Shakin' the Maraca

This morning, Will and I headed to a spot near the five-mile mark of the Country Music Marathon. We brought Pepper, who was delighted to be included. Many runners, who have a bit of a wild streak in them, liked seeing our wild dog.

We saw the elite women marathoners pass, then the elite men. They looked so fluid. For a few minutes, all was quiet. But not for long. Soon a gathering flood of runners poured down the street. Armed with a large maraca, Will and I alternated shaking it for 90 minutes straight while yelling encouragement. Team in Training runners started streaming through. "Go, Team!" I yelled.


I saw several people I know - Ben, Mike, Tim the Barbecue Guy, Maureen, and TNT-ers Heather, Sammi, Sarah and others. The best person I spotted was Dori's VUMC 11 North pal Chuck Hendry, who was running with a buddy in the heat. He didn't look he was having fun, but he's been through worse. I yelled, "Go, you butt-kicking dude!" I'm simply amazed he ran this race so soon after fighting through his transplant.

The marathon site seems to be having problems with the live results. We'll know soon enough how things turned out.