Unlike previous years, I went to the Buffalo Marathon and didn’t leave exhausted!
I went as a spectator, not a runner.
I went as a cheerleader, not a competitor.
I went because many of my fellow Team in Training teammates chose the Buffalo Marathon as their special endurance event — I was excited to be part of the experience. I thought it would be a good way to encourage and support my teammates, as well as give me a preview of what the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in San Diego will be like.
At 5:30 a.m., I met the team at the Embassy Suites for breakfast. We took some pictures in front of the hotel before walking a few blocks to the starting line.
The gun went off 7:00 a.m. It was great seeing the Team in Training runners go by in their purple shirts interspersed with thousands of other runners. After everyone when by, I headed to my assigned TNT cheering location.
Fellow teammates Nancy Gates, Julie Smith, Staci Shick, Ed Barauskas and I had a great spot behind HSBC Arena where we could see runners go by at the 6.5 mile mark, and then on their return trip to downtown between miles 11 and 12. They looked a lot warmer on the second pass!
Since I knew it was going to be a hot day, I decided to bring a couple of spray bottles filled with water. They turned out to be quite popular with the overheated runners! I heard comments like, “Thanks!”, “Great idea!”, “God bless you!”, “You’re the best!”, “You rock!”, “Spray me in my face!”, “I hope there’s beer in there!”
After the last runner went by our post, I headed to the finish line to see runners complete their race — including many of my TNT teammates. I was so happy to learn that Erin reached her goal of finishing the half marathon in under two hours. That, by itself, was quite a feat in the very hot conditions. It was even more impressive: I heard that she had to wait for the infamous train to go by! Good for you, Erin, for overcoming that unplanned obstacle!
It certainly was a great and memorable race!
I’ll be traveling to San Diego after a few short workouts this week. I know my experience there will be memorable as well!
Mike,
Thank you so very much for being at the Buffalo race and cheering us all on. It was a big help to see you all there, especially armed with the water bottles at mile 12. Things were really warm out there at that point, and you guys were a big help!
Best of luck to you this weekend! I know you’ll do a fantastic job, and I’ll eagerly await your race report when you return. Please pass on my best wishes to our other teammates who are running in San Diego. I wish I could be there to cheer you all on, but I’ll have to be there in spirit instead. Good luck!