Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half Marathon

This weekend was filled with tons of excitement; it was marathon weekend in Houston! For those of you who are new to my blog, my posts range from devotionals, little anecdotes, my artwork, and things that inspire me. Running definitely falls into the inspiration category for me.

If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

I had a few friends running both the half and the full marathon yesterday, so I whipped up a few signs to cheer them on. During my first half marathon almost a year ago, I remember seeing a grumpy cat sign that said "I ran once...it was terrible." My mom and I thought it was so funny- okay maybe I thought it was funny. She didn't really get the whole "grumpy cat" thing. That sign gave me a little jolt of extra happiness, and I wanted to do that for my friends this time around.

My friend Kaitlin and I were actually interviewed on ABC News, and a few of my signs (as many as we could hold) were on TV, too! One of the anchors really loved the Hunger Games sign. I guess the odds were in our favor. 

I am actually working on some posters to sell, so if you are interested, send me an email at bkraftydesigns@yahoo.com.

There are so many great stories behind each runner, and the experience is an awesome thing to be a part of. Our friend Lizzie Voss ran the full marathon in honor of her dad, who is battling cancer. We cheered her on at mile 8, and she looked great! Here is an excerpt from her Team in Training page:

 "I am running the 2014 Chevron Houston Marathon as a Run for a Reason Hero and a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. I will be raising funds for LLS in honor of my dad, who is currently fighting a rare leukemia (primary myelofibrosis). It is my hope to help find cures and better treatments for blood cancers. Please consider making a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and together we can help in the fight against blood cancers." 

I'm not sure if fundraising is still open, but if you happen to stumble across my blog and want to reach out to Lizzie, here is the link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston14/lizzievoss

My friend Meredith actually got a PR in the half! This picture was taken right after she sped past me on mile 8. She was flying! When Ryan Gosling says run, you run. Fast.

With Meredith (and Ryan Gosling) at the finish! She finished 84th over all for women and 9th in her division...wow.

Last but not least, Kaitlin's sister Camille ran her first half marathon yesterday! For her sign, I channeled my inner scrap-booking guru and made an owl out of construction paper! Camille's college mascot was an owl, and even though you can't tell from the picture, the owl is totally rocking some Nike's and a chevron headband. We are all running the Disney Princess Half Marathon together in February, but Camille is awesome and decided she wanted to do both! We were all so proud of her!

That's my weekend round-up; thanks for stopping by!

-BK