My Sister, The Marathoner

My middle, little sister Shannon completed the Dallas White Rock Marathon last Sunday in a record-setting time of 5 hours and 23 minutes ("record setting" meaning that it was the first one she's run, hence a personal record). A post marathon phone call enlightened me to the following runner's truths: never run in socks you've never run in before (apparently, blisters can have their own zip codes), always eat breakfast before you run (even if you cramp up like a motherfucker when you run, as we both do) and never tie a long-sleeved shirt around your waist, despite the heat of the day (because it will chafe in ways you've never imagined).

On a more technological note, I received a cryptic text message from her a few days before the race reading, "What cell provider do you have? Just say yes to the text so you can track me."; when I inquired as to the nature of said message it was explained to me thusly, "Just needed service to set up tracking of marathon." After a little online research, I came across this short post:

This Sunday, the Dallas White Rock Marathon will implement a pretty cool feature for participants and their friends/families. While most modern marathons track runners with (RFID?) chips attached to their shoes, this marathon in Dallas will take that data and send it out, texting or emailing split times and finishing results to anyone who registers with a particular runner.

I was subsequently sent a series of split times at various points throughout the race with projected finish times; in other words, I was able to track my sister's marathon status on my cell whilest sitting on my couch, eating a Meaty P'Zone and watching NFL football on my flat screen TV. USA! USA!

In all seriousness, I'm extremely proud of you and your accomplishment, Shannon; I know that I probably had more natural talent for long distance running way back in high school but you've far surpassed me in the realm of sheer will-power since. And credit to One L Bill for the picture above: I heard that you were an inspiration at many points on the course; way to represent, brother.

On a related note, Shannon: your friend in the yellow scarf on your picture sharing page is hella cute: does she have any plans to visit California anytime soon?; just asking.