Sunrise on the Parkway

I woke up at 5:30 this morning as Umoja had a drumming gig at the Rochester Marathon.

We had to be there at 7:30 so I had to be ready by 6:30.  Fortunately, Karen did the chores and I was able to catch a shower.

My friend Jackie drove in with me.

 Looking North.

 Looking South.

 There was a bump out on the O'Rorke bridge, which was 5 miles from the starting line...

and that's where we were placed.  There were 8 of us and we dressed for the very chilly weather...probably in the 50s.

 The marathon started at 7:30 and we saw the first runners before 8.

Jackie.

 Wayne.

 Fred.

 Lee.

 Stan.

 Jackie, Zak and Marcia.

 What a crew.

 Let me tell you, drumming for 4 hours straight takes some effort.  We were finished at 12:15.

 The man in the photo below stopped to play a drum and I could not get my camera out in time.

 Almost everyone thanked us as they ran by, and some of them were quite animated.

 Zak (who I've known since he was a child...his Mom boarded a horse and pony here) is the real leader of our group and so talented.

 Jackie and I went to Pelican's Nest for lunch and we got home a little after two.  I was SO TIRED.

 It was a great experience and really made a difference to the runners.

Some ran a half marathon, others did the whole thing.  Can't imagine doing this.

Rest time.

Night all.