While Jess has taken heartily to the life of a marathon runner, I have enjoyed my role as the support crew. My roles include motivational speaking, hydration preparation and handling, “relaxed pace” running partner and documenting specialist. On this particular race day, I had ample time to work as a photographer. I had two opportunities to catch Jess running the route, both within a couple blocks of our hotel. She did her normal pre-rise at 3am to eat some food and then again at 4:30am to get ready to go to the race. We left the hotel around 5am to head to City Park. The roads were mostly empty with cones set up along the route demarcating the course. I dropped her off and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the day.
All showered, I headed out to the first photo op point. Along the way, I picked up some coffee and found a good vantage point on the course. I was able to perch on an overpass and arrived just in time to see the first runners come by the water station. Everyone was looking strong, speeding on past the station, some taking water, others forgoing the opportunity. Shortly after the 4:00 pacer went by, Jess appeared. She grabbed some water and sped on to catch the pacer, ignoring my calls as she went by. I raced to the other side of the overpass, yelling her full name before she realized she was being cheered on from above. She waved and went on.
I had about an two hours before I’d see her again, so I went back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave so we could make a quick escape before checkout. I took my time along the way and took some photos, hung out in front of a coffee shop and generally just enjoyed the quiet morning. The local university was holding their spring graduation, so families were making there way into the local breakfast joints. With the car packed I headed to the next vantage point.
Runners were streaming by. By this point, the half-marathoners and 10 milers were now in the foray. Jess had signed me up for text message alerts, so I knew her approximate pace. She was running a bit slower than she hoped, but with her heel injury, I wasn’t surprised. I walked up and down the street trying to find a good vantage point. Finally finding a good spot, I settled down. People streamed by, many of them mistaking me for a course photographer, waving, jumping and victory thrusting their arms into the air. I took many of their photos so they wouldn’t feel like a too much of a fool (didn’t want them to dwell on that for the last 3 miles). Jess finally pulled into view. She was looking tired. I could tell the injury had taken it’s toll.
I hurriedly made my way back to the hotel to grab the car and make my way back to City Park to see her across the line. The traffic was terrible. Between the race and graduation traffic, and on top of the narrowed roads and hand-directed signalling, cars were at a stand still. Unfortunately, it was unrelenting. I was still over a half-hour away from picking up Jess when my phone notified me that she finished. Simultaneously happy and frustrated, I took a quick pic out the window, posting it online to the others that had been following along with her progress. I made my way to pick her up and take her back to the hotel for a well deserved shower before heading off on the next leg of our vacation.