FYI: Clapping for 7,000 people takes ~ 30 minutes.

That is, if they're running by you in a marathon.

This is my friend Julie:



She's amazing.

She has four kids (and she makes motherhood appear completely effortless). She can throw jelly beans in the air and catch them in her mouth. She is a freelance journalist for a local paper.

And today, she completed her first marathon.

I stood on the sidelines at miles 2 and 20.5 to cheer her on. But, of course, she's just one of the 7,000 or so people who ran today. So I clapped. And clapped and clapped and clapped andclappedandclappedandclapped. It was insane. Over 30 minutes of non-stop people running by (and non-stop clapping!).

But the thing is...the runners were thanking me! For clapping! They were running for TWENTY SIX miles and they were thanking me for what amounted to 10 seconds a piece of cheering. I thought about it, though, and realized that 26 miles is a damned long way to go, no matter how great of an athlete you are, and it must feel pretty motivating to have random strangers shouting encouragement at you.

Sort of like writing a novel and having a community of writer-supporters here on the internet. :)

So today I did something that started out as one of those things-you-do-because-you-love-someone but turned into one of those things-that-fills-your-inner-well-of-happiness-and-has-you-tearing-up-like-an-idiot-in-front-of-strangers.

Congratulations, Juls. You rock!