The Pursuit of Glory: The Man Who Made Arizona Happen

You'd think that going to Arizona to train was simply a matter of having a little cash on hand, finding a cheap place to stay, and getting work to allow me to go. Those were the least of my concerns. The only thing that actually mattered was if everything at home would go okay while I was gone.

Short Answer: Not a chance.

Long Answer: Jason Kroot. He wouldn't let me not go. We got in an argument over Christmas, which resulted in me (edited) saying "I'm not going to Arizona, it can't work." He immediately stopped everything and told me that I would be going, even if it meant shipping me out there against my will (also possibly edited). Everyone told him that I needed to come back, especially because it came to be that we would be needing to put the house on the market a month earlier than planned - which essentially meant that I wouldn't be able to do a thing in preparation for listing (I'd say I got like 2-3% of the work in...if we're being generous).

So on top of his own work, running Northeastern Graphic Supply (with a huge amount happening up to and through the start of April), the dogs, my grandfather, training for the Boston Marathon, and fundraising over $8,000. By the way - if you haven't donated to him or Team Kroot's endeavors please visit his fundraiser page @ http://www.rundfmc.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1039390&supid=253151052. Oh yeah, and having a life of his own. He's clearly been doing more than double his share in recent months...and I'm only divulging the half of it.

Anyone else I know of in the world (maybe 1 or 2 others might) would have folded as soon as March turned the corner...a mere 3 weeks after I left for AZ. However, he kept everything moving forward without my help for a whole other month. And, to boot, didn't want me coming back until I spent Easter in DC with Alexis, and our 'family'.

Now, I am known by many to have a pretty impressive tolerance for working hard when it comes to athletics. But what Jason has done makes me look like a wuss. I honestly have zero idea of how he survived intact and is still doing so much. He just ran the Boston Marathon in an INSANE time of 3:32:59. Last year he was 4:15:26. That's an improvement of over 42 minutes, something that most people will never even consider as a possibility. Fortunately he finished prior to the explosions and was well on his way to meeting us and his amazing fan crew (of which I am very proud - and jealous :p) when he heard the successive "boom"s. Instantly he knew it was something bad and thankfully continued straight to seeing us - we saw Jason before we heard reports of the explosions.

Final Mile! I was running like a freak trying to get ahead of him and snap a photo...and he said he was slowing up a bit. (Seriously my legs legitimately hurt today from the chase)

His normal routine would have been:

Lots of hugs
Quick chats
Humbly receive congratulations on his amazing time
Find out how other people did
Hop into the Dana Farber team Recovery Zone for some serious massage and refueling

Yesterday it was:

Lots of Hugs
Hear the news
Find out about everyone we knew
Comfort other runners
Comfort families who awaited their loved ones' arrivals (the DFMC team had 550 runners - most of whom do not run qualifying times...which put the bulk of the team behind the explosions)
Grab a quick bite
Make sure all his friends/supporters were set with their plans

The majority of the AWESOME Fan Base at Marathon Monday Home Base (The Yardhouse)

Then Jason tells Alexis to go back to her apartment so she can relax and tells me to stay close because he didn't want me getting near my car as it was near the course (in his loving concern - over a half mile was 'way too close'). I walked Alexis back when Jason went to recovery - well over an hour after his finish. At this point he was too tight to get any real benefit from massage...which meant getting out of the area was going to be a long limp to where we could find a taxi or get a ride. He refused to 'inconvenience' his friends and ask for a ride. So we slowly walked/hobbled a freezing cold mile (post-marathon and 75 degrees gets cold quickly...so 50's and windy is no good) until we found a place that was easily able to be reached by driving.

A year ago Jason was running in honor of Mom and support of Dad (and so many others). This year, it was sadly in honor of both. He got paired with a young cancer patient at Dana Farber, Colin, and ran in special support of this young fighter. Sadly, due to the events, Jason was unable to reunite with Colin after the race. Colin and his family were on their way over when the explosions happened, so they immediately left the city and headed home.