Monday, April 16, 2012

Expectations

First I need to give HUGE congrats to the ladies who were featured on this post here.  They ran Boston today and I am pleased to report they all finished what looked to be a very hard race.  Looking forward to all your race recaps!

The conditions were brutal for the Boston Marathon this year.  They knew what to expect but really how do you prepare for this at the last minute.

When race day comes things can surprise us...crazy weather, sickness, running on a trail instead of road..(that happened to me once), hills when the race website has this "Fast flat course" as their header.

Then there's the things you do expect will be part of the race:

I expect to see these guys somewhere along the course and at the finish line.


Well OK, not Maggie..just wanted to use this cute picture from Easter day!

Most of the time we can expect to get one of these


 If you come race a 5K with me here in Southern California you can expect to see this fast guy  dressed like this; rain or shine:


I don't know maybe it is a SoCal thing...see my first Half Marathon finisher picture, I had to share the spotlight with Magnum PI:


Because I still have not figure out how to race and not have dry heaves, sadly I still expect this to happen at every race:


No, I have no ego that is why I am ok with posting this again.

And if you come to Southern California to run a half marathon with me or a full marathon with me as your cheerleader, you can expect to see The Jester.


He is at all the races. He is there with his colorful outfits and with his signs that his wife makes for him.  You will see him at the start:


on the course:


and at the finish Emz did you see him in Catalina?


He encourages all the runners.  He makes me smile every time I see him.  It is always nice to see him on the course.  Here he is bringing in the LAST runner, who is legally blind,  at the PETCO San Diego half marathon. 


The Jester is not just a colorful runner at the SoCal races.  He is also one of those crazy runners...you know the ULTRA kind..you know the BADWATER kind.
I found a video of him on Youtube running Badwater 2011:



He is getting ready to go at this again this July and you can follow his journey on his FACEBOOK page called RunJesterRun HERE.

So how about a race in Southern California with moi?
Anyone?

19 comments:

Terzah said...

I would love to do a race with you in SoCal or anywhere else. Especially if the jester shows up.

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

haha, i would LOVE to run a race with you!! especially if the jester is going to be there! just seeing the pics made me smile! lol... too bad i have college classes year long...

BabyWeightMyFatAss said...

how so freaking cool!! I would love to have a guy dressed up like that at our races. Cool! Cool! Cool!

giraffy said...

I love seeing Ed!! I've followed him for awhile, since the first operation jack race, when he said this was his second marathon OF THE DAY. - so nice, and so fun.

Unknown said...

So fun! What's next on your race schedule? I'm sure our paths will cross again soon.

I'm goin to go follow the Jester now.

Vanessa @ Gourmet Runner said...

I would love to visit So Cal an run a race with you and all those crazy characters!

Jen said...

I've seen the guy balancing the watermelon on his head at a couple of races lately. And don't forget the Jesus people! They're either screaming out that Jesus loves you or that judgement day is upon us. Either way, they're out there with their signs and megaphones at SoCal races!

Michael said...

That guy in the background of your first half marathon is priceless!! That's hilarious!

Somehow I am coming to CA for a race, but not racing with you :( But I do really, really hope to meet you while I'm there :)

Tricia said...

When I ran Operation Jack the day after Christmas The Jester was there. How fun that he's always around.

Boston Bound Brunette said...

I think I saw the Jester at the Hollywood Half Expo! He seems to be everywhere. You and I definitely have to run a race together when I get it together. We are neighbors and I can probably run to your house! Stop teasing me with that BCC medal too! LOL!!

Patrick Mahoney said...

Come run the Seal Beach 5 or 10K this weekend...

Gracie said...

Thanks for the congrats, it was indeed a hot one! What is up with the people wearing no clothes in your area?! We can't beat you. All I can recall is one local runner who refuses to wear anything but cotton. Not that interesting.

Lisa said...

Wow, and I thought the juggler I ran next to yesterda @ Boston was crazy. I guess he was just in training....

Yo Momma Runs said...

I would be so stoked if I could expect Magnum PI lookalikes at all of my races. Especially if they made it into my pics!

Laura said...

I've seen the Joggler guy at a race and in Oct a teenager who ran the marathon..while dribbling a basketball.
..and he ran fast to boot. Kids...

Christina said...

Ha ha ... love the Magnum PI pic!!! I'm personally hoping I get a "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy" in my next race pics. hee hee

Emz said...

Omgosh. He was at the Catalina marathon!! Awesome!!
Loved the jester!!

Black Knight said...

Beautiful post. I like all the pictures but I dislike the ugly runner in the 3rd photo.
The jester is very nice.
I would like to run in South California ... but it is a little far.
So how about a race in middle Italy with the Black Knight Army?

Anonymous said...

Jester is a great idea. Love the posters!