The Results are in! Now this may come as a shock to some, but I didn't take first place. I'm sorry to have to report that. I was close though, really close. He only had me by a couple hours. I did finish strong however, and ahead of the pack. Out of a total of 22,359 finishers, I was 8617. In the mens division, I was 6066, and in my age bracket, I finished 780. Wow! All that with a camera in hand. I'll take it!
You can view all of the results, as well as pictures, on the LA Marathon website. My bib number is 10645. They have great links that show you the standing on the coarse, and compare you to other runners. www.lamarathon.com
I would really like to thank everyone again for being so supportive and generous through this. It has been such an amazing experience and so rewarding. It was shocking to me to find out how many people are effected by Diabetes in some way, most very close to home. The statistics about Diabetes are frightening, but seeing the progress we are making, and the desire people have shown to change is encouraging.
I am still receiving donations from people, and I thank you all so much for that. As I said before, the Donate button on the left side of the blog page will remain there, and we will continue to make donations as they come in. If you would like to send a check, I will be happy to e-mail you my address. Our first official donation will be made this week. Its going to be a great one.
Thank you all again so much. You have touched the lives of me, and my family so much by being a part of this.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
DIABETES, YOU LOSE!
My name is Nicholas Johns and I am changing the world! Now say it out loud, but put your name there. Because you are changing the world. We are together. And we will be successful! Yesterday was an amazing step forward.
Thank you all so much for your support, in every way that you gave it. I finished the Los Angeles Marathon in honor of my father, Riley Wade Johns, with the support of all of my friends and family, in 4:55:13. I was so proud. It may sound odd for me to be saying that, but it's not. I did the running, but the world was my team. In my fight for awareness I raised close to $2,000 in support, and I am still getting donations from people towards diabetic research. Thank you all so much. In combination with the financial contribution, we have brought an immeasurable amount of attention to Diabetes. It is so enlightening to know that people want to make a difference.
Yesterday was a very emotional day for my family and I. I was blessed to have my wife at my side for the entire weekend, and my mother, sister, brother-in-law, and niece were there to support me on Sunday. The morning had its frustrations - waking up at 4am is never a good way to start, if you ask me, but it was for a good cause. The two hours spent in the car parked on the freeway however, was not for a good cause. That resulted in me getting out of the car a half mile before the exit marker and walking to the starting line with the other hundreds of people trying to get there on time. Once the race started though, all of that was forgotten. This was about Me and Dad, my family, and stopping Diabetes. It was about my family and I finding closure to a chapter of our lives that ended too quickly, and about helping to make sure it doesn't happen to others.
Boy did that emotion come through during the race. I was a very happy person to be running that marathon. I love to run. Sure, doing it for five hours is torture, but it is empowering! And with the cause behind me, I couldn't be stopped. I can only imagine what people must have been thinking as they noticed me bawling my eyes out at various parts of the course, even though I was smiling and running strong. My Dad was right there with me the whole race and he carried me through the hard parts. His life and memory helped me coast through the easy parts too. When I crossed mile 26.2, well, nothing can describe what I was feeling. There are no words for that.
These last few months have been quite a whirlwind as I have tried to make a lifestyle change, and hoped that others would too. It has been motivating, enlightening, and, needless to say, difficult. Best of all, it has been successful.Originally, I had a lot of things I wanted to say in this "final" blog, but as it came to the day and the emotion came on and the big moment came, I stalled, waiting for just the right words to come. Then I decided not to let the emotion out yet. I chose to wait until after the marathon. It would be better then. I would be more dialed in on what I wanted to say. But even after, and all day today as I've thought about this post, there is still so much I want to say. I wanted to wrap this up. Say thanks for the support, keep it up and goodbye. But what I am realizing. . . This isn't, or at least shouldn't be, goodbye. We have changed the world and we will continue to. So let's not stop here. Let's leave it open. Let's continue the fight. I will be doing another race. Probably a lot of them. Every one of them will be against Diabetes. I hope that all of you will fight it in your own way too - for yourselves, your children, and the family and friends that you may not even have yet. The donate button on the site will remain there. I will be making continuous donations to the American Diabetes Association as they come in, and I will post info on my next race. Just a few weeks ago a good friend called and challenged me to train for a triathlon. Maybe that will be the next goal. For now, I'll start local with my friends, family, neighborhood, co-workers. I'll post things I am doing to fight Diabetes and hopefully you will all remain a part of it. Please, contact me if you are doing something as well, so I can become a part of that.
Tracy took several photos this weekend. I will post them here within the next couple of days. And in honor of my father who seemed to have his camera surgically attached to his hand, I decided to carry a camera with me through the race. I will also post that album here very soon, and you will be able to view it on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/curediabetes2010) too. They aren't all pretty, I promise you that, but I was a little busy as I was taking them. ;) I hope you enjoy seeing it through my eyes as much I enjoyed it through my feet. Thank you for being a part of this.
www.facebook.com/curediabetes2010
curediabetes2010@yahoo.com
Thank you all so much for your support, in every way that you gave it. I finished the Los Angeles Marathon in honor of my father, Riley Wade Johns, with the support of all of my friends and family, in 4:55:13. I was so proud. It may sound odd for me to be saying that, but it's not. I did the running, but the world was my team. In my fight for awareness I raised close to $2,000 in support, and I am still getting donations from people towards diabetic research. Thank you all so much. In combination with the financial contribution, we have brought an immeasurable amount of attention to Diabetes. It is so enlightening to know that people want to make a difference.
Yesterday was a very emotional day for my family and I. I was blessed to have my wife at my side for the entire weekend, and my mother, sister, brother-in-law, and niece were there to support me on Sunday. The morning had its frustrations - waking up at 4am is never a good way to start, if you ask me, but it was for a good cause. The two hours spent in the car parked on the freeway however, was not for a good cause. That resulted in me getting out of the car a half mile before the exit marker and walking to the starting line with the other hundreds of people trying to get there on time. Once the race started though, all of that was forgotten. This was about Me and Dad, my family, and stopping Diabetes. It was about my family and I finding closure to a chapter of our lives that ended too quickly, and about helping to make sure it doesn't happen to others.
Boy did that emotion come through during the race. I was a very happy person to be running that marathon. I love to run. Sure, doing it for five hours is torture, but it is empowering! And with the cause behind me, I couldn't be stopped. I can only imagine what people must have been thinking as they noticed me bawling my eyes out at various parts of the course, even though I was smiling and running strong. My Dad was right there with me the whole race and he carried me through the hard parts. His life and memory helped me coast through the easy parts too. When I crossed mile 26.2, well, nothing can describe what I was feeling. There are no words for that.
These last few months have been quite a whirlwind as I have tried to make a lifestyle change, and hoped that others would too. It has been motivating, enlightening, and, needless to say, difficult. Best of all, it has been successful.Originally, I had a lot of things I wanted to say in this "final" blog, but as it came to the day and the emotion came on and the big moment came, I stalled, waiting for just the right words to come. Then I decided not to let the emotion out yet. I chose to wait until after the marathon. It would be better then. I would be more dialed in on what I wanted to say. But even after, and all day today as I've thought about this post, there is still so much I want to say. I wanted to wrap this up. Say thanks for the support, keep it up and goodbye. But what I am realizing. . . This isn't, or at least shouldn't be, goodbye. We have changed the world and we will continue to. So let's not stop here. Let's leave it open. Let's continue the fight. I will be doing another race. Probably a lot of them. Every one of them will be against Diabetes. I hope that all of you will fight it in your own way too - for yourselves, your children, and the family and friends that you may not even have yet. The donate button on the site will remain there. I will be making continuous donations to the American Diabetes Association as they come in, and I will post info on my next race. Just a few weeks ago a good friend called and challenged me to train for a triathlon. Maybe that will be the next goal. For now, I'll start local with my friends, family, neighborhood, co-workers. I'll post things I am doing to fight Diabetes and hopefully you will all remain a part of it. Please, contact me if you are doing something as well, so I can become a part of that.
Tracy took several photos this weekend. I will post them here within the next couple of days. And in honor of my father who seemed to have his camera surgically attached to his hand, I decided to carry a camera with me through the race. I will also post that album here very soon, and you will be able to view it on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/curediabetes2010) too. They aren't all pretty, I promise you that, but I was a little busy as I was taking them. ;) I hope you enjoy seeing it through my eyes as much I enjoyed it through my feet. Thank you for being a part of this.
www.facebook.com/curediabetes2010
curediabetes2010@yahoo.com
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Marathon Eve
Ever notice that no matter how much you plan things they just don't happen the way they were supposed to? That is the story of today. I don't believe one thing happened as it was planned, but happily, everything still worked out great.
The morning started a little later than planned after a late night at work last night. To be honest, it felt great not to rush. We got up and made a good breakfast, got all of our stuff together, and hit the road. That's when the real fun began. Traffic today was a brilliant reminder of why I could never live in LA. Holy smokes, it took us almost three=and-a-half hours to get to Dodger stadium! Craziness! We got in alright, registered, got all our freebies and got out. Nothing personal to anyone who lives in LA, but I am a Padres fan. Dodger Stadium is one of the few places in this world I never needed to visit. Good reason to run faster at the start though, right? Get me outta there!!
Now we were off to drive the course. I really like to know at least a little about the area so I'm familiar. It helps me so I don't waste energy wondering what's next. So after a little confusion out of the gate, we were off. Holy Ghetto! I was pretty excited to run through Hollywood, but I had no idea the area around it. Not too bad though. It looks like it will keep me on my toes, but I'll survive it. The fun part seems to appear towards the end. The last eight to ten miles appears to be on a steady decline, the last five specifically a straight down hill! Going to take a bit of work to not burn out my legs there. With any luck it will make the home stretch a lot more comfortable.
So all in all, I've driven it and I approve! We can run it tomorrow. As if anyone was asking. . . I feel better having seen it though, and now Tracy has a great idea where she will meet up with me on the way. So now, a little later than planned, we sit down with Tracy's very wonderful cousin Megan (who is being kind enough to house us tonight) and enjoy a carb loaded dinner. Then it'll be time to turn in. The alarm goes off awfully early tomorrow!
The morning started a little later than planned after a late night at work last night. To be honest, it felt great not to rush. We got up and made a good breakfast, got all of our stuff together, and hit the road. That's when the real fun began. Traffic today was a brilliant reminder of why I could never live in LA. Holy smokes, it took us almost three=and-a-half hours to get to Dodger stadium! Craziness! We got in alright, registered, got all our freebies and got out. Nothing personal to anyone who lives in LA, but I am a Padres fan. Dodger Stadium is one of the few places in this world I never needed to visit. Good reason to run faster at the start though, right? Get me outta there!!
Now we were off to drive the course. I really like to know at least a little about the area so I'm familiar. It helps me so I don't waste energy wondering what's next. So after a little confusion out of the gate, we were off. Holy Ghetto! I was pretty excited to run through Hollywood, but I had no idea the area around it. Not too bad though. It looks like it will keep me on my toes, but I'll survive it. The fun part seems to appear towards the end. The last eight to ten miles appears to be on a steady decline, the last five specifically a straight down hill! Going to take a bit of work to not burn out my legs there. With any luck it will make the home stretch a lot more comfortable.
So all in all, I've driven it and I approve! We can run it tomorrow. As if anyone was asking. . . I feel better having seen it though, and now Tracy has a great idea where she will meet up with me on the way. So now, a little later than planned, we sit down with Tracy's very wonderful cousin Megan (who is being kind enough to house us tonight) and enjoy a carb loaded dinner. Then it'll be time to turn in. The alarm goes off awfully early tomorrow!
Friday, March 19, 2010
T-2 Days and counting
Excuse me, has anyone seen the month of March? It was just here a second ago, and now it's gone! I can't believe it is already race time. Two Days! In fact, this time two days from now I'll probably be cruising down the home stretch! Holy Moly!
It has been funny the past few days as I've had quite a few people ask me if I'm ready. My standard response has been, "I hope so." And really, I do. I have done all I could to get here, and now it's time to ride it out. No turning back now. I am feeling very confident that it will go well though. I have so much support from my friends and my family, and there will be so much energy on race day! Not to mention the fact that I am invincible. (Yeah, I like to tell myself that.)
With my last successful training run done today, I really would like to make sure I give my thank you's as needed. Training for something like this doesn't happen alone. I may have been the runner, but my number one cheerleader runs this show. Tracy has been so amazing. She's been my executive chef, my editor for these blogs, my coach, my massage therapist. . . I don't know how she puts up with it all. My family has been very supportive too. This has been an emotional journey for all of us, and they have helped me to spread the word, to raise money, picked me up on my destination runs, and also dealt with me through it all. Thanks too to everyone who has read this and talked with me about the marathon. Without everyone's constant support, I would have fallen off the wagon long ago. So thank you all so much. I can't wait to post a success story on Monday.
I will post a blog tomorrow after visiting the expo and driving the route. And Sunday will be my big finale just before the race. Stick with me! You can track me through the race if you like by registering at this site:
http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=24
Or go to www.lamarathon.com then to Runner Info then to Race Day Tracking. You can have my status e-mailed to you or sent via text message! Just enter in Nicholas Johns as the entrant.
It has been funny the past few days as I've had quite a few people ask me if I'm ready. My standard response has been, "I hope so." And really, I do. I have done all I could to get here, and now it's time to ride it out. No turning back now. I am feeling very confident that it will go well though. I have so much support from my friends and my family, and there will be so much energy on race day! Not to mention the fact that I am invincible. (Yeah, I like to tell myself that.)
With my last successful training run done today, I really would like to make sure I give my thank you's as needed. Training for something like this doesn't happen alone. I may have been the runner, but my number one cheerleader runs this show. Tracy has been so amazing. She's been my executive chef, my editor for these blogs, my coach, my massage therapist. . . I don't know how she puts up with it all. My family has been very supportive too. This has been an emotional journey for all of us, and they have helped me to spread the word, to raise money, picked me up on my destination runs, and also dealt with me through it all. Thanks too to everyone who has read this and talked with me about the marathon. Without everyone's constant support, I would have fallen off the wagon long ago. So thank you all so much. I can't wait to post a success story on Monday.
I will post a blog tomorrow after visiting the expo and driving the route. And Sunday will be my big finale just before the race. Stick with me! You can track me through the race if you like by registering at this site:
http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=24
Or go to www.lamarathon.com then to Runner Info then to Race Day Tracking. You can have my status e-mailed to you or sent via text message! Just enter in Nicholas Johns as the entrant.
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