Our team name - Mel's Birthday Brigade:
Next, we needed a logo and official t-shirts. Enter the crack design team at BrewerETC Marketing Group. LOL!
The birthday girl with all the kids and their jingle bells - provided by Melissa's mom. Melissa's parents, Paul and Loraine, came up from Kingwood to support the team and I'm not sure we could have pulled it off without them - the relay creates a few logistical challenges!
The girls bought matching running skirts and we were all grateful for the built in leggings because it was C-O-L-D and wet.
Boys modeling the back of the t-shirts
The catalyst of this great adventure was Mel's brother-in-law, John Vickers, who is an avid runner and was competing in the half-marathon (again). I don't know why I don't have any photos of John, but it might have been because John and Jerry left the house before 6am to get to Fair Park and work their way into the appropriate "starting pens".
It was raining when they left the house and it was raining at 8am when they started running. It rained all day, with the temperature dropping from a whopping high of 46 degrees to about 41 when we finished five hours later.
Jerry on the course ...
Jason ran the second leg and unfortunately we didn't have a way to capture any photos of his journey. Mel and I waited at the next transition point, freezing in the cold drizzle.
Jason handing off the "team tracker" to Melissa
... and she's off!
It's so rare that official race photos turn out good, but this is a great shot of Melissa. It looks like she's really making tracks!
Melissa covered one side of White Rock Lake and I covered the other - here we are at the hand off point.
Securing the tracker in my pocket and getting some info on course conditions (cold and wet)
Jennifer, Paul, Loraine and all the kids made it out to meet Jason and Melissa at the next hand-off point, where I would get to stop running up hill and pass the tracker to Jennifer. I think Melissa was smiling because she was finished!
Here I come, running into the transition area ...
red-faced from the cold wind, and lungs burning from running that last grade.
Jason made the observation that he had felt kind of powerful during his run, because the relay participants are mixed in with the marathoners and as they're starting to feel tired, you're just getting going. Well, my segment ended just after mile 21 - known to marathoners as "the wall". Race organizers almost always arrange the course so that "the wall" is located on a steep grade - just to test your will power. I wasn't running my best time up that last hill, but I passed a few marathoners - huffing and puffing - who provided the motivation to push on and made me feel like a better runner than I am.
I lucked out with my transition because Jason and Melissa met me and I was able to warm up in Jason's car on our way to the finish. We didn't see her cross the line, but I snagged these photos from the race photographer. Pretty impressive!
She looks happy and might have been thinking about the hot pancakes we were promised, but did not receive, at the post-race event!
Our official team photo ...
Aside from the weather, it was fun and Jerry and I were happy to be part of Melissa's big birthday. It's something we will all remember for a long, long time!
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