My Better Half-Marathoner

The wife climbed out of bed this morning with running on her mind, just like about a thousand other people in the Sioux Falls area, and she showed that 13.1 mile course what she was made of--lots more spice than sugar. I stayed on the sidelines today, resting that sore leg, cheering on my girl in the crowd. She did great, a bit slower than the Deadwood race, but only by a few minutes, and on a lot less training.

An additional treat was seeing some former students--Chris Heezen, from Miller, SD, who ended up in second place over all; Laura Carrow, of Pipestone, MN, who ended up fourth female finisher after a duel at the finish, and Mike Vetter, who was running his first ever half-marathon.

My colleague Rick Puetz and his daughter were also proud finishers.

Check out the photo slideshow here. Some folks keep smiling through the pain, all the way to the glory of the finish line.