Whoa.
On Saturday the plan was that I was going to spectate for the first time ever at a race! The race of choice: Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle.
But things unexpectedly changed. What was supposed to be a “viewing party,” at the Nuun headquarters (with some tables of Nuun set up for runners who may want it) became a super crazy hydration effort of excellence and chaos…to say the least.
We had a few tables set up with cups of Nuun at mile 2 along the route, figuring that maybe some people would want to stop…no biggy. Um. Except TONS of people stopped. They even waited in line because, well, we weren’t quite prepared for all that, so we were filling cups and handing them off immediately and feeling bad that we couldn’t fill them faster. We were trying to be speedy and we got covered in Nuun. Every time we thought it might be near the end of the crowd, we’d look up…and see huge masses of people still on the way. It was chaos! But fun chaos.
This is what it was like at the very END. I didn’t get a good picture of the chaos because, well, I was too busy crazily filling cups of Nuun.
I had hoped to see some of my NUUNKOTB teammates, but since I was filling cups and trying to keep up with the crazy demand for Nuun, I only saw Lauren. She looked great! Way to go on your 9th half-marathon, Lauren! I also looked up from my cup-filling long enough to see Nicole, and she was her energetic happy self! Way to go on a sub-4 marathon, Nicole!
Four of my NUUNKOTB teammates ran yesterday who I didn’t see at the race: Alanna, Holly, Stacie, and Dawn. BUT I did get to meet Alanna, Stacie, and Dawn at dinner on Friday night, which was exciting! (And they were nice to me too!). Tasha was also in Seattle cheering the ladies on, but I didn’t get to see her either. Hopefully she was able to see more of the ladies running than I was!
As the last few runners passed the Nuun headquarters, I realized: We may be to the end of the runners, but we have a bit of cleaning up to do:
We had created a bit of a cup problem in the streets of Seattle.
Crazy, huh?
I asked Caitlin, a Nuun employee, if there was a broom to sweep the cups with, when two huge Penske trucks pulled up. And guess what jumped out? Tons of guys with rakes! They cleaned up all the cups in a matter of minutes, while we stared at them in shock. It was a marathon miracle!
The amazing helper guys who magically appeared from a Penske truck!
Since we were at mile 2, the race was still going on, so I decided to go do some spectating.
I felt bad that the runners couldn’t see the beauty behind them. One elderly couple chose to run backwards for awhile so that they could see the skyline! It was so cute!
Most of the people I knew running the half were finished by this time, but I was hopeful that I would see Nicole from Ricole Runs, since she was running the full marathon. Unfortunately, before I saw her, my husband called; he was downtown and ready to pick me up. I was walking to find him when I saw Nicole. Guys, she was moving well and looked strong, except her face. (Remember how at mile 2 she was happy and energetic? Not anymore). Her face made it clear that she was miserable. It honestly kind of terrified me seeing her agony, and I questioned my ability to finish a marathon in a few months. I shouted for her, but she didn’t hear me. She was running with someone who was coaching her through. The coach was reassuring her of something; I’m sure telling her how close she was and that she would make it. What a nice coach!
I didn’t have my camera ready when I saw Nicole, so I only managed to snap this picture of Nicole and her coach:
What a good friend I was to snap this picture for them!
(I actually had really hoped to have been able to get a photo of her with the skyline from above, but the timing was off…)
I later learned that the coach was Robyn of Run Birdie Run. What a great friend! I’m sad that I didn’t get to meet her!
Were you racing or spectating this weekend? How’d it go? Is finishing 26.2 miles pure agony???
Is 26.2 pure agony? Hmmm….here’s a pic after my BQ. It was a mixture of pain, pleasure, and shock….Apparently even in your 30′s – one look at your mother after a marathon makes you do this: http://stridingmom.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/photo-73.jpg
I LOVE that picture!
This picture ROCKS. Thank you!
I literally cannot put into words what some races end like that pic does it perfectly.
HAHAHAAHAA!!!!!! That made me laugh OUT LOUD and read that paragraph to my husband. You are such an awesome person to go and hand out Nuun and cheer! Maybe I will come “coach” you in your last 6 miles of Leavenworth!
Seriously, if you hadn’t been running a marathon I would have ran up to you and hugged you, you looked so pained. I felt so bad! I thought about running after you guys to get a photo, but figured I should let you focus on getting ‘er done. I knew from what time it was that you were doing awesome pace-wise, but I knew from your face that you might not have cared for a photographer in your face!
Oh. And I would LOVE it if you coached me in Leavenworth!!! Seriously.
omigod that is hysterical! i was running the half, and was really surprised to see your stop. i actually remember wondering about how that worked and if you needed some sort of contract with competitor. then i spent a while worrying about psychos setting up rohypnol water stops. i am such a freaking lawyer. LOL my brain was crazy!!! and i totally looked at all of your containers because when it comes to my nuun flavors, i play favorites.
THANK YOU!!!
Lol. We only had triberry (my least favorite). But I was surprised at the number of people asking about flavors. I was just thinking, “Um, don’t you need to just get something to drink and then run???” But then I realized that everyone has a different attitude towards races, and some people don’t mind taking a little extra time to check out their options! Sorry I didn’t get to meet you! I hope you had a fun race!
Thanks for supporting everyone with Nuun…what do we have to do to get Nuun as the official hydration drink at this race!!??
I think we have to get Nuun to give Seattle RnR a whole bunch of $$?
Wait, Nicole has a coach? Lucky!
Thanks for manning the Nuun table. I didn’t stop, but waved at you guys.
Ha! Nicole had a nice friend (Robyn from Run Birdie Run) who ran with her the last 6 miles. I didn’t know who she was at the time though, so I referred to her as “coach.”
Okay, definitely putting a race in Seattle on my bucket list. The skyline is gorgeous. I would totally love the view!!!
Oh man, I live 30 miles out of Seattle, and every time I go there it just takes my breath away! I get so happy when I’m in the city!!!
Holy hydration- that is crazy!!! I was planning on walking up to Nuun from the start, but got side tracked and then realized that the race started in 10 minutes. According to my navigation on my cell phone it would have taken me over 25 minutes to walk. I had gotten VIP passes so I opted to go and sit in the VIP tent and have a hot coffee and oatmeal. I am bummed I didn’t get the chance to meet you, but Ragnar is sooooo close!
We could have used you! It was WILD! It was pretty fun, but definitely unexpectedly chaotic!
I remember seeing the Nuun table and was tempted to stop but already had Strawberry Lemonade Nuun in my water bottle. Had to drink some Gatorade at the very end of the race when I ran out of Nuun. Gross.
Blech. I know. It’s like the death of race running when you need electrolytes and the option is Gatorade…and then there’s the concern about how it’s mixed. If it’s strong, oh man, nausea! I hope the race went well for you!!!