The vibe at a specialty race, the Chicago Womens Half Marathon

This morning I participated in the 2nd annual Chicago Women's Half Marathon at Grant Park.  What a great vibe!  There is something to be said about women coming together to celebrate women.  As they said on their website, it is a day to celebrate women, friendship, family, and being athletes.  For sure, I would not have braved the sunny, hot and humid 78 degree weather unless I knew my girlfriends were waiting for me at the start line and cheering me on at the finish line.  There was a mother daughter division for the 5K, and it was great to see young athletes following their mothers as role models in their strive to keep fit and active.  The emcee of the event was a woman who is a mother and athlete, and out of nowhere, had a heart attack 7 months ago.  And here she was today, running the half marathon.  It is stories like these that inspire us and give us the vibe that it is about women empowering each other and inspiring us to set a goal, and keep going until we meet it.  And after those 13.1 miles, the first thing I did was claim my medal, pour water over my sweating and chafed body, and made the intention to do this again next year.  This time, I will drag my sisters and a few more girlfriends along.