Run4Rett, Toronto Marathon and more

What a whirlwind of a weekend! My head is still spinning, but let's see if I can do a quick wrap-up so I can finally catch up on what you've all been up to.

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First and foremost, congratulations to Yumke who has been chasing Boston for some time now. Today he achieved his coveted BQ at the Toronto Marathon with a 3:12:36. Amazing! I spotted him around 37K (I think) and he was looking strong with the 3:15 bunny. Congratulations Kenny!!!

AND... my girl Lacey may have run a little BQ herself... in her debut marathon! Way to go, girl!

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Run4Rett was a tremendous success yesterday. It was a long and busy but rewarding day. My volunteers were outstanding, we had a great turnout of participants in the 1K and 5K and we raised over $56,000 for Rett Syndrome.

I'll share plenty of photos from the event once they're available, but for now here is one of hubby finishing the 5K with a PR of 19:36 for 4th place overall.



I also snapped one of Jean-Marc Genereux (of So You Think You Can Dance Canada) finishing the 5K. It was great seeing he and his family out there to support the cause.



After being on site at 7am, we wrapped up around 2pm. I only had a quick break at home before heading out to meet some friends for girls' night. I sat down to have a tea and check up on a few things online at the same time... and somehow managed to completely dump a mug of hot tea all over myself and my laptop. NOT COOL. It's still not working, but we're drying it out and trying a few other tricks to hopefully get it working again. Ugh.

Other than that, girls' night was fun, but a late night after a long day and I was exhausted when I crawled into bed.

Sleep in on Sunday? No way. I was up dark and early to head downtown with more than 30 people from my training group for the Toronto Marathon. It was an exciting morning with many running their first marathon, some going for BQ's and all of them out to see several months of training pay off. There were just as many of us out for support as there were runners and it was incredible to be a part such an important day for all of them.

After seeing everyone off, we all separated in order to spread ourselves out on the course and offer as much support as possible. I headed to about the 2K mark with a few others where we picked up some of our people and ran with them to 10K or so, which included running up the infamous Hoggs Hollow hill. I ran up ahead a few times (huffing & puffing!) to snap photos of the girls I was running with. I had a predetermined spot where I would pull off to meet up with others and head to our next stop together, but somehow I totally missed it. Must have been having too much fun! Not a total disaster, as I was able to hop on the subway and head to the next stop to find everyone.

We positioned ourselves next just past the half way point. Everyone was looking amazing at this point and it was so great to see them and give them a boost. Once everyone had run by, we took a walk to about 36K where we would catch them on the 'back' portion of an out and back along the lake shore.

I had arranged to meet my friend Micki at this point and bring her to the finish in under 4:00 for a BQ. She came along right on time (a couple minutes ahead!) and going strong. I jumped in immediately, asked all of the essential questions "How are you feeling?" "Do you need anything?" "Can I carry something for you?" She was running fast and picked it up as we passed the 4:00 bunny. She was focused and strong and I didn't doubt for a second during that entire 6K that she could do it. As we reached the lase few kilometres, another lady from our group jumped in to help bring her home. We yelled to the crowd that our girl was going to Boston and got them to cheer like crazy. It was such an amazing thing to share with her and what a great feeling. We finally sent her on her way with the finish line in sight, which she crossed in 3:56! BQ with time to spare! Fantastic.

I didn't waste any time turning around and running back along the course to see who else I could pick up. Over the next half hour, I successfully located four others and brought them in one at a time. Some were thrilled with their run and some were not, but watching someone finish a marathon, sharing those last minutes with them when it seems like the finish line is NEVER going to be there, watching their face light up when it finally comes into sight - what an incredible thing.

So many of these amazing people have supported me all summer long and during my own marathon and it was a true pleasure to be there today.

At the end of the day, I ran 18K and loved every minute of it. What a day! Photos to follow.

And now? I need to go to bed. I'll catch up with everyone tomorrow!