April 21, 2014 - Beauty from ashes. That is what I witnessed in Boston

DeDe Gibbs

Wow.

That's the first thought that comes to my mind when I reflect on the past weekend. Just. Wow.

I ran the Boston Marathon yesterday. My seventh marathon - my second Boston. And yet it felt like a new experience - like nothing else I've ever done. I can still hear the cheers. See the faces. Passionate. Determined. United. Urging us on toward the goal.

Overwhelming. Compelling. Powerful cheers.

Wow.

2011 - God took my two marathon verses, put them into one, and marked them with my Boston Marathon time!

DeDe Gibbs

In September 2010, I ran the Fox Cities Marathon, placing 3^rd Masters and 18th female. It was my third marathon, but the first I would run after having six children.

I ran it in memory of my mother who had passed away a year before. My qualifying time was 3:33:23. My mother’s birthdate was 3-23-33! So ironic. I hoped to improve at Boston 2011 by ten minutes and get the numbers in the correct order!

The following spring, at the age of 46, I did even better than that, finishing in 3:19.

My 2011 Boston Placement Stats:
Division: 36/1591 Top 2%
Gender: 593/10073 Top 6%
Overall: 4936/23879 Top 21%