Patty's Story
The Finish is the Start
In life there can be many first time experiences that become a special part of our memories. Destined to never be forgotten, they can seem as real today as the day they happened. Maybe the first day of school, your first kiss, the birth of your first child. Very memorable and exciting events. Be it gratifying or grueling, unexpectedly humorous or inspirational and life altering, a runner's first marathon will forever be imprinted in the mind. My first marathon was the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 2004. I came in dead last but finished in 8 1/2- 9 hours. Though the finish line was closed and only clean up crews to cheer me though, I still received a metal from the director who, as he knelt down in front of me to cut the chip from my shoe said "Are you just finishing?" Totally wasted, Managing a weak smile. I answered "duhhhh (haha) what does it look like? I sure did. Every step" He went around the side of some parked trailers and came with a metal. With tears in his eyes, he placed the metal around my neck and said "You deserve this ""Grandma Bang". I felt like I had won the Gold at the olympics. We hugged, went our seperate ways, but the pride that comes from accomplishing my first marathon "hangs" on the wall, at my front door, reminding me through my everyday trials, that I have inside, what it takes to suceed. YOU do too. On October 10, 2004 I entered in the Chicago Marathon. At 54 years old it was my first marathon, and even though it was a couple years ago I can remember it and feel it like it is still happening today. What a great experience! It was so intense and so loud! There were people everywhere, they were runners every where, swarming all over Grant Park. The sky was cloudless, the temperature would prove to be ideal. Something big was happening and "I" was right in the middle of it!!!! I was not prepared for how much fun it was to be in Chicago. It was the best race I have ever been a partfof. Chicago measured up to all the advance billing it had received from my son and daughter-in-law and their friends Jamie and Karen., Makinzie and Dan. This is my story and how it bagan. First I would like to say how thankful I am for the new friendships formed over 26.2 miles. With their own self-determination and willingness to help others along the way, we all experienced overwhelming joy in reaching the ultimate goal: the finish line. My marathon quest involved a lot of company, which I very much appreciated, but on the day itself I had to run my own race. This is how I managed it. As TRAININGI began I was thinking "this hurts" and with another part of my brain "of course it hurts, it's a marathon, it's supposed to hurt!!" One good thing about being last.. I don't need to stand in line at the portaloos. I was very AWARE of the other runners. Espically passing me, literally by the hundreds. My mind was wondering how they trained, what was their goal, whether running was something they enjoyed to do or whether it was this simply an athletic task for them. For me, the spirituality of running has always been the attraction. Finishing a marathon, for me, is not all about the phyical ability to do it but about the "heart" It says something about the character of a person and the spirit that is within them I found myself praying for these individuals running this marathon with me, although I knew nothing about them. Also mentality, many people think that all one needs to be a good marathoner is raw strength, and maybe the genes of a Kenyan. Wrong. The way one perceives things, whether in a positive, up-beat way, or in a cynical manner, hugely affects his or her running ability and performance.Always watch for the running angels. They are truely there. I had 3. Advice???.Run a lot, practice your pose, and borrow a handicap sticker. (or have a special friend push you around in a wheelchair for a week)For many people, including myself, one of the greatest benefits of running is that you steal some quiet time. It's just you and the road. In my case, because I was last it's me, the street sweepers, the road, and the deadly car emissions along Main Street, and those same cars nearly running me over. NEWS FLASH!!! Two older, but incrediably sexy couple, we spotted actually crossing the finish line in the colorado springs marathon sept 4, 2006. Gazette headlines hahha See you there Sam!!
Here is Patty and her daughter Susan on the left at the Chicago Marathon, October 2005