My Life : How Lucky Am I.....

The Deadwood Mickelson Trail Race has been on my bucket list of races to do for years and years. This past weekend, I was finally able to run it. I had originally signed up for the full marathon, but had to drop down to the half-marathon because I injured my leg earlier in the year. It was a difficult decision, but after taking six weeks off to recover, I realized that with only eight weeks left before the race, I wouldn't have enough time to train properly for a marathon.

But the Universe had a different plan for me. She knew I was disappointed to not be running the full marathon with Amy, Carey, and Sam, so she gave me a new running partner for the race.

My 14-year-old grandson Eli had just started training for a race in the Fall. He had come along to cheer us on as we ran, but at the last minute, he decided he should give running the half-marathon a try. The race was on Sunday, and he signed up on Saturday! Eli had never run farther than 10 miles, and even then, he had only done it once.

I was so excited to run with him!

We had to take a bus to the start line. We were lucky enough to get on a bus that broke down on the way 😧 Thankfully, we only had to wait about 15 minutes for a replacement bus to arrive and drive us to the start.

It is fun to put some beads on our shoe laces for a little inspiration while running. Eli thought he was pretty funny with his.

We are ready to run!!

The day was very hot! It was 73 when we started the race at 8:00 and 85 when we finished.

Other than the last mile of the race, we ran on crushed limestone and gravel. The race was a lot harder than I thought it would be, with 90% of the half-marathon being downhill. I was surprised by how hard it was, given the heat and the elevation change from Minnesota.

But even with all the struggles that day brought, I had so much fun!

From the moment I learned that Eli would be running with me, my race-day goals completely shifted. From then on, my only objective was to make sure he enjoyed the experience and to help him reach the finish line in a time I knew he was capable of running.

When we got close to the finish line, I told Eli we had to cross the line together. He came back with no way, I am going to beat you 😂 And as you can see, he pulled away from me and soundly beat me by 4 seconds. Eli finished in 2:26:08, and I finished in 2:26:12.

I could not have asked for a better day of making memories with Eli 💖

After we finished the race, we went on to cheer Amy, Carey, and Sam on. They ran the marathon, which has 14 miles of uphill!!! It was a very hard race! I am so impressed with all three of them. But Carey gets extra kudos because this was his very first marathon!!!!

Carey and Sam at mile 18. I sadly did not get a picture of Amy at mile 18. It was close to 90 degrees by the time Amy, Carey, and Sam finished the race. It took so much grit for them to finish.