The Oppel's Blog: Grandma's Marathon

Heather completed her first marathon this year up in Duluth. Originally she signed up for the half marathon but because so many people are interested in running the half they run a lottery to see who gets in. Unfortunately she wasn't selected so she said "what the heck, I'll run the full. She followed the training program religiously including several 20 mile runs with little to no difficulty.

Several of us went down to Bonnie and Jerry's to watch, including Dale, Carol, Anne, Zach, my mom, Todd, Peg, Doug, Megan, and Dave. Shannon and a friend ran the half and my buddy, Pat Cleary, ran the half so we watched them run by. At that point Todd and Shannon's family headed down to watch Shannon finish the race, she finished really strong and was very pleased with her time. The rest of us stayed to watch Heather come through in the full. She looked great and seemed really excited to see us so I think that helped motivate her further. After she went by, Anne and Zach, my mom, and I headed downtown to see Heather cross Lake Ave. We then met up with Pat who had already cleaned up from the half. Even though it was a hot, humid day Heather did great and came in with a decent time that was right around her goal. I know she felt great as this was a major accomplishment. We are very proud of her.

Here are some pictures.

Shannon and friend Pam