Marathon Weekend

Ethan and I headed down to St George early Friday morning. We arrived just in time to say hello, drop Jemaine off at the condo, and head to the convention center for the Road to Fame ceremony. 

At the Road to Fame ceremony, they inducted my Grandpa Horlacher along with 4 others. 

 

It was a great ceremony and I think most of us learned a few fun facts! I am borrowing the list below from my cousin Mic. (Thanks Mic!)

-My grandpa had to recruit/beg runners to run the first couple of marathons.  They used to manage the city pool and out of all the lifeguards, two said yes to running it that first year.  One of them has run it every year since the beginning, pregnant or not. 

-My grandma gets a lot of credit, along with her kids, because while my grandpa was running the marathon she would manage it.  They would shuttle runners up to the starting line. Then they would drive 5 miles down, set up a card table with snacks and aid to pass out to the runners as they passed by.  When the last runner crossed the 5 mile mark, they would pack up the table and goods, load the kids into the car, drive 5 more miles down the course, and set it up all over again. Repeat. Repeat.  My grandma would keep track of each runner's splits while managing the aid, snacks, and her children.  Once they got to the finish line at the park, they would record on a stopwatch as the runners crossed the finish line.

-My grandpa could not stand bandits (runners who hadn't paid to run and had no number).  He would personally tackle them and take them out if he saw them approaching the finish line without a proper number.  When the digital chips were in place and they could easily tell who was legit and who was not, he still tackled them. He was later asked to stop, although I'm not sure he agreed with it.

-At the age of 52, he set a personal record finishing the race in 3hr 4 mins (wish I had that skill!)

-My grandpa did lots of research about running--he entertained the thought of intervals to help you run faster and he pushed his workouts with cross training and building strength. He would clean up the community as he ran picking up trash in the gutters and kicking rocks back into their places. He also experimented with a mixture of carol syrup and water for energy... Yuck!

-One time when my uncle Scott was 10yrs old,  he came back from trick or treating saddened by the fact that two older kids had stolen his candy.  My grandpa slipped on his tennis shoes and asked which direction the culprits went. My grandpa caught up with the kids and they started to ran faster.  If the kids were only warned about the endurance and experience my grandpa had with running they would have stopped sooner.  When he caught the winded boys, he brought them back to the house and he called the cops.  When the cops arrived the boys said, "we thought we could out run the guy, but he never stopped!" The candy was returned to my uncle Scott and justice was served. I told you my grandpa couldn't stand bandits.

 

It was also great that my sweet sister Heather was in town and able to come to the ceremony!

 When Ethan and I went to pick up our packet, we also enjoyed the green screen and getting posed!

 

Friday night we headed up to Pine Valley. We rode up with TJ and Randy. Randy actually bought my grandparents house from them and is currently living there. It was fun to have him tell us about how it came about that they bought the house. He actually thought about purchasing it before my grandparents went on their mission but it wasn't the right time. A few years later Randy was living in Vegas but ready to move. He had his brother stop by the house on main to see if they were interested in selling it. When his brother stopped by and asked my grandma about selling it, the first thing my grandma said was "You are an answer to my prayers." A bit later, Randy came up and my grandpa and him stood out back and negotiated the deal. Randy bought the house without telling his wife- something he didn't recommend to Ethan and TJ. HA!

Saturday morning we woke up early, but not as early as if we were staying in St George and headed to the starting line. Ed was the announcer at the start line and even gave Ethan and I a shout out! That was sort of a fun boost to the morning!

And then it was time to start our 26.2 miles!

Running into Veyo is super awesome. The town is out cheering and I found it hard not to choke up. As I was jogging along, I was feeling pretty good and loving the tail wind when I noticed my 12 year old cousin walking along about mile 10.5. I slowed right down to check on her. Yes, you read that correctly- she is 12!!! Dang, I was proud of her! Emily and I knocked out miles 10-18 together. It was nice to have someone to chat with and I think my grandpa would have done the same thing. A little after mile 18, my uncle Kurt caught up to us and started running with Em. I went ahead and kept knocking the miles out. 

 

At mile 22 I got pretty emotional and had to keep it in check. It is totally hard to run and cry at the same time! Running into town is pretty neat. I love all the spectators on their lawns handing out Popsicles, bags of ice, and of course high fives! I also loved all the great signs along the way! One of my favorites said "my last marathon was on netflix."

About mile 26, I saw TJ and Ang and yelled to them as I jogged along, then it was my cousin Kason, then Heather and Cam, then my Uncle Scott and Family. They had a sign that said "Bob would be proud." So naturally I started to cry and as soon as I started to getting it in check, I saw the next group of family, and well, it was real had not to just sit there and cry. It was a very emotional run for me, and I know Ethan felt the same way. I was happy to see Ethan right after I crossed the line. I am totally choking up right now just thinking about it. I am so proud and happy to belong to my amazing family. 

 

 After the marathon it was nice to hang out at the Condo for a bit. As soon as I sat down, I had Jemaine and Jessica on my lap. I was also happy to join "Team Roma" with a diet coke!

"Team 'Be A Bob' or if you would rather have a diet coke... we do have Team Roma!"

After showers and getting settled at the Stouts, Ang I went for a pedicure while Ethan and TJ watched the boys. We had a lovely time, even if we thought Ang's  bubbles were a little out of control!

It was such a wonderful weekend full of amazing family, lots of emotions, and awesome friends !

(With a little running mixed in.)