Two weeks ago he ran the Chicago Marathon. Not only is this an impressive feat, but even more so since it was his second one and he knew what he was up against.
I'm proud of him for running and for finishing and for shaving twenty or so minutes off his time and for training faithfully and consistently. But mostly I'm proud of him for this orange shirt he's wearing. It inspires me that he didn't run for himself but to make a difference in the lives of other people on the other side of the world. He ran with Team World Vision, and he and a team of two other men raised over $7,000 for clean water projects in Africa.
Here is Dan at mile 13, looking strong at the halfway point.
{Norma - Sara's mom - cheering him on!}
I was thrilled to be in Chicago and be a part of the cheering crew. My dad graciously offered to watch the boys so we could go downtown and into the crowds without them. He watched live updates with the boys and called us excitedly with updates and to report the winners and their times. 
{Norma and my mom.}
{Some of the cheering crew.}
Sara and the huge red balloon. This balloon was the perfect way for Dan to spot us in the thick crowds as he ran by. Genius idea, Sara! It nearly required its own ticket on the el though, it was so huge :)
{The elite runners.}
I wish so much that these weren't so blurry. These are the front runners, literally, of this race. After just 1 hour, this pack of men passed us as they crossed past the 13-mile mark. That's 13 miles in one hour, people. And halfway through the race, these men ran past us so fast it looked like a sprint. The first place winner finished in 2 hours 5 minutes - a new course record. It's impressive and so unbelievable.
Dan around the 17th mile.
It was such a hot and sunny day. The sky was bright and blue and beautiful. But it was cloudless and there was little relief for the hot and tired runners.
Dan approaching the finish.
There's a corner and then one last hill before the finish line. We were all so happy to see him and he looked so strong as he finished and powered up that final hill.
Race shoes. I love the way he marked them with his inspiration verse from his training, Psalm 37:23-24.
Dan, Vic and Tim (one of his World Vision fundraising team members).
Allison congratulating Dan!
After the race we met Dan at the World Vision tent to congratulate him and celebrate!
Congratulations Dan! We are so proud of you and inspired by you.
4 comments:
Thanks so much for your support, Chris! It meant a lot to have you guys there. And thanks for spurring me on to get blogging about this experience before I've forgotten about all of it!
Dan amazes me; he knew what he was up against from last year's marathon and he did it again! He inspires me; not that I'll ever run a marathon, but I can learn from his determination and commitment and apply it to other areas of my life. I am so proud of him and proud to be his mama. I wanted to do something special on the day of his marathon, especially when he came into the World Vision tent, so I decided to wear a party hat. Thank you for capturing that picture! I didn't see any other mother's with party hats on. :-)
Love, Mom
What an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations, Dan! We're so proud of you!
I love that big red balloon that Sara got--so clever!
We wish we could have been there with all of you.
Thanks for all of these pictures, Christina.
Love you!
Erica
Thanks so much for coming to support Dan and for taking all of these amazing pictures! That was such a huge blessing in an of itself - and great memories for us of the day (and that ridiculous baloon - ha!).
Thanks again!!
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