I finished the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon! Yay me!!!

On Saturday, I finished my first mini marathon! The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon was a sold out race with 15,000 runners! I registered back in January, and ran many miles from January to April! But my hard work paid off.

We spent the night with Mike's parents Friday night in La Grange to be closer. I slept very little Friday night--I was so anxious and nervous that we would not hear the alarm! I woke up at 4:45 to get ready, then Mike drove me downtown to catch the shuttle to the starting line. He left and went back to pick up Emma and Gabe, and Nana and Grandpa.

At 7:30, the race began, and I was in Corral C and it took 10 minutes just to cross over the starting line. There were 15,000 runners after all, so it took a while! The mini's course took us through Iroquois Park, and through the famous Churchill Downs! The racing horses were practicing, which was so cool! And by the time we exited Churchill Downs, we were more than half way finished! But, the stretch from Churchill Downs to the finish line was the hardest part of the run for me. But, I kept on running and never stopped! Now, 3 blocks aways from the finish line, I was really, really tired and sore and just ready to finish! Another runner and I almost stopped to walk ,and a specatator looked at us and shouted "Come on Ladies! Don't give up! Only 3 more blocks to the Finish Line!" And that's all I needed to hear to start running again! Let me just say...the fan support along the route was awesome. They would clap and cheer and shout out words of encouragement. It was amazing! I also saw my friend Carrie and her girls at 2 different locations throughout the race. She was there cheering on her husband and friends. She even snapped a photo of me!

But, the most amazing part was seeing the Finish Line in sight--and then looking over as I heard, "Julie!!! Julie!!!" Mike, Emma, Gabe, Nana and Grandpa were yelling and cheering for me! There were so many people there, and I was afraid that I would not be able to see them. But there they were,smiling and cheering, and then I ran happily to the Finish Line! My official time was 2:28:00!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." --Mark Twain




This is when I first saw Mike and the fam cheering!

See the smile on my face? The end was near!


At runners reunite. I LOVE my medal! :)