Atta Boy!

Yesterday was Nashville's (about 9th) Music City Marathon. Unlike some cities that only host a marathon, Nashville runs a half marathon as well, and both Grant and Keri ran in it - and finished happily, I'm happy to say. Although Grant said 40,000 runners were there, the paper today said 31,200 of which 25,500 ran in the half marathon. One 26-year-old young man, who ran in the half marathon, died, the first ever death in the event for the city. How tragic for the family, who has asked that his name and the circumstances of the death be kept private. They did say it was not heat-related although this was the "hottest" marathon ever with tempatures some 15 degrees above normal for this time of the year. The paper made much of the heat, noting its effects on runners, even experienced ones. Now I wonder what the ideal temperature is for running a marathon.

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This was Grant's first marathon; he only began running a few months ago. His time was insignificant as he chose to run with Keri to make it more fun and could have finished faster if running alone. He said that he wasn't really aware of what an "event" it was until Thursday night before the race when he realized how many people ran in it and how far away they traveled from to do so. Also, he said, the bands that played along the running route made it so much fun and made the time go by quickly.

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I chose the two pictures from The Tennessean above because Grant said one of the greatest sights along the route was when he crested a hill and could see the thousands of people running in the race and because, if we had gone, the picture on the right was the viewing spot I had chosen from a map showing the route as possibly a nice shady place to watch from. Turns out I would have been right, and there would have been room to set up a couple of chairs except the fact that there are no chairs makes me wonder if that was a road blocked off to traffic. Anyway, the race started at 7 a.m., with staggered times, and Grant and Keri finished around 9:30 which is just about when I'm drinking my 2nd cup of coffee. Besides Grant is big enough to do what he wants without Mom and Dad saying "atta boy!" I believe. Nevertheless, job well done, Grant and Keri.