Race for the Cure today!

Well we just got back from a crazy fun day at Race for the Cure.  After my last post, I emailed the race director to ask if I could switch from the competitive race to the recreational race because I wanted to run with my daughter.  She told me that I could run in the competitive race with Ella as long as I started in the back.  All right - here we go!
Well, that all sounded well and good except that I never thought there would be walkers in the "competitive" race - I had to dodge hundreds of people while weaving through them and ran a 9:30 first mile because I couldn't really get going.  I finished in 26:28, so eventually the crowd thinned - but not really until the last 1/2 mile!  This was the BIGGEST race I'd ever been in.  Apparently this is THE biggest event in North Carolina!  It was crazy.
Then we rested up a little bit, took Ella around to all the tents people had set up giving away free items - Ella spotted the balloons and we had to get her one.  I couldn't believe the crazy people fighting each other over a free water bottle - really, people???  A water bottle???  Give me $100 toward new running shoes and I'll fight you for it any day, but a water bottle?
Anyways, our race was at 7am.  Jody's race was at 8:45am so we were supposed to meet her group at 8:30am to walk with her.  We found Jody's group around 8:35 and set up our little spot (blankets, etc.) then went to get in line to start.  There were so many people in this race that it took us about 30 minutes just to cross the starting line - no exaggerations!  It really was great to walk the race with Jody and her family and friends and then afterwards we got together and had a little picnic and hung out.  We finally got back home around 1:00pm.
I'm so proud of Jody for all her strength, courage, and determination.  And I think she is very lucky to have so many friends and family that are willing to go the extra mile for her (especially her husband, Kevin).  Today we celebrated Jody's Survival.  Thank you to everyone who helped donate to the cause!