Washington DC Marathon 2016
Last Saturday I ran my sixth marathon, Washington DC marathon! I ran it with my dear friend, Kelly. It was Kelly’s first marathon!!! I was so happy to be with her and see her joy and excitement of running her first marathon! Kelly, Jack, Michael and I went down to DC on Friday and had a great time!
DC marathon turned out to be tough for me. It was very hilly and I got sick again around mile 22. 😦 The marathon is quite hilly pretty much throughout the entire course but there were two big hills around mile 6 and miles 23-24. At 5.4 miles we were at a 30ft elevation and within .2 miles we went up to 150ft. It was brutal. Then down again almost 100ft within .1 mile and then up again another 130 ft within .5miles. Mile 24 was the same, packed with steep hills. My hips and knees were shouting with pain. I haven’t done a lot of hill work this time and I suffered throughout the entire course because of it. I ended up having the worst time of my all marathons, but I learned a lot and I was really happy and proud when I finished! And the BEST thing is that I raised more than $1300 for run2buildschools!!! That is my ultimate goal, to raise money, bring hope and build schools. ❤
DC marathon elevation map.
Most of the pictures below were taken by Michael and few are from the DC marathon site. Thank you SO MUCH Jack and Michael for your amazing support, love and friendship! ❤
Kelly and I at the expo!
This is right at the beginning of the marathon. You can see the “Rock n’ Roll” sign. This marathon is part of the Rock n’ Roll series.
Kelly and I running next to each other. ❤
I look like a kid about to jump up and down with joy! Besides all the pain and misery I was so happy! Running for run2buildschools brings so much joy to me ❤
Can you find Kelly and I?
I LOVE this so much!
❤
The Washington Monument was the only scenic spot we ran by. It was built to honor George Washington, the first president of the United States. I wish the course had taken us more through the beautiful and historic places of the capital. I really thought it could have been a little bit better planned.
Some of the Japanese cherry trees were blooming and their color and beauty was just stunning! The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. It celebrates the friendship between the two nations.
This is around mile 26! I can not tell you in how much pain I was here! Legs felt so weak but seeing the finish line made me forget about everything and just enjoy the moment!
Kelly and I right after we finished.
I love these two pictures. Candid moments of our beautiful friendship. ❤
Congratulations dear Kelly! Thank you SO MUCH for all the support and help for run2buildschool. ❤
I adore this picture! So cute!!!
I like writing a favorite quote and taking a picture at the end with it. 🙂
Besides run2buildschools, I ran this marathon in memory of Kiki’s grandparents, Yongxin Zhou & Rongji Wang. Yongxin and Rongji were both school teachers in rural China. Kiki heard many stories of children walking miles through the mountains to go to school. Thank you dear Kiki for your generous donation and wonderful friendship. ❤
On my way back home I checked social media and texts. I was so humbled to see all the messages and love from all of you. ❤ THANK YOU so much for your support and love!
Amelia is my youngest supporter and she messaged me all the way from Switzerland. How adorable is she?!!! Sandra loves Amelia very much 🙂 ❤
My next marathon is Nashville Marathon on April 30th and my parents will come to support me all the way from Romania!!! I can’t wait to run it and raise more money for schools. ❤
