Vince's Journey

What a great experience running the Flying Pig Marathon with Jim Pustinger! As I mentioned earlier, Jim is a fellow board member at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) who asked if I would be his 'hero' for the race. I was honored to accept his invitation and decided the least I could do to assist him in his efforts would be to hook up with him late in the race and run with him to the finish line. We agreed to try and hook up around the 23rd mile and run the last 3.2 together. Julie and her sister, Jeanne, also joined us for the final leg.

When we hooked up with Jim he was feeling the way most people feel after running 23 miles. You're so close to the finish line but the body is running on fumes. We set out at Jim's pace (which was a perfect pace for us!) and ran along Eastern Avenue towards the finish line. Jim was wearing an LLS racing shirt with his name on the front and my name on the back. It was very inspiring to hear all the bystanders cry out words of encouragement to him as he ran by. The closer we got the the finish line, the crowd got bigger and bigger. I haven't ran in a marathon since 1998 and I had forgotten how exciting the last couple miles can be. It was also amazing how many people I knew in the crowd - they would yell out at us as we ran by - it was very cool. Jim crossed the finish line just under 4:15 minutes. You could tell he had left it all out on the course - it was very humbling to think he put in all that hard work in honor of me. He then gave me his medal. I took it but we both agreed I'd give it back to him in 5 years.

I'd never taken the time to go down to the Flying Pig. I've often said I'd like to participate but for some reason, its never worked out. Now I've been inspired to be a part of it as a participant. So who knows, maybe next year I can run the whole thing with Jim!