Yasir Salem

View Original

Marathon 27 in 50 of the #50in50: UT

27 of 50 states in the #50in50 done:

  • NEW YORK 11/4/18: @nycmarathon

  • NEVADA 11/11/18: @runrocknroll Vegas

  • PENNSYLVANIA 11/18/18: @Philly_Marathon

  • WASHINGTON 11/25/18: @seattlemarathon

  • TENNESSEE 12/1/18: @stjude Memphis

  • ALABAMA 12/8/18: @irunrocketcity

  • FLORIDA 1/13/19: @rundisney #wdwmarathon

  • LOUISIANA 1/20/19: @thelamarathon

  • MISSISSIPPI 1/26/19: Mississippi blues Marathon

  • ARIZONA 2/9/19: Mesa-Phoenix Marathon @phxmarathon

  • TEXAS 2/17/19: Austin marathon @austinmarathon

  • MASSACHUSETTS 2/24/19: Hyannis Marathon @hyannismarathon

  • SOUTH CAROLINA 3/2/19: Myrtle Beach marathon @runmbm

  • ARKANSAS 3/3/19: Little Rock marathon @lrmarathon

  • NORTH CAROLINA 3/9/19: Wrightsville Beach marathon @wbmarathon

  • GEORGIA 3/17/19: Publix Atlanta marathon @atlantatrackclub

  • NEW MEXICO 3/21/19: Dust Bowl Series - New Mexico

  • OKLAHOMA 3/22/19: Dust Bowl Series - Oklahoma

  • KANSAS 3/24/19: Chisholm Trail marathon @chisholmtrail44

  • MISSOURI 4/7/19: Go! St Louis marathon @gostlouis

  • KENTUCKY 4/27/19: Kentucky Derby marathon @kyderbyfestival

  • NEW JERSEY 4/28/19: New Jersey marathon @njmarathon

  • OHIO 5/5/19: Flying Pig marathon @runflyingpig

  • NORTH DAKOTA 5/18/19: Fargo marathon @fargo.marathon

  • COLORADO 5/19/19: Denver Colfax marathon @runcolfax

  • VERMONT 5/26/2019: Vermont City marathon @runvermont

  • UTAH 6/1/2019: Utah Valley marathon @runutahvalley

For the Utah race, I visited and stayed with Gweneviere’s family in Salt Lake City. A lot of family on her father’s side came out to visit. I met my new niece who’s middle name is Gweneviere, named after Gwen. She’s cute. On the first night I met her, we took pics together. And then she puked a bunch of applesauce outside, lol.

I went to race expo the day before the marathon and picked up a copy of the race magazine which had a full spread piece on the foundation on what we are doing. I am honored. The race directors and staff are top notch.

I woke up super early on race day so that I could drive from Salt Lake to Provo and catch the race shuttle bus up the mountain to the start. I met a cancer survivor, John, who is running marathons just weeks after having chemotherapy. What an inspiration!

The race has quite a bit of downhill and the views are amazing! I met an amazing pacer named Catherine who had run the Boston marathon the year it was bombed. She was just a few feet away from the bomb. As we were running she recalled her story and got a little emotional. She ran Boston again this year. She told me how she went back to the restaurant owner that took care of her after the bombing. She gave him her medal. It was very touching and moving. I will stay in touch with her. 

The race directors met me at the finish line and gave me a hug. It was an emotional run.

The medal is cool and spins!

I came in a great time at 4:04.

Gweneviere’s family came out and met me at the finish. We took a lot of pics. They made touching and moving signs.

This is an incredible race and I hope you have a chance to run it! Check it out.

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD GWENEVIERE’S SONG

She was excited about releasing an album that she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

I ❤️ you Gwen.

Yasir