13.1

Hi. My name is Becca and I ran a half marathon. Yes, true story. My brother, Burdette, and I made plans last summer to run the Ogden Marathon. Sometime during the cold winter months, Burdette hurt his knees, and I--for reasons that make me sound REALLY WIMPY when I list them--decided to train for the half marathon instead of the full.


The "fun" started on Friday with a Front Runner train ride to Ogden's Union Station to pick up my race day packet and register for the race. The boys LOVED the train and minus a stressful missing of the train, it was a great afternoon.

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Team Dall carb loaded on spaghetti, peas, and popsicles the night before the race. Carter and Will went to bed at 8:00 and so did Mommy.


Because this is when she had to LEAVE (not wake up) in the morning.

This chick looks tired.

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So, I left my warm sleeping house at 3:45 AM because I had to be on the shuttle to the starting line at like 4:45 AM. (Thanks Hose Nose Rose for the ride.)

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The race didn't start until 7:00 AM so we stood around fire pits in Eden for almost two hours before the race started. It was freezing and tiring, but race officials were closing down Ogden Canyon and I guess it takes a while--just kidding, it really does.

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I started at the back of the pack (of like 3,000 people--just kidding, I don't know how many) so I couldn't start really running until almost a mile. Jeremy's brother, David, was somewhere in that pack, but he's a lot faster than I am so I never saw him. Good job Uncle Davey!

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Then something tragic happened. A beloved Harry Potter character was killed by a death eater named Bellatrix Lestrange. (Book Seven) It happened around mile two. I seriously had to fight back tears. I'm sure if anyone saw me, they were like, "oh, sister, pull it together you have 11 more miles to go." Or, "how nice, she's doing a memorial run for her deceased loved one."

No, it was just a consequence of listening to Harry Potter on my iPod. I will say that it was a great running companion.

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At mile six or seven I saw Andrea waiting for her relay team and made her wait in line with me at the Port-a-Johns. Nice company:)

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Around mile 12 I got passed by the winner of the full marathon--he wasn't even Kenyan. He was white! Then a half a mile later, I got passed by the second place finisher. Whatever.

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The best part of the race was rounding the corner from 20th Street on to Grant Avenue and seeing the spire of the Ogden Temple right before the finish line. I thought of the training and all the hard work I put into finishing this race and as I ran past the temple I thought about the hard work and preparation it takes to enter its doors. I knew my family was waiting for me and cheering for me at the finish line of this race and I couldn't help but think of my other family members waiting and cheering at the "real finish line" and I passed the temple with a stronger determination to honorably cross that finish line too.

Not an attractive picture, but I'm still running:)


When I came running down the last couple of blocks my favorite running partner was waiting to cross the finish line with me.

The crowd clapped and cheered as Carter ran the last few meters with me and helped me "win my race."


Post race pictures with the cutest boys in the world.

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After the race we went to Jamba Juice and I got a HUGE smoothie with a massive shot of whey protein. Yummy!

There you go, you can be half proud of me:) Maybe sometime I'll run a full marathon--I'll make sure it's the Ogden Marathon, it's a beautiful course.

***Thanks Jeremy for making it possible. I love you ***

BRING ON THE WASATCH BACK RAGNAR RELAY! YEAH BABY! GO 006