running in remembrance

Last October Patrick decided he wanted to run a marathon. He has never ran long distance running before, just 90 feet from base to base around a baseball diamond. He wanted to start following a training regime but would only do it if someone else would run with him. I told him not to look at me. My friend Michelle and I had just introduced our hubs to each other the previous month at an Angels game. They seemed to hit it off right away and became great buds. Patrick asked Heath if he would train and run the half marathon with him and the rest is history. They trained several times a week, following a strict running schedule. Come February 1st, they wanted to be prepared and set a goal for about 2 hours. That is a lot of running, if you ask me!


Patrick & Heath before a 10 mile run

Although Patrick and Heath weren't childhood friends or college buddies from back in the day, their friendship always seemed easy. Patrick would joke to Heath about being a geezer and Heath would fire back that Patrick couldn't keep up. You couldn't tell they had known each other for under a year. When the accident happened, Heath was understandably deeply effected. It was less than a month to go before the race date. I wasn't sure if Heath was going to run the race or not, I can't imagine the emotions he was feeling about the race and not having Patrick there to run by his side.

I was so excited when I learned he was going to continue on, finish their training schedule and run the marathon! I knew Patrick would be so proud and he would do the same if the roles were reversed. Michelle rallied up a ton of people, had shirts made and we all met down in Huntington Beach on race day. We stood on the sidelines waiting for Heath to cross the finish line. I was so eager to see him and with so many runners (18K!) I didn't want to miss him as he ran by. When he passed by us and onto the finish line, we all cheered and Heath pumped his arm in the air. I got chills and knew Patrick was right there with Heath.. running by his side for the entire 13.1 miles. Heath finished with an official time of 1:49:16! Under their original 2 hour goal! 


run Forrest, run



Thank you so much Heath for following through with the training and marathon. It meant so much to me (and Debi and my dad) to come watch you run and cross that finish line. I wish Patrick was there to run with you, so I could cheer you both on. You are a great friend and I cherish both your and Michelle's friendship. xo

me and Michelle

Heath wasn't the only one running for Patrick. Lindsey and her husband Taylor also completed the half marathon and wore shirts in Patrick's honor. I've even had friends who I didn't know were running the race call and tell me they saw Patrick's shirts on other people while running! The turnout was awesome.  A huge thank you to everyone who came out to support Heath and sported Patrick's shirts!

look at these people!