Good Running Boy!

This weekend, The Human Male and I ran our first half-marathon, the Marine Corps Historic Half.  It was AWESOME.  I could talk about it for days.  Marine Corps races are a hoot—so well organized and hot Marines along the course.  Can you ask for anything better?  Fredericksburg, Virginia is a very cute, fun town.  We ate at a great restaurant called Capital Alehouse (the fried pierogies were insane) and found a fantastic wine store called The Virginia Wine Experience that not only had fantastic staff, but two wine cats.  How cool is that?

We also had a lot of fun with people along the course—from the house with tequila shots (I did indeed take one—mine was the 98th they gave out), a tiny horse for petting, kids passing out Twizzlers on the course, and a pack of therapy dogs singing, it all still makes me smile when I think about it.  I can’t wait to do it all again.

On the same day as our race, the Maryland Half-Marathon was happening.  And there was one very special first-time half-marathoner in it.

That’s Dozer, a three-year-old goldendoodle.  Apparently Dozer’s house was on the course, and he thought it’d be a great day to go for a run.  He did it in great time, too—he clocked in at 2:14, which was quite a bit faster than mine (not that I'm supremely jealous or anything).

It sounds like he may have turned around and went home afterwards.  He’s now back and safe, and has started a fundraising page (he’s already got more than $1,500!) and was going to receive a finisher’s medal.

While I do wonder why no one stopped to think about why a dog was running alone on the course, I still love this story.  Wouldn’t it be fun to be running along and see a dog pacing you?  And listen to how the cheering gets louder when he gets closer to the line—how much fun would that be to watch?

Though we didn’t do the same race, I’m really tickled that Dozer and I met the same goal on the same day.