Detroit Marathon Made Dreams Come True
The sun was shining and the wind was cool last Sunday, the twenty-first of October 2007, when the Detroit Marathon was held. While the weather wasn't exactly perfect it may have been extra windy around Ambassador Bridge the temperature of sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit was comfortable for the sixteen thousand individuals from different countries, age groups and walks of life who had entered the race. The weather during the Detroit Marathon was also for the spectators and supporters of the event; the atmosphere was a good one, and there seemed to be much goodwill between everyone.
The Detroit Marathon turned out to be a wonderful experience for many of the participants, professional runners, casual joggers, and walkers alike. For thirteen year old Michael Asher, who is a local of Ferndale, it was the first five kilometer race he completed on a run.
I'm glad I ran, but it's even better to be finished, the teenager admitted as he looked down on his finisher's medal. The boy went on to comment on how much of a challenge his five kilometers had been. Asher was inspired to join the race by his uncles, who were running in the marathon themselves.
Forty-one year old Audra Movius, who is a recreational runner, finished her very first half marathon to the cheering and urging of her five children. I was so tired, my legs were simply dead, but as soon as I saw my children, that gave me the extra boost of energy to finish, said the woman of her last few minutes of pushing for the half marathon finish. It was an amazing race. The part on the Ambassador Bridge was incredible. You felt so high up, so small. I'm glad I did this.
The more serious runners were not immune to the apparent good luck charm the Detroit Marathon had been last Sunday. Christopher Kiprotich of Kenya, who had won the men's side of the race with a time of 2:15:14, was thrilled to run the first ten miles of the race. The reason? He was running it with his idol, two-time Olympic gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie. The Ethiopian, who had joined the Detroit Marathon on a lark while he was in Metro Detroit for a medical fund raiser, was also happy to have run with Kiprotich.
This is a very good race, very fast, Gebrselassie said after the race. Then, to Kiprotich's stunned happiness, he added, I am proud of how Christopher ran.
The Ukraine's Anzhelika Averkova, who had won the women's race by running her personal best time of 2:34:50 (which is just seconds shy of matching the 2:34:16 record time set by Elena Orlova in 2005), also found the race exciting and exhilarating. Her favorite parts were the signs saying 'Welcome to Canada' and then 'Welcome to the United States', Tatyana Pozdnyakova translated. It was fun to run in Canada and then come into the U.S. She has never done that before and that made things very unique.
