9-11 Memorial

Bigger, bolder, brasher.  Not the Colorado Rockies, but good to be USA home.

What I learned from my 50 State journey (twice), no matter the accent or our politics – Hawaii, Texas or Maine – we’re American.  We ALL stand together 🇺🇸

Trans-Atlantic flight, Amsterdam to JFK.  Customs, luggage retrieval.  Rental van to our Saturday nite sleeps.  All the years I NYC-worked, never ever on Long Island.

Hampton Inn.  American TV.  Food Network!  Thirty minutes more, downstairs with the Questers – PIZZA nite!  SOAKING in the junk food.  Nothing more American than pepperoni pizza & 2-liter Coke.  U-S-A!  We’re not the healthiest bunch of folk.  LOL>

BUSINESS CLASS sleep – and a FULL nite on Long Island.  Despite the massive time difference, ZERO problem staying unconscious ‘til the morning alarm 😊

Breakfast, shower.  Luggage at the Front Desk.  Goodbye, first Half adventure.  Ash & Tom (already in New York) exchanging marathon totes while I’m running in nearby Eisenhower Park.  Goodbye sweaty shorts, hello Antarctica sleeping bag.  YES!

Registration, bib pickup.  Soooo many runners.  Triple 8 story back-burner’d this day.  New Yorker accents, fancy run shoes.  Thin guys to the front – winner’s breaking 3 hours today.  Photo opp with the Six, then crowd bunched close at the Start.  Kinda overwhelming, sheer amount of people.  Weather?  Couldn’t be better.  Legs?  Heavy.

Lap 1, Ashton.  Lap 3, Sis.  emotion OVERLOAD.

Sis saw yesterday’s Amsterdam post & booked a New York flight, same day/hours later.  Just WOW.  Reason I ran my first marathon (Alaska 2013).  Reason I ran all 50 States TWICE (her Hawaii Birthday ultra).  And today, will be the reason I FINISH all 8 continents.

[I mean, once you finish six… the last 2 – with no time cutoffs – should be a cake walk.  It’s just another 52 miles, right?]

More walk than slog.  More slog than jog, but Sis stayed with me.  Six-hour course limit.  Slow-n-steady.  Legs moving (or not) – she’d make sure I’d hit the time.  Well until lap 8, then… see ya.  2pm.  Plane to catch, work in the morning.  Absolutely SERIOUS!

Clocks a sub-10 5k, medal/finish pic, husband waiting with the car.  CRAZY proud! & sooooo very appreciative ❤️

LAST LAP.  It’d be tight.  16-minute walk pace.  Certainly, wasn’t setting any speed records – but FINISH I did.

6 continents, 6 marathons, 6 days.  Anything is POSSIBLE… with FAMILY. 

Icebreaker Marathon