OUR OWN ULTRAPRINCESS

Ultra marathon - any event that involves running more than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195K - well, Stacey blew that right out of the water by completing the 100K for the Alzheimer's Awareness Day race last Saturday. Her and one other athlete were the only ones who completely started and finished the race. Others were doing relays or just a 5 or 10K portions. They started at 5:30am in Essex and didn't finish until 6:45pm at the Verdi Club in Amherstburg. Do the math. That is a long time to run. They did take a few breaks - lunch and to let the relay teams get in place.
We set up a front yard party in Stacey's front yard - I got her patio set and set it in place along with an umbrella (for Joan and Marilou who don't like sitting in the sun) and some of her plants. We made up a few signs and filled the cooler with pop, water and, of course, adult beverages. Stacey had purchased the noise makers - clapping hands, tambourines and some pipe things that, when you swung them around, made a funny sound. I got blisters from the clapping hands and I finally had to switch to the tambourine. We had the cars honking at us all afternoon. One woman slowed down and handed us $1.25 for a donation. Another neighbour came out to see what the fuss was all about and when we told him about the run and what Stacey was doing he asked if she had trained for it - duh. He said it was the most excitement the neighbourhood had seen in a long time. We started at 3pm and when the entourage finally passed us by at 5:15 or so we were whipped. Last year the procession stopped in front of Stacey's house so we could cheer them on but this year they didn't - they may have been behind schedule. We ordered a pizza and then met the procession at the Verdi Club for the finish at 6:45. There was a past dinner and announcements taking place.
I am very proud of Stacey - she trained hard and long to complete this event. It is for a good cause as her grandmother, Marilou's mother, suffered from Alzheimer's. What an accomplishment. And in one month, she is going to meet up with Jodie in San Francisco to compete in the Nike Woman's Marathon. A sister's weekend. They will have a blast. Good Luck Girls!!!
I am having some technical difficulties with the pictures from the weekend but once I have it up and running I have some good ones.
Now I have to get in some training as well - it makes my 1/2 marathon next month seem like nothing compared to the Alzheimer's Awareness Day run but I am looking forward to it.
See Ya By