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.

Gotta Run.

Even though Sunday was cold, windy and rainy, our nephew Kubes (pronounced koobs, not his real name but the nickname of his favorite baseball player) found enough motivation to finish the Twin Cities Marathon. He ran a respectable 4 hours and 5 minutes which was ahead of the average time. I would have trouble beating that time on my bike. It must have been his shaved head that helped him.

Kubes, however, ran tough and was even gracious enough to let a few female runners pass him. That would probably bother most runners, but Kubes is such a gentleman. That was his story anyway.

Lady Di went downtown to be at the finish line to cheer Kubes on. She had never been to a major marathon before so she wasn't ready for the thousands of other spectators with the same idea. Apparently, the finish line is a popular spot to watch a very long road race.
Lady Di started to get a little nervous when she saw a few more mature runners (sixty plus division) finish with no sign of our nephew. Luckily, Lady Di found a good place up front and was in the right place at the right time. Kubes was just walking by close to her and she was able to scream loud enough for him to hear.

Lady Di's plan was to take Kubes out to eat after the race. Little did we know that marathon runners are not very hungry after a big race. In fact, they are not very talkative, are quite weak and spend most of their time catching their breath for some reason. A tearful, Lady Di was giving him major hugs and just about did him in on the second one. He was even too tired to collect all of the freebies that the multiple booths had to give out. Lady Di almost sent him back inside the gate to fill a bag for her. Instead, Lady Di gave Kubes an inspirational sign made by Sweet Pea and drove him to his car. Actually, after running 26 plus miles he had to walk a few more blocks to LD's van and then she drove him to his car. Hopefully, he had enough strength drive himself home.

Congratulations Kubes. We are all very impressed and proud. In fact Lady Di and I are so inspired by your accomplishment, we are going to give training a try. Who knows? Maybe we will join you for next years race. As long as you graciously let us pass.

Pay no attention to the name on the inspirational sign. SP has a hard time spelling Kubes and spent most of her time picking out the right stickers.