Scott & Stacy's Adventures: Check this off the Bucket List

The idea for this trip all started from Scott’s dream of running the Honolulu Marathon. A year’s worth of training, including months of physical therapy, all came down to this morning.

The marathon started this morning at 5:00am. The reason for the early start is because it tends to get warm when the sun comes up. This was not a huge issue today considering it rained a few times throughout the race.

If you have never been to a race before, it is something to behold. 22,615 people were registered to run the marathon. That doesn’t include those of us registered for the 10k, or any of the spectators.

The start line for the marathon is divided into sections based on how fast you anticipate completing the run.

There were some pretty elite runners at this race. Scotty, Nick, and I went to the other side of the start line to hopefully capture a picture of Scott starting the race. We were not successful in finding him in the crowd, but we did see this guy. We are thinking that he must be famous where ever he is from based on the tv crews that followed him around. He finished just before Scott, so we figured he must be an actor or something.

There is no starting gun at this race. Instead, they launch 15 minutes of fireworks in the park right next to the start line. These fireworks were amazing. They made those of us just watching want to start running. It was at this point that I think the boys realized that they were a part of something big.

Here you can see the Kenyon runners at the starting line. We wouldn’t see them again since they finished before we made our way to the finish line.

Immediately following the marathon start is the start of the 10k.

An hour and 32 minutes later, I crossed the finish line. This was actually about 20 minutes faster than I anticipated. Thankfully, due to Scotty’s driving and Nick’s picture taking, I have proof that I finished.

You can’t possibly attend an event like this and not realize the courage it takes to compete at this level. Prior to the marathon start, the wheelchair competitors started. This was one of the first racers we saw cross the finish line. Notice that there aren’t many finish line spectators at this point. The line would eventually grow to be three to four people deep over the next hour.

At the beginning, it’s one finisher every few minutes. Then it starts to get to where it’s small groups of people and eventually it just a steady stream.

One of my favorite parts of these events are the people who go out to have fun. You will see all types of people, some of which feel the need to wear a great outfit (which, by the way, makes it much easier to spot your runner than the generic white shirt black shorts).

This guy’s wife handed him their baby to run the last mile with.

Every once in a while there is a moment when you realize that some people are truly amazing.

Kids would chase after their parents, wanting to be a part of the race for the last little bit.

Once it gets close to the time that you know your runner should be getting close, you start to get antsy. We knew what Scott’s time should have been, but we still started watching closely about a half hour before that time. We were very excited to see this….