The short version: Unofficial time: 4:04:34. A 17 minutes PR and a 33 minutes course PR. I emptied the tank. I ran my heart out in honor of the most amazing women I have ever known: my mama. Results: First place in age group. 8th overall, women's division. Fashion show: Marathon Maniac singlet, black skort, Red Door perfume, red toe nail polish, cherry color lipstick and butterfly earrings. Coach: Spareribs. Support crew: the best in the world, my dear husband Paul. Cheerleaders: all of my running friends in Running Ahead and Kickrunners. The Long version: you might as well get a cup of coffee, a beer or my fave, a glass of red wine. This is going to be long. The journey began two years ago when it came to my heart the desire to run a marathon in honor of my mama. This desire intensified way back in the fall when I found out that this marathon was going to take place on my mama’s birthday. She passed away 12 years ago and every year that goes by I ache for her more and more. She was an outstanding lady; a visionary; a carpe diem type of person; a lady who saw all human being as equals. She fed everyone who came to our house, from the governor to the peasant who may not have money to buy shoes. So, you see I knew I had to run my best for her. But how? Since at that time I was a newbie and did not have any training background. In order for me to describe this journey I must go back to 15 months ago, when in one of our MIRC chat sessions with the gang I mentioned that I wish I knew how to structure my runs better. Well, McSolar, a speedy runner in Kickrunner, being the unselfish runner he is, he PM me saying that if I was serious he could craft me a running plan. He did and by following his plan I ran Wenatchee 08, Chelan and Portland with huge PRs. Thanks Solar runner for taking the time with a lowly marathon runner wanna be like me. I celebrate your big heart my dear friend. You have my upmost admiration. Then came Portland and my little angle Betty Lou who ran with me from mile 20 onto another PR and, most importantly, to the next step of helping me to believe in my power as a runner. She is and always will be my running angel. Thank you girlfriend! That WJ is one lucky fellow to have you in his life. Right after Portland and soon after our beloved Spareribs had his surgery, I thought he needed a distraction from his situation and gave him a chance to put to use his new heart. I did the boldest thing I have done in recent years. I asked him to coach me. After some pondering and ground rule setting we started our journey. I couldn’t believe my lucky stars when “the wiseone” started sending me my weekly plans. Week after week I would send him my week at a glance plan as far as the mileage I wanted to cover and then he would sculpt those mileages into art. The rest you all know. You have been there encouraging me, cheering me on. Training went extremely well, even with our cruel winter here. Yeah, to the point of wearing 16 pieces of clothing . I even began to like those crazy 1000m with 1 minute intervals. I trusted my coach to the end. His knowledge about our sport has no end. He not only would tell me what to run, but the why as well. Ribs, you need to start writing a book, you are amazing. I am honored for gifting me with your time. Your big heart has no limit. Thanks ohhh wiseone. I learned so much about myself during those dark snowy winter runs. So today my goal was just to implement the plan coach and I put together. The plan for today was to aim at a sub 4. Second best: 4:05. Third: crawl to the end. Obviously I missed my first goal by 4 minutes. I am OK with that since I ran with my heart, I ran evenly every mile and never hit the wall. I emptied the tank, and come to think about it, I don’t think I could have run it any faster at this time. I never wasted effort, but the 8 arced bridges in my path slowed me down a bit. So I was pleased in meeting my second goal. The sub 4 was a lofty goal for my wings, since my last marathon was a 4:23. I am proud of this result as well as being the proud owner of three nasty blisters, which should never take the blame for the end result. By now you are probably done with your first cup or glass and you are growing inpatient so I won’t bother you with splits or miles per miles details. The 8 bridges we had to cross (we ran the loop twice) were obstacles to a BQ, but even so, I know now that this is possible for me. I ran strong the whole way, focusing at one mile pace at the time. I never walked and just paused for a bit for the water stops, a trick I learned at Del Sol. I had Mama’s memory with me the whole time, specially the first 2 hours when I knew my siblings back home were doing a two hours walk, starting at the same time as me, to celebrate the memory of the magnificent lady we have the honor to call mama. After that it was funny how randomly a thought of a friend, from childhood or present, would pop up in my head. I would carry a mental conversation with that person and then another would take his/her place and then another one and then another one. The course was lovely, almost majestic, with the mountain peaks at one side of the river and the blooming orchard on the other. The beauty of the scenery made it almost worth while crossing over so many bridges. In order to get to the finish line, this year, runners had to go over yet another wooden foot bridge, yeah…this was mean…but at the end three lovely kids were ready to hand us our medals. They made me think of my little girlfriends...in particularly one. What a way to empower the next generation of runners. Teary eyed I took a deep breath, gave a thank you kiss to my support crew and then I got on the phone to call the stars in my running life. Thanks for keeping me company to the end. I am blessed to call you my friends. And thanks for believing in me!. You guys are one awesome bunch.

Fantastic! I am SO proud and SO happy for you! I thought of how we ran side-by-side last year. I know how special this race is to you. Wish I was there to give you big hugs. Congrats, my friend arf .

17 minutes is just amazing! Thoughts of your mother had a powerful influence, you had a great coach and you are so focused. I really do believe that the inner peace and mental strength you possess are important aspects of your performance. Your training is, and has been, on an upward trajectory, and that BQ is going to be yours. Congratulations!

What a great read, Nancy. A wonderful tribute to your mother. And getting to work with spareribs towards a 17 minute PR? Priceless.

Woooooooo hoooooooooo!!!!!! THAT was an awesome read my friend! Thanks for taking the time to share it so quickly with all of us. Love the pictures. You did a super job out there honoring your Mom. She must be so proud of you!!!

What a marvelous report and a spectacular run! Congratulations on achieving a result that transcends a particular time (although a mammoth PR like that deserves its own headline too). I poured a cup of coffee, but didn't even touch it as I was immediately engrossed by your report. Your huge heart has space for so many people and I have to believe your mother knows this as do all of us here. Superb.

Great RR and a hugh PR...Well Done...and thanks to the wise one for coaching...

Nancy - congratulations on a great race...a seventeen minute PR WOW that is huge. You are truly an inspiration and your mama would be so very proud of you as we all are. I've been wanting to run the Breast Cancer Marathon in Jacksonville, FL in honor of my mother and your report just makes me want to commit to it that much more...something I just have to do. Once again congrats on a great race Madam Butterfly, oh and I concur with all the thoughts on your coach...the old wise one himself Mr. Ribs.