meet you one day, I bet we live nearby.
Watching a race always provides me with some motivation. I always like to be near a start/finish line of races a couple of times a year to remind myself of what I’m really doing.
Very true, so different to watch than participate.
That’s so cool that you were able to spectate Houston! I’m jealous
And next year will be even better – 2012 Olympic Trials!!
I just ordered some picky bars – I’ll blog about how they taste. I have a good feeling about them
I’m excited you ordered the picky bars! Had you heard of them before? You would have been drooling over these runners here this weekend. Ryan Hall too! The women were pretty awesome.