Wordless Wednesday – Grandma’s Marathon
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure and Privacy Policy.
You may have seen me mention that I have had out of state guests this past week (and going into this weekend as well.) The main reason for the timing was for my husband Joe and two of his older brothers, Jim and Dave, who came into town to run the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon which is part of Grandma’s Marathon. It was a fantastic reason to get together and a great way for them to bond.
Joe has been running it for several years now and each year he betters his time more than he ever thought possible. Keep in mind that up until 5 years ago, my husband had never run more than a mile. But once he started he never stopped. He runs year round and as many local races as he possible can. I would say he is a bit addicted but what a great thing to be addicted to!
My sister-in-law Heather captured these shots near the finish line. He is putting his sprint on!
Going, going, gone.
He finished the half marathon (13.1 miles) in just under 1:33 which is a 7:06 minute mile pace. That is so fan-frickin-tastic. I am so proud of him. For those that don’t know that is an awesome time for someone who has never run track, was 40 pounds heavier and smoked for 12 years before quitting and starting to run. He is in the best shape of his life at almost 35 and he has never looked back!
Almost 6k people finished the race and my husband finished 320th. While his brothers finished a while after him, they were running together and finished with the exact same time. They were running for the experience more than the time (although they beat their goal).
I am one proud wife! Can you tell?
For more Wordless Wednesday check out 3 Kids and Us, Mom Spotted, 5 minutes for Mom and Parenting by Dummies.
You husband did an awesome job! That is amazing. I didn’t realize you were in MInnesota! I’m live near Rochester:)
I love Duluth! It is one of my family’s favorite places! We visit at least once a year if not more. What a great place to live!
A great friend of mine’s husband has done this before. She even did the roller blading. I could never do anything like that. That’s such a huge accomplishment!!
That is very cool! I would love to work up to run anything one time, I think a 5K would be enough LOL!
Good for him!! I’ve always wanted to run but I would be so bored a mile or two in.
That is amazing! I’d be a proud wife too. He did a great job.
That is amazing! I would be very proud of him too! I could not imagine running that many miles. ONE mile takes me 13 minutes or longer! Great job to your hubby and great pics 🙂
That’s excellent, congrats to him & hooray for you! 🙂
That’s awesome. And you should be proud!
I don’t know if I could ever d that! Way to go, Joe!
You definitely have a lot to be proud of! That’s awesome! Congratulations to him! 🙂
What an inspiration and a great role model for your boys! Way to go!
(Thanks for the linky, too!)
What an awesome accomplishment!
Yay that is so awesome!!
Wonderful! That is quite an accomplishment and you should be proud of him.
Congratulations to your man! What a great accomplishment!
What an amazing accomplishment – you have every right to be proud of him!
Oh Emilie, that is an incredible time! A 7 minute mile is SPEEDY, especially to stay at that pace for 13 miles. Totally wish I could give your hubby a high five right now. (I’m proud of him, and I’ve never even met him, lol!) Way to be a great supportive wife and go out to his races, I’m sure that means a lot to him. And races are always funner to run with family. I totally get the runner’s high thing to. I hadn’t ever really run more than a mile or two before last March and totally got hooked.
Thank you so much for stopping by to comment. I mean that sincerely because Tiff, I was really hoping you would. To many people just doing a half marathon is a great accomplishment but for my husband who has run so many of them now it was really all about the time. And to someone who doesn’t follow races or doesn’t run they don’t get it. They wouldn’t understand why I was so proud. He runs a 5:40 mile but to run a 7 minute mile pace for that long is a big deal for him, especially since this year he has had foot problems. (Last year he finished in 1:38) But I *knew* you would totally understand it! 🙂
Yeah, it’s definitely a huge thing to beat your personal best, and you know he’s in incredible shape if he’s able to keep up that kind of pace the entire time. What’s been going on with his foot? Injuries are hard to work with. I’ve been having serious issues with my IT band and have had to lay off a little bit the last few weeks, but it’s hard when you love it. What other races is he planning on running this summer?
It’s nice to read of your love and pride. While you wrote this post to acknowledge him, I wanted to acknowledge you for the love that shines through in your words. That is something remarkable.
nice!:) i dont think my hubby could do that!
Kudos to your hubby and his brothers for completing this half marathon! And DOUBLE KUDOS to your husband for being able to stop smoking. Major accomplishments in his life, that will not only be beneficial to him, but to your entire family. Way to go!!!