Gummy Bears, anyone?

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Originally uploaded by mccannjl2002

Last year when I ran MCM, I remembered all the kind, kind souls who handed out food -- orange slices, sports beans, banana chunks, chocolate-chip cookies, and even full bottles of Evian water - to us hot, sweaty, and tired runners in the last miles.

I, of course, partook of them all.

So this year, I thought I'd repay the favor. Jeanne and I handed out gummy bears, Swedish fish, and dark-chocolate M&M's to runners at Miles 14, 15, 22, 23, and 24. Many were grateful, and one man even said, "Oh, I love you!" when grabbing the last of the M&M's from my out-stretched hand.

Here I am handing out gummy bears to runners at Mile 22 or so. Be sure to scroll down to see more photos and the back-story of my trip to D.C.

Please take my candy!

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Originally uploaded by mccannjl2002

Jeanne handing out gummy bears and Swedish fish to runners at Mile 22. She was a better saleswoman than me, and ran out of candy before me. I, meanwhile, kept eating the gummy bears instead of giving them to runners ...

Quick Trip to DC for MCM!

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Originally uploaded by mccannjl2002

Hey y'all. I had a mini-holiday in Washington, D.C. last week. Flew out of Tahoe to Los Angeles, then on to DC last Thursday night to see friends, cheer on runners at the Marine Corps Marathon, check on our places there, and did some work-related stuff.

That's Jeanne, me, K., and Peter after dinner the night before the Marine Corps Marathon. None of us raced it this year, although Peter ran in a friend, H., and K. also ran part of the way with a friend. Also, I knew that a number of folks from Miles Ahead, my summer training group sponsored by Pacers running stores, raced it.

By the way, the first-place woman at MCM, Kristen Henehan (2:51:14), trains with Pacers' elite women team, and ran in our track workouts sometimes! I bet my (now former) coach for the program is chuffed about it. Here's the Washington Post story on MCM. And here's another story in a regional running publication.

I returned late last night (really, early this morning). Whew. I'll post more photos, courtesy of Jeanne, here in a minute.