TNT Rocks! (The New York Half Marathon)

So, Sunday I went to see the New York Half Marathon. I got up early (well, early for me) and went waaay downtown (like right by where the WTC towers used to be) to cheer for my teammates. I thought this was a great place to cheer because for one, it was the designated "Marine Corps Marathon" cheer spot, and secondly, it was at the end of the marathon, so you got to see everyone finish.

When I got there, I wasn't sure that I was at the right place. I didn't see anyone from TNT. But about 5 minutes later they all came pouring in. There were tons of us! And we were all flapping around signs and ringing cowbells. It was a lot of fun.

I have never cheered on a marathon (or half) before and it is cool to see people make eye contact with you when you are cheering for them. You can tell it really lifts their spirits (it always does mine when I am a runner on the course). I think I was the "warning signal" for the rest of the team. Whenever I saw a purple jersey from far off I would scream "COME ON!" at the top of my lungs and make a lot of noise and then everyone else would join in. It was helpful if they had their name on their jerseys so that I could yell that too (I am awful with names and there are far too many TNT people to remember everyone). It was really exciting.

I was especially excited when I saw my mentor, Gina, coming in. I knew that she was trying for around 9 minute miles and did the calculations in my head as to when she was going to come in. BUT she ended up coming in ahead of her time and she was FLYING. She looked great...just like she was out for a short run around the park. I was so happy for her!

What was really cool was that the whole team stayed until EVERY TNT person finished. That meant that even when the course was being closed down and people were taking down all of the equipment that we were still there cheering. In fact, I think we were cheering even harder. Probably because every single one of us knows how hard it is to run 13.1 miles. I think it is probably even harder when you are the last person on the course and people are shutting everything down around you. So we went crazy for them. It was really cool and I'm glad that we'll have that kind of support during the marathon too!