Mallorca 70.3: The Finish Line Still Counts – The “Run”

I got out on the run course with tree trunks for legs.

They did not want to move in any sort of athletic way. I was mostly just power walking.

There were so many people out there. Spectators were cheering everyone on and yelling out the names they could read on race bibs. I tried jogging a little here and there. Jogging would help my legs feel a little better for a short period, and then they would be done again.

Walking hurt.

Running hurt.

I was coming up on the start of my second lap around the course when I saw an older gentleman ahead of me. Selfishly, I was thankful I was not going to be making the second lap alone.

I eventually caught up to him.

His name was Robin.

We started talking, and the two of us stayed together. We got to know each other and told stories while we kept moving. It was a good way to distract from the pain and from the task we were trying to get through.

I kept seeing Kat, Jeremy, and Kristen all over the place on the run course. They were super supportive and encouraging. So was everyone else watching and cheering.

Eventually, Robin and I were on our last lap heading back toward the finish.

I was wondering if we were going to miss the cutoff time and whether we were going to be able to finish. I was also wondering if there was anyone else behind us or if we were the last two people on the course.

Several times, a race official came by on a motorcycle checking on us and radioing our bib numbers back to other race officials. I did not know if they were just keeping track of us or if they were going to pull us from the course.

At that point, that felt like the only way I was not finishing. After everything else that had happened, they were going to have to pull me from the course to stop me from finishing.

Robin and I had about half a mile left when Kristen found us and told us we had about five minutes before they closed it down.

Robin told me to go.

My goal was to finish. That was really the only thing I wanted to accomplish, and now it felt like that was in jeopardy.

But I was not leaving Robin.

We had done so much of the run together. At that point, it felt like we were both finishing or we were not finishing at all.

I thought about what Alex would want. Finishing and getting a medal would be great, but leaving Robin behind did not feel right. It felt more important to stay with him. That felt like what Alex would have done and what he would have wanted.

So Robin and I talked, and for the first time, we began to jog together.

We jogged a little, walked, and recovered.

Then we did it again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, we made it to the red carpet.

Robin asked if I wanted to go first.

I said no.

We go together.

We had come this far together. We were going to finish it together.

And we did.

We hit the red carpet and slowly jogged past the yelling, screaming, and cheering crowd to cross the finish line.

After 8 hours and 41 minutes, my day was finally done.