Little blue box.

So this weekend I had the awesome opportunity to run in the Nike Women's marathon again. (well, I did the half because I have no interest in doing that course for the full.) There are so many perks to this race--it's basically all women which I think just makes an awesome aura. It benefits LLS. It's pretty. We run by the golden gate bridge (which was too foggy to really see), and Alcatraz (which I totally missed this year), and we get Tiffany's necklaces at the end as our "finishers medal." Um, yes please.

It isn't like you just get them in a bag at the end either. No. You cross the finish line and there lining both sides are men dressed in tuxes, holding silver platters, filled with little blue boxes. That distinctive blue that every girl automatically knows. I'm not proud of my love of this color--but I do love it.

Because I only ran the half I was able to stand on the out and back (which was mile 17 and mile 25) and catch the rest of our team as they crossed. It was really fun to stand out there and cheer for everyone to come by. It's so amazing to see peoples faces when they realize that they ARE going to finish. They've made it. They've arrived. They break into tears when they see the finish line. It's amazing to see so much purple in this sea of 20,000 people. To know that they raised over 14 million dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in this ONE event. They were racing to cure cancer. Some of them are survivors. Some of them are running in memory of others. Some of them are running in honor. The names are on their jersey's--those lost, those still fighting.

So though we ladies (and a few gentleman) get together and run on Saturday's--fill our runs with idle chatter, stories of chaffing, and maybe a little gossip--we also each have our own connections. With the support of others we will cross the finish line.