marathon day.

today one of my best friends,
hilary collins
ran her first marathon.
not only that but she came very close to the qualifying time to the
boston marathon.
one day [in the near future] i'm going with her.
here's the story:
hilary runs like no one i've ever met.
she could potentially be dying and still want to run.
well, she's gotten me out a few times but not near as much as i should.
last year when school ended she gave me a present before she went home.
it was her watch.
i knew the story behind the watch and the significance it had.
i bawled. and bawled. and bawled.
she told me to use it sometimes.
it was last summer that i ran my first 5k.
for her.
as i mentioned before, she's always running.
she decided to run this marathon and has been working ever since.
each day i would be amazed at how much she ran.
and how badly she wanted this.
and how even when it wasn't fun she persisted.
today came the final test.
8:27 am on 45th South and 23rd East.
she came running.
i had no idea i could get so excited to see someone run by.
i just wanted to be there,
running with her,
telling her how cool she was.
man, and not only her but everyone.
[if i could have a profession in cheering people on at marathons i totally would do it.]
next stop-finish line.
we got there a little early so we watched people for an hour.
people sprinting their way across.
arms raised in the air.
shouts for joy.
tears streaming down faces.
groups of people.
children catching their parents.
people running in honor of others.
and every time i would think about hilary crossing that finish line i cried.
and i just kept crying.
she had given this her all and had worked so hard for it,
and now she was doing it.
reaching her goal.
10:43 am.
once again here she comes.
i couldn't have screamed her name any louder.
and i couldn't stop crying.
i think i almost had a proud parent moment or something.
next thing i know i'm hugging her and she throws her medal around my neck.
then she tells me i'm the best?
'..excuse me, i'm not the one who just completed a life dream.'
[insert more crying]
it was amazing.
and this whole thing taught me something...
i can certainly achieve my dreams if i do the work and put in the effort.
sometimes it might be hard but anything is possible.
so today i make national hilary collins superstar day.
way to be one of my heroes hilary.
love you infinity plus one.