Oops! He Did It Again.

This weekend the weather was cold, rainy and windy. A perfect day for an unimaginably long run through the streets of Minneapolis to St. Paul. Or so our nephew, Kubes, thought. This Sunday, Kubes again ran in the Twin Cities marathon. I think this is Kubes' fourth or fifth marathon, so I'm telling everyone it's his eleventh.

Ever the good aunt, Lady Di called him the night before to give him his pep talk. I was just going to tell him to 'run fast'. I also had a piece of advice handed down by my never reticent, Grampa Pete. He would always tell me, "If you get tired of walking, you can always run a ways."

This Sunday morning after church, Lady Di ventured to St. Paul to be at the finish line when Kubes came sprinting by. Kubes estimated about three hours to finish the race so LD would be there at the right time. Kubes official time was three hours and five minutes. I can't believe he was so insensitive to make his poor aunt wait five whole minutes for him.

Still, we are very proud of him and hope he continues to impress us with even lower times.

Lady Di was also inspired by many other runners. Three of our neighbors ran and finished strong. Two other runners ran barefoot. See Kubes, I told you, you should've brought a box of thumbtacks just in case. LD saw a husband and wife team finish hand in hand then break down and cry with each other. Lady Di needed all of her self restraint to keep from jumping the fence and adding her tears to theirs. I know if LD and I had run together, I would have had tears too. But I would have had them at the four and half mile marker from my side ache. LD also cheered on a dad pushing his daughter in her racing wheelchair. It reminded her of the dad from the CAN video. LD was so moved by the day that she vowed to bring more Kleenex tissues next year.

The weather and homework prevented the kids and I from attending. Maybe next year we will get the opportunity to root for our fastest nephew again. Who knows, maybe LD and I will be running side by side with Kubes. For the first hundred feet or so.