The Starting Line

At the St. George Marathon in 2002, Thomas and I got off of the bus that drove us 26.2 miles out of town and dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. We were not going to be running together, because he was fast and I wasn't, but at the starting line, in all of the excitement and in the middle of 5000 other runners, just before the gun went off, he gave me a hug and said something like, "I love you mom, see you at the finish line!"

As I ran along at my 5 hour pace, I scanned every aid station I passed, just to make sure he wasn't there. I wasn't sure how well prepared he was for running a marathon, at the age of 16 and with his longest run ever being about 5 miles. I was incredibly relieved when I got close to town and saw the suburban, and he was in it, and he had the medal around his neck. It was actually better than finishing the race myself to see that he had made it safe and sound.

Today is a different sort of starting line for Thomas, and while I won't be running the same race, I will be cheering from the sidelines.