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The day before my unintentional half marathon experience at Rock n’ Roll Chicago, I had my first race spectating experience at the festival weekend 5k! Melissa and Jill were going to run it, and I was planning to cheer both of them (and my girl Shalane Flanagan) on at the finish line. We got down to the lakefront somewhere between 7:15 and 7:30 and stood around talking until about 7:50ish when people started to line up. At this point I was left with a backpack, my purse, and 3 yoga mats since we were planning to go to aerial yoga after the race. I hauled everything to the finish line and set up shop there, with a great view for people running into the finish. I enjoyed watching them set up the finish line and enjoyed listening to the music as they got ready for the first finisher, who I think came in at 16 or 17 minutes. Shalane was running 8 minute miles out with people on the course to have fun (“fun on Saturday, racing on Sunday”), so I knew when to start looking for her. The crowd was screaming and cheering as she ran in with a group of fans.
Running into the finish at the 5k.
I screamed and cheered my little heart out as I watched her cross the finish line. Then I went back to cheering for everyone else. Let me tell you something- standing at the finish line of a race is emotional, even at a 5k. If I ever lose motivation to run, I’m going to find a finish line to stand at for a few hours, and I’m sure I’ll be hooked again. It’s so fun to watch people so happy and excited at their accomplishments.
Melissa ran a solid race, coming in a few seconds slower than her PR, and Jill did AWESOME, especially for her 1st race! It was fun to see them both run. After that, Melissa mentioned to me that Shalane was doing a meet and greet. HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS. We went quickly to that location, and got in a line with others to meet her. We had some fun with some other runners- Dave Mari and Melissa Engel.
Then I started to freak out just a little bit about ACTUALLY meeting Shalane, and I realized that I didn’t have anything with me to have her sign (my shirt was dark and textured, and sharpie wouldn’t have worked). Melissa, being the sweet friend that she is, took the shirt off her back and handed it to me so that I could get it signed (I repaid her the next day by sprinting down the race course to save her 😀 ), and I so appreciate her for doing that!
Once I got up to the front Shalane and I had a brief little conversation about racing while she signed my shirt. We took a quick picture, and then we all jumped in with her for a group picture. She is TINY in person, and was SO so sweet. I definitely wish I could run with her one day!
Later that evening I realized that she had sent my tweet out to all of her followers, and I totally geeked out- Jill and Melissa can definitely attest to that 🙂
All in all, my Saturday morning was REALLY exciting, and I had a great time cheering on both friends and strangers, watching my running idol race, and getting to meet her! Best start to the morning…ever… 🙂 I’m so happy I headed to town for the Rock n’ Roll Festival weekend- between this and my race on Sunday, it was fantastic.
In terms of the aerial yoga… that’s another story, and I’ll post that in my general Chicago post in the next few days!
Make sure to head on over and read Melissa’s Race Recap too!
That is so cool that you got to meet Shalane! She really is tiny, isn’t she? What a great friend you have giving you the shirt off her back 😉
It was such a fun moment, and yes- so so tiny! I didn’t really realize how little she was until I actually saw her running. Melissa is an awesome friend:) Hopefully I paid her back a little bit in the race the next day 😉
SUCH A COOL EXPERIENCE!!! I’m so glad that we got to meet Shalene and that I conveniently had a shirt to give you… in turn you came to save my life so I think it’s all fair 😉 Love you!
So many great memories, and I’m so glad that you were there to witness it all!