 |  |
I just ran 26.2 miles and I did it in honor of my brother. My completion of the 2014 Osaka Marathon is greatly owed to my eldest brother, Tim…
In university I was very close to my advisor. One day I was sitting in her office and she randomly asked me about my brothers. She had noticed the week prior that I had mentioned they were significantly older than I was and she wondered how big the age gap was. I told her 8 and 12. She was absolutely taken aback and couldn’t believe it. She said all the research shows that in normal circumstances the only way siblings are that close with a large age gap is when the sister is older. At the time I thought nothing of it. The week before graduation she called me to her office and asked if she could meet my parents and brothers. After spending four years getting to know me and hearing me talk about my family, she felt there must be something unique about them and was very curious to see us all together. Since she brought this to my attention, I am very aware of how lucky I am and how rare my clan is.
Everyone has a different love language and as a small child I didn’t understand my brother’s. I have always been very verbal in expressing my affection and he shows his love through kind actions. Now that I am an adult, I couldn’t appreciate him more. He is constantly doing things for other people and he doesn’t do it with the hope of self-glorification. He is also very thoughtful and always takes others into consideration. On top of all this he is one of the most intellectual people I know and has a wit that could make him famous if given the right venue. That being said, thank you Tim for supporting me throughout my life. You have encouraged me in my pursuit of photography, travel, blogging, and now running. I wouldn’t trade you in for a newer model, even if I could.
I would now like to turn attention to the person who pushed me to keep going during the marathon, Myles. He is a well accomplished runner having completed several 50 mile races with one of them being over a mountain (twice). He was incredibly patient with me, but still urged me to go faster. He monitored my salt and GU intake and shared his knowledge of marathons. If it hadn’t been for him pulling me along at mile 20 and the voice of my brother willing me to keep going, I may have stopped 6.2 miles out. Thank you Myles for your partnership and support!
Last but not least I would like to thank Tim, the Dutchman. Now to make things less confusing I will refer to Tim as the Dutchman. Whenever I speak to my brother Tim, he refuses to listen to my stories if I refer to Dutch Tim as Tim. Thus, I will do the same here. I met the Dutchman in 2012 sitting in a hostel in Rome waiting to be trained by my new boss. It turned out he was to be my peer and that we were both starting off as tour guides at the same time. It quickly became evident that we were going to be good friends. He is a very intelligent person and shares my passion for history. I think one of his most distinct characteristics is that he is a very loyal and supportive friend. Before the marathon he researched the route and how he would be able to meet up with us. He got up early the day of and met us with supplies EIGHT times. We were even able to avoid catastrophe (like the Rome marathon in 2012… sorry Andrea) by meeting up at the finish. Thank you Dutchman for being such a fun and supportive friend. I appreciate your company and am so happy to share this time with you on the road.
I would also like to thank all my family members who got up at 3am to hear the results of the race. Your enthusiasm made the day even more rewarding.
In university I was very close to my advisor. One day I was sitting in her office and she randomly asked me about my brothers. She had noticed the week prior that I had mentioned they were significantly older than I was and she wondered how big the age gap was. I told her 8 and 12. She was absolutely taken aback and couldn’t believe it. She said all the research shows that in normal circumstances the only way siblings are that close with a large age gap is when the sister is older. At the time I thought nothing of it. The week before graduation she called me to her office and asked if she could meet my parents and brothers. After spending four years getting to know me and hearing me talk about my family, she felt there must be something unique about them and was very curious to see us all together. Since she brought this to my attention, I am very aware of how lucky I am and how rare my clan is.
Everyone has a different love language and as a small child I didn’t understand my brother’s. I have always been very verbal in expressing my affection and he shows his love through kind actions. Now that I am an adult, I couldn’t appreciate him more. He is constantly doing things for other people and he doesn’t do it with the hope of self-glorification. He is also very thoughtful and always takes others into consideration. On top of all this he is one of the most intellectual people I know and has a wit that could make him famous if given the right venue. That being said, thank you Tim for supporting me throughout my life. You have encouraged me in my pursuit of photography, travel, blogging, and now running. I wouldn’t trade you in for a newer model, even if I could.
I would now like to turn attention to the person who pushed me to keep going during the marathon, Myles. He is a well accomplished runner having completed several 50 mile races with one of them being over a mountain (twice). He was incredibly patient with me, but still urged me to go faster. He monitored my salt and GU intake and shared his knowledge of marathons. If it hadn’t been for him pulling me along at mile 20 and the voice of my brother willing me to keep going, I may have stopped 6.2 miles out. Thank you Myles for your partnership and support!
Last but not least I would like to thank Tim, the Dutchman. Now to make things less confusing I will refer to Tim as the Dutchman. Whenever I speak to my brother Tim, he refuses to listen to my stories if I refer to Dutch Tim as Tim. Thus, I will do the same here. I met the Dutchman in 2012 sitting in a hostel in Rome waiting to be trained by my new boss. It turned out he was to be my peer and that we were both starting off as tour guides at the same time. It quickly became evident that we were going to be good friends. He is a very intelligent person and shares my passion for history. I think one of his most distinct characteristics is that he is a very loyal and supportive friend. Before the marathon he researched the route and how he would be able to meet up with us. He got up early the day of and met us with supplies EIGHT times. We were even able to avoid catastrophe (like the Rome marathon in 2012… sorry Andrea) by meeting up at the finish. Thank you Dutchman for being such a fun and supportive friend. I appreciate your company and am so happy to share this time with you on the road.
I would also like to thank all my family members who got up at 3am to hear the results of the race. Your enthusiasm made the day even more rewarding.
