Memorial Marathon this Sunday

[CCOKC]

A reminder that the Memorial Marathon is this Sunday. Is anybody here running? My husband and I will be course marshalls at mile 14 which is basically the turnaround spot at Hefner and the Lake Road. Say hey if you run by us.

[metro]

I am and I know tuck is too.

[tuck]

This has become a huge event/attraction for our city. All events Sunday are full; I have heard more than 20,000 will participate in some type of event. This amount of participation ranks this marathon among the top in the country.

I would suggest that everyone come out and support the runners along the course; it will be a great time.

[nik4411]

my girlfriend is running so i will be there

[native]

I'll be down cheering on the runners. Don't forget the Marathon Expo today at the Cox Pavilion.

[OKCMallen]

19000+ athletes today. I ran in a relay. It was an amazing event. Sincerely, this event was probably the most proud I had been to be an Oklahoma Citian in my memory. The levels of humanity, volunteerism and remembrance/respect were, without exaggeration, indescribable. I choked up twice today. Once was when I saw this:



(Now there were lots of different ribbon colors, but I am pretty sure this medal was awarded to someone that had completed a FULL marathon. Someone ran 26.2 miles and dedicated the medal to a person's memory. I thought that was very touching.)

It was VERY well put-together, and people were just HAPPY, even at 530AM for the sunrise service. There was a palpable buzz in there air. People in neighborhoods were lining the street cheering people on, and also esp touching were two little girls on a corner on western holding encouraging signs saying "Don't Quit, You Can Do It!" A very special day.

[CCOKC]

It was a great experience even though I was posted literally as far from the start and finish as I could be. If any of you ran the whole course I was the Marshall at the corner of the turn around at Lake Hefner. Most people were very nice and thanked me for volunteering. In fact I did not encounter one single rude or ungrateful person. I would really like to see the beginning and ending one of these days. I met a group of people who watched the beginning and then came out to the lake to cheer the runners where I was. They commented on how touching the wheel chair start was. But mostly people asked me to turn off the wind (I wish I could have) since this was the point where they had to start running into it.

[Karried]

OMG.. that picture has me in tears.. that is too awesome.

[OKCMallen]

Karried, it about had me in tears too. Had to take a few seconds to compose myself. That wasn't the only full marathon medal on a memorial chair, either.

Another intersting facet- that was the...happiest I had ever seen the memorial grounds. When I go, it's usually sparsely populated, quiet, and somber. Not today. Hundreds of people, music playing, people hugging, congratualting people, people meeting, people being alone...it was like being at a busy airport or something- a range of emotions at any given time.

I seriously think this may be the best thing OKC does all year. I think we went from 16k athletes last year to 19k+ this year. i don't know if we have more capacity or not...but this was something else. From downtown to Crown Heights to Lake Hefner back down Classen to the finish line...a tour de force of OKC.

[Karried]

That is so beautiful.

I'm doing this next year.... I wish I would have done it this year.. a girlfriend invited me and I didn't follow up. Next year, I'll be there.

[OKCMallen]

Karried- everyone should. From the fun-run and kiddo runs to the competitive stuff, to just challenging yourself and finishing a half marathon or full...I think this is our biggest potential leaping point as far as a unique event here. this i something that we should/could turn into a Bay to Breakers style (San Fran 12K run) public event/party/OKC Pride event. I can't overstate how cool this event is.