The primary purpose of the trip to Indiana was to see our daughter, Wendy, and three of her cousins run in the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. We met Wendy and our grandchildren, Amelia and John at Shapiro's Delicatessen, a legendary Indianapolis lunch spot as our meeting point. Shapiro's is a mid-west version of a New York delicatessen with huge portions and seating for over 200 in the shadows of Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Ann's brother, Lyn, his wife Penny, and their son Jon also joined our family lunch at the deli to initiate the mini-marathon weekend.
The remainder of the cousins, Kim and her husband Dave, along with Kelly, Kim's sister, arrived in time for a pasta loading dinner. For anyone who runs distance races, you know this is a ritual the evening before a big race. The only difference was those of us who were there as spectators took advantage of the Embassy Suites Happy Hour prior to dinner to socialize while the runners enjoyed bottled water.
The remainder of the cousins, Kim and her husband Dave, along with Kelly, Kim's sister, arrived in time for a pasta loading dinner. For anyone who runs distance races, you know this is a ritual the evening before a big race. The only difference was those of us who were there as spectators took advantage of the Embassy Suites Happy Hour prior to dinner to socialize while the runners enjoyed bottled water.
The start of the race was the next day at 7:30 a.m. The course was from downtown Indianapolis to the Indianapolis Speedway, around the 2.5 mile oval track, and back to downtown. Jon and Wendy ran together during the entire race, talking along the route while enjoying the various bands, belly dancers, high school cheerleaders, cloggers, etc. who were stationed along the route to cheer them on. Here is a photo taken just after Jon (gray shirt/black shorts) and Wendy (pink shorts/black sleeveless shirt) crossed the finish line.
All four cousins posed for this photo (L to R: Kim, Kelly, Jon, Wendy) as the raindrops began to fall. Notice the huge medals around their necks with the "checkered flags" ribbon. A closer look and you can see Kim's baby bump. Congrats to anyone who is 5 months pregnant and runs a mini-marathon - hats off to you, Kim!
After the participants traded race stories, Jon suggested we all go to the beer tent for a family toast. Here are two toasting pictures. First, Wendy and Paul, followed by Penny, Jon and Lyn.
After a nice lunch together, it was time to say goodbye to Jon. The rest of the family headed to Ft. Wayne for more family visiting over the weekend.
So good to see you guys! I'm so glad your trip north took you through Indy!! Love you!
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