Made It!

Hana and her mom, and cousin O. at the finish line.  Adrian had passed the finish line some 100 minutes earlier.

We made it. The 10 K of the Beirut International Marathon. They call it the 10 K Fun Run. Wherever did they come up with such a name? But we made it, relatively unscathed, and with a medal. In only 2 hours and 10 minutes, or somewhere around there. Adrian left us at the start line, and made it in only 58 minutes.

Adrian, Hana and Cousin O

And I think we actually did 13 kilometers, because to even get to the start line, we had to hike through the entire city. I live right in the middle of the marathon circuit, and so there’s no going in or out of the neighborhood with the car from 6 A.M. onwards. I had the bright idea that we’d pick up a cab somewhere along the road.

Well, I didn’t see one stinking cab on the road, all the way from my house to the start line, which is some 3 kilometers away.

And then when you get to the start line, there’s another half hour of shuffling before you even make it past the line, due to the massive turn-out.

Good turn-out

But the weather and the mood were good.

We took cousin O and at the last minute, Hana decided her dog Spike would have to come along too. We had an extra bib, from someone who had to forego the race, and so Spike walked with a number as well. If I would have gotten a thousand pounds from every person who wanted to take a picture of that dog, I’d have been a rich woman now. I wonder what all these people will do with a picture of my daughter’s dog on their cell phone.

Spike

The dog right now is in virtual coma, whereas my daughter and cousin O decided to go on a picnic, and – barely home - off they went again. Boundless energy. I, on the other hand, think I will take a nap or so.

Spike, Cousin O and Hana