I was up before the sun and so excited and nervous! I'd been looking forward to this day for so long and working so hard to get ready for it.
Walking to the start line was a little crazy because everywhere I looked I saw excited runners. The streets and sidewalks were flooded with women in their cutest Nike outfits.
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| View from the time corrals. |
As I inched closer to the start line I kept thinking: I'm about to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon!
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| Almost to the start! |
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| Drum crew just past the start line. |
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| Making our way towards the Washington Monument. |
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| Running by the Washington Monument. |
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| Lincoln Memorial. |
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| Chinese Dragon Lion dancers and drummers. |
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| Arlington National Cemetery. |
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| George Mason University marching band. |
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| Beautiful cherry blossoms along the Potomac River. |
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| Jefferson Memorial. |
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| Running along the Potomac River. |
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| Approaching the finish line! |
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| I made it! |
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| Glamour shot with my goodies! |
I was so happy to cross the finish line and make my way to Chris in the crowd! I got my Whole Foods finisher's goodie bag and my Tiffany necklace and we waited in line so I could buy even more Nike swag. Once I spent another small fortune, we found the nearest restaurant and I had a big burger and fries!
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| My finisher's necklace from Tiffany & Co. |
The Nike Women's Half Marathon DC was even better than I hoped it would be! The event raised over $5 million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! It was really well organized and the course was beautiful and filled with entertainment and people cheering us on. The sense of community among the runners was really great to see. People were wearing shirts with the names of their loved ones and friends that they were running in memory of and spectators held signs thanking us for running for those that can't. Seeing those names and faces left me feeling so incredibly grateful for my own health and the health of the people that I love.
It was one of the coolest things I've ever done and the most physically difficult thing I've ever done all in one. After getting a taste of the triumph you feel after doing something like this, I'm officially hooked and starting to think about the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco.
