My family at the finish line

My perfect moment would be the first week in December 1998. Four months earlier my friend Janice was turning 40 and wanted to run a marathon. She asked me to train and run the marathon with her.

We had been running on a consistent basis every week three to five miles but nothing in our past that would prepare us for the length of what she was talking about. I had no idea how long a marathon was or how to train for one. I was never a quitter and didn’t plan on being one....


Janice researched what type of training we needed to do for the next four months. I explained to my husband and children what I was going to do in December; my family was behind me if this was what I wanted to do.

Every day we would follow our schedule no matter what the weather was like. As time got closer and the distances got longer, I was a little scared. Could I really run 26.5 miles?

The morning of the marathon we had to get up at 4 am to meet the bus, when I looked out the window it was pouring down rain. They reported the weather to be the worst rain and wind the California State Marathon has had. All I could think of is I trained hard for this, I could do this.

We got to the starting line, by the time we started the race, we were soaking wet, the streets were flooded at least to our knees but we kept on running.

When I rounded the corner of 26 miles there was my perfect moment, my family was at the corner waiting for me in the pouring rain waiting to support me and finish the race with me.

I suddenly had my energy back. When I crossed the finish line and received my medal there was my husband and other child with big smiles on their faces. I felt like I had won the marathon because I had my family at the finish line.

Linda, Sacramento, Calif.