My alarm was set for 4am but I woke up at least 6 times during the night. I was so nervous! Finally it was wake up time and all the older kids got up and dressed and we loaded Cassie in at 4:30 when PJ and Kristin arrived. The drive into Motown took notime! then we jockeyed our way into a parking deck and PJ, Molly, Russ and some other running pals headed to the race course. The temperature was hovering around 41 with a nice bracing wind. The spectators headed to a spot just beyond the start line to await the runners. At precisely 7 am the first runners left the start. This group consisted of amputees on their adapted bikes each with an honor bike guard of volunteer riders, the rising sun barely illuminating their determined faces. I started crying,their strength was inspirational. Presumably molly and PJ ran by with their pace group of 4:40 runners but we never saw them! Our next viewing spot was at the top of the hill coming out of the tunnel from Canada. The sun was rising over the Detroit river as the waves of runners crested the hill. It was tricky to scan the crowds for Molly! I was desperate to see her and wish her well. And get photos-- no surprise there! And then, there they were!! I got some great pictures, even sprinting into the underpass so I could get more. They looked good and were feeling great. Attar his point Jerry and Danny headed east to the 15 mile area and we headed to mile 8. We got out our signs and cheered for everyone who ran by, But we never saw PJ and Molly.
At this point Cassie had woken up and we were all freezing so we went down to Fort street first Presbyterian Church which had opened its doors to all the runners. She was able to get out of the stroller and run around and Charlotte and Kristin had a hot cocoa. Then Kristin got the text from PJ saying that Molly was struggling. I was surprised to hear this and the worry began. I let Jerry know and he and Danny hooked up with them and encouraged molly. We tried to get PJ to run on so he could get a good time, but he refused. " one dream one team" is what he said, and yes, I cried some more! Special Olympics brought this wonderful man into our lives 14 years ago, little did we know the impact he would have. His joy for SO brought people in to the program and kept them in and our lives would not be the same without him. Poor molly, little did we know but what happened is that the half marathoners were running in with the 26.2 group until turning off to their finish. Molly thought everyone shouting" you are almost there, you got this, the finish is right up ahead" were talking to her. And when 80% of the runners turned off she thought she would be done too. From there it was hard to recover and she began walking and running, really having to fight through it. I couldn't stand at the finish any more and just started walking back ward down the route to try to meet them. I found them at about 24, and jogged with them for 2 miles, trying to encourage molly to run, and stop crabbing. At 26 I pulled off and tried to run up to the finish but they beat me! PJ even let molly cross first. Aaawww, he is such a great guy. So if Molly decides to run again, we will pick a marathon with a different route set up.
As soon as she was done, all was well. She was stiff and happy to hit the massage tent with PJ, and hungry and ready for the meatball subs from the DagoJoe's food truck, but other than that she looked and acted great! unreal! There was a nice live Motown band at the after party, and then we were on our way home by 1:30. Molly couldn't wait to go to 5 pm mass, and deacon Pat asked everyone wearing a marathon medal to stand up and the congregation applauded. You can imagine how thrilled molly was with that! And the medal was worn on Monday to school as well.
All told an unbelievable day, with my daughter now a marathoner! God is Good!
