Julia’s 30K Around the Bay!

It’s such a different feeling to wake up on race day and not be racing. I was so excited for my sister’s first 30K and I wanted to make her morning smell delicious with coffee. So, I went to the fridge to pull out the fresh grounds but then I got distracted by a treat:



Reese Peanut Butter Bites



Of course I snuck some before continuing with breakfast.

We got into the car and it was game face prep time. 
Julia’s BIB: Check!

Once we got to Hamilton there were a tonne of runners EVERYWHERE. And you can tell all of the ones in their cars with their “26.2” stickers from One More Mile. It was fun spotting out all the runners from Toronto to Hamilton. But then finding parking or anywhere to stop was next to impossible so we shoved Julia out of the car and rolled out to find parking.

On our way to the finish line we had to find a bathroom. As a race participant you see porta potties EVERYWHERE. And I like a picture of them. This time it was just a sign pointing to the floor. Is that where the fans go?!

Is is the bathroom!?
We got to the finish line to find that the Running Room and New Balance booth’s were still open! So, Ken bought some new shoes! The male version of my New Balance 860’s. Yea, we’re stability pals.
We Love Expo Shoes!

After dropping our belongings in the car we headed to the finish line and started cheering with our cowbell app! Who knew that was what everyone did in the stands?!

Cowbell App!

We got to see the excitement of the first 30K runner run through the finish with a 1:37:14 time. It was so exciting! He ended up being the first Canadian to win the 30K Around the Bay since 1996.

THE WINNER!

And being so excited to see the winner, you should have seen me waiting for Julia! After 2 hours of standing at the prime finish line spot, Ken and I were getting pretty antsy to see her blast past us. We were camera ready and pumped as soon as she gave us the phone call to tell us that she was at the 27KM mark.



After all the excitement we found Julia with her medal and I insisted on taking her picture before she ate all the food in her goodie bag.

After she rested up, we took a nicer one:

On the car ride home I ended up winning a coffee on my roll-up the rim! In the words of Charlie Sheen, “I’M WINNING!”

Ken got a medal for standing at the finish line for so long:
Sorry Julia, it looks like you lost your medal. But– I’m SO proud of you! She finished in 3:08! How amazing is that?! 
It was an awesome race and being a spectator for the day made me really appreciate my friends in the stands. Having a team cheering you on and believing in you, really inspires you to push yourself harder and makes you feel really proud of your accomplishments. So, a big thank you to all of the supporters!