Last year I visited Ohio and cheered while my cousin Bonnie ran the Columbus marathon. I made the “mistake” of agreeing to run the last few miles of the Boston Marathon with her if she qualified. Of course she qualified and I had to train! My first real run since cross-country in high school was the Jingle Bell Five-Kay in December. I continued running a little bit, including on the beautiful beaches of Honduras

The plan was to start running with Bonnie after she conquered heartbreak hill and entered Boston College, my run was pleasantly down hill.

Waiting/searching for Bonnie through the crowds of runners. I pinned “cheer for bonnie” on my shirt so the crowd could cheer as we ran.

I hope you can tell how much I enjoy running by this pic:

Bonnie smiled throughout her 26.2 mile jaunt.

Running with Bonnie was awesome and because I joined near the end I got to enjoy the benefits of cheering spectators with none of the 21 mile build up.

My friends are too fast. A few weeks ago I joined Ken and Jay on a ride around Ipswich / Topsfield. By join I mean struggled to keep up; I guess these guys ride their bikes a little bit more than me — the hills were brutal. In terms of mileage at least I’m about a month ahead this year vs. 2009!