The Afterglow

Victory.

The end of a long journey. The moment you've all been waiting for. The FINISH LINE.

Sunday, I stood at the finish line and greeted many runners, from the speediest guy early in the morning to the last person to finish, somewhere after 3pm. I laughed with people who laughed. I cried with some who cried. I was there to watch the victory being celebrated by thousands of runners. It was an awesome day. 

Yeah. I know I use the word "awesome" a lot. But when you're talking about people who have done what you did, it totally applies!

My inbox is full of great comments. So is our Facebook page. We appreciate them a lot. I share lots of them with our staff. It's a great part of the fun of the event.

We always have a few people who have great suggestions for improvement. Those are great too--because every person on our staff is dedicated to making the event even better next year.

Thank you. To all the runners, the people we work for, who share with us a part of their adventure. 

Thank you. To the nearly 1000 volunteers who make this event a reality. 

Thank you. To the best marathon staff in the business. The people who work on the event because they love it, and they love you. They are truly wonderful people.

Thank you. To our sponsors, who join with us to bring this great event to our community.

One of the runners crossed the line on Sunday and told me that she had a hard time getting through one of my emails without crying. I sometimes have the same problem. This inspires me. I'm crazy about doing this, and I thank every one of you for giving me the best day of my year. And next year, I hope to...

SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE!