"Wow! You all did...but then who had any doubts!" Conni
"...Congratulations - Mazel Tov! I'm looking forward to the next draft" -C
"Looks like you had a great time. Good work!" Nancy A.
"Totally great shots. What beautiful events you pull together, Linda. I'm always in awe of what you achieve." Suzanne
"What a wonderful group of inspiration!" "Linda Brandt, you are one daredevil of a woman...keep on knocking down those limits. XOXOXO" Jodi
"CONGRATULATIONS LINDA AND NINE OTHERS!!!!!!!I WAS THINKING OF YOU ALL DAY YESTERDAY!!!!!WAY TO GO!...YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!" Julia
FYI - I didn't even drive 26.2 miles yesterday!!!!!
"ooo. i cherish my tears of paradigm shift! women being close, backing eacho ther, being visible, the biggest thing EVER (personal challenge/physical power, connected to all u.s. citizens as obama is our new leader, etc.). you in the center of things, loving and being loved. my only request is that you put somewhere in there "we did it!" and that all women completed it. yes! yes! yes! whoo the frickin hoooo! i hope you are still bragging, wearing yr medallion, telling stories, crying and jumping around!!! i know i am!!! much much love," jna
"Wow, I don't think you are even close to realizing the impact you've had on the lives of others. Every face in the race, regardless of pace, from beinging to end, glowed! love" D
"congratulations! you are amazing! and this is beautiful." xoxo shea
"very cool. great pics. thanks for sharing. :)" Kristine
"Congratulations on completing the marathon and organizing what looks to be a wonderful group of women." Patty
"I am blown away. Ten women, women who most likely would never have considered completing a marathon without you and all your work you have done re social justice and people skills and your love of people and life in general. I am inspired to be bigger and fiercer and all that I can be. On behalf of all women, thank you for all you are doing Linda. Should a few of these pics with a brief write-up be sent to our President?" Katherine
"Fantastic Linda! Congratulations!!! It looks like it was a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing the photos, Stacy :)"
"Dear Linda – I just looked at your photos from the walk on Saturday! WOW – what a beautiful moment in time and you all look so proud! Way to lead the way! Love to you," Wendy
"Thanks for bringing such a wonderful group of ladies up, they were a joy to have around..." Aunt Shirley, our host in Duluth
"What an amazing experience. I feel so proud to have completed a marathon! I loved meeting you all...!
I loved meeting people along the way. I loved the troll fans. I loved the great restaurants Linda researched for us. I loved A. Shirley. I loved the view. I loved the cow bell I was gifted and could gift to my new friend. I loved that people were actually still there at the finish line and they lifted the banner so we could pass under it. I loved the lake water on my feet. I loved that I recovered well...Thanks, all. You are a gift to me. Have a brilliant day." ~LF
"Congratulations to Everyone!!!!! What a Beautiful Triiumph!!! Peace, Lisa B"
"Congratulations! I was thinking about you and your walking group Saturday morning at 7:15 when I was on the treadmill--35 minutes was enough for me. Glad you crossed the finish line with a smile on your face..." Nancy R.
"I LOVE the blog being made entirely of photos! They tell so much that text might actually detract. Nice job! With love, Ilan"
"So fantastic & inspiring! Thanks for sharing!! I hope you keep basking in the afterglow--xo," Molly
"Congratulations! I was sending postive vibes for all the racers on Saturday morning. What beautiful weather!! Great pictures, thanks for sharing. Be Well," Meghan
"Hello all... Great experience... Grateful to have shared this experience with all of you....
For me the excitement comes from accomplishing this task with a great group of ladies. and hearing about blisters and not being able to walk at a normal pace or upright for some of us...
Aunt Shirley.. thanks for opening your home and hearts to us... Your generosity superseded my expectations.
LB.. thanks for including us/me on such an adventure... Beverly...thanks for carrying me along and bringing the GPS system- I am so inspired by you! Wow!
M.. thanks for driving us back to the city safely... oops...
G... thanks for your encouragement, getting me to do this ss.., your friendship.
J... you go girl! your were fierce..
C.. thanks for the support at the finish line..
LF... get your Grove on!
R... rocks... thanks for telling me the truth about your blisters... . you did this again, why?
E.. You are stronger than you think... get well and embrace the moment..
Great to know that we all met the challenge, endured the struggle together, although the process was horrendous and the paths were different we still achieved the objective... to complete 26.2 miles with no one walking alone... God Bless," D
"...You're such a strong, compassionate woman! Thank you for all your extras: extra laughs, extra chats, extra emails, extra food, and extra walks that you did to make sure no one was behind!
I hope all of you are recovering well. If you're like me, you would be rewinding your mental video tape of the 26.2 mile walk and playing it again and again in your mind! What a day of journey was it!
...I'd like thank you everyone for being there. I couldn't have done it without you guys! Also, those two women that I walked with the last 5-6 miles were wonderful! I owed them a lot! I wish I had asked their contact info. I also would like to thank the blisters, too. I've been wondering why why why I was getting all those blisters in my feet. But, now I realized that in fact they made me forget about my knee pain, which I would have taken more seriously, and eventually got me going till the finish line. Thank you everyone!" E
"Hi everyone -...I wanted to thank all of you wonderful women for welcoming me into process even though my plans varied wildly during that week before the marathon and my goals differed. I can't believe I'm saying this - but I looking forward to the next marathon and hope that others are well. (There is always the Minneapolis Marathon next year.)
Also, I can't tell you how cool it was to get cheered on throughout the course because of the bumper stickers. Many people yelled "Go Obama" or something like that. Others cheered because I was walking a fast clip. I may have gotten a few folks interested in walking a marathon." - c
"I hope you are able to give yourself the time today to realize the impact you have made towards all the women who have participated in the marathon. You have certainly impacted my life in a positive way through our friendship." R
"Three days later..............
Aunt Shirley.. I feel like I have a new Aunt to know and love.
LB. It has been an experience. You have such compassion about whatever you do hich inspired all of us to walk the 26.2 miles. Thank you for introducing us to your Aunt Shirley
M... Thank goodness you were able to drive us back to G's house. I also enjoyed our companionship this weekend. What do you think about Social Workers now? LOL
G... I don't know about you but D and I are crossing doing a marathon off our list, but I am looking forward to doing the 10K with th two of you on July 25th.
J.... I like your spirit. You have your own mind and are not afraid to stand up for what you believe. You decided you were not going to wear a chip on you shoe and didn't - you go girl!
C... I am glad you accomplished your goal of finishing the race and completing it in 6ish hours. Girlfriend ish time has always worked for me. I, like D, was very happy to see your face when we crossed the line an hour ish after you - LOL
LF... I enjoyed getting to know you during one of the training walks down Summit and the time we spent together during the 26.2
R... Didn't get a chance to ask, were you blister free this time? What can we invent so one never has to get blisters, we could make a ton ofmoney.
E... Good way of thinking about the blisters (thinking about them took your mind off knee pain). I'm glad you made it across the line, I know how it feels to just want to do something familiar (for you being with your family) after doing something so unfamiliar like walking 26.2 miles in the hot sun." B
*
"There are two kinds of family - - the one that we are given and the one we create for ourselves."
"Congratulations!! Awesome website, and a job well done!" Linda T. (Gloria's co-worker)
"I'm so proud of you. Take care of yourself. Thank you for the pictures." Wytisha (Gloria's daughter)
"Truly Amazing!!
Get that foot together there's change to be made!
Take care of yourself Aunt Jean.
Love ya."
Tiff
"Gloria,CONGRATULATIONS!!! Your story is truly inspiring - thanks for sharing your experience. I am so proud of your accomplishment!! YOU DID IT!!" Meghan
"You rock!!!!!" Helen (Gloria's co-worker)
"That's great auntie." Patricia (Gloria's niece)
"You go GIRL! Maybe I will join you next time........Not! Love you." Wil (Gloria's brother)
"Way to go Aunty! You can do whatever you put your mind to and you're never too old to accomplish any feat. Your nephew is very proud of you. Love you!" Derrick
"Hi Gloria, Wytisha told me you did it. Congrats that is so awsome. We can do all thing through Christ who strengthen us. Now what is your next goal. Take care." Carolyn
"CONGRATULATIONS....I just read the e-mail that Wytisha forwarded to me concerning you experience walking and finishing The Duluth GRANDMA'S Marathon. From the way you described all you went through you had to have learned a lots about people and yourself. Although I have never walked a marathon myself I have friends that have and like you they have all said that actually making it to the finishing line isn't a joke, for some it was a ance in a lifetime experience and for some they couldn't wait to do it again just to beat their own time. Anyway I can say I am proud of you and say "YOU GO GIRL"." Carl
"Congrats, Gloria!!! I knew you finished because I was tracking your progress online on the Grandma's website on Sunday. I forgot to tell you ahead of time that the best part of a marathon is the support you get from total strangers. Sometimes I had trouble breathing because they were choking me up! Take good care of your owies, and bask in the glow of your achievement!" Dan
"WOW....this deserves a huge*********************************C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !" Paula (Gloria's co-worker)
"My dear friend and Sister,
I'm sooooooooooooooo very very very very very proud of you. I thank and Bless The Lord for encouraging you and the Grace and Favor to finish this race...Phil 4:13...came through for you again(lol) Don't worry "by His stripes you are healed"......will make a trip over there to see you soon..It is well." Adejoke (Gloria's co-worker)
"Hi everyone -
I wanted to thank G for her beautiful reminder of all that we accomplished and then realized I wanted to thank everyone. I've been moved by the list of blessings posted and decided to create my own.
For me, the marathon was just one point on an incredible journey. This journey has included pain, sadness, joy, excitement and sense of pride. It began in Jan, when I signed up for Grandma's, stretched through March, April and May when I joined this wonderful group of women on Sunday walks and is still marching forward.
LB - Your vision and energy brought together a group of women from a variety of backgrounds and coached us to complete this ridiculous goal. I vividly remember our first walk in which you and I talked and walked down Summit. I don't usually share with people, but I did with you and continued throughout the process. Thank you. I am looking forward to training for Twin Cities and hope we can do a bit of it together.
R - You make me smile. I really appreciated getting to know you during the Sunday walks. You were one of the reasons I would get out of bed that early. You go girl!
E - You are sooooo cool. You created this goal and you achieved this goal. You continued when others around you said you were crazy. I also want to thank you for sharing with us you personal spiritual path. That conversation has stayed with me and has caused me to review my own spiritual path. Enjoy your retreat!!!
D - We only went on a few walks together, but when I think of you, I think of a woman with the amazing inner strength and a great smile. Good luck in the future, but I don't think you will need luck. You will make it happen.
M- I'm so glad I had the opportunity to walk with on Sunday mornings. You kept it real. You kept it funny. You kept me going on some of those mornings. Thank you.
G - I think we only managed to meet once before the marathon, but I want to thank you for your "you-can-do-it" attitude and facilitating a lively way to get to know each other at dinner on Friday.
J- I want to thank the universe for sitting me next to you at dinner of Friday. You are funny, insightful and I hope our paths cross again.
B - 10k, half-marathon, marathon...ultra-marathon? You are the epitome of setting a goal and creating the steps to get to that goal.
LF - If I have one regret it is that we weren't able to spend more time together. I've enjoyed our conversations and the energy you bring.
I hope everyone has a great summer." c
"Often time we go through life taken all for granted; we forget to take a second to smell the roses; bathe in the sunshine; listen to the whispers/words of the wind; and appreciate the company of a friend.
Today, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate and reflect on this 'amazing' journey to the June 20, 2009 Duluth's Grandma's Marathon!
I first heard about the Duluth Grandma's Marathon when I was working at Merrill Lynch in the 80's; I had no clue as to what it was or about - I had just gotten here from Alabama and a marathon for grandma's - WTH?? My co-workers were all ablaze about it - if I recall correctly there were several who during the 10 years I was with Merrill Lynch participated in it - me - still no interest or thoughts about it really.
Fast forward 20 years later.. me connected in the same sentence with this event how UNLIKELY!! and as a 'participant" - no way!! I knew that I "could" do this; yet I am still reflecting back 20 years and in disbelief. Was the seed already planted??
Let me count my many blessings:
LB - thank you so much. I wonder if you get tired of hearing that! oh well here it goes again, thank you for your belief in me - thank you for
never wavering in your faith in me. Thank you for being a friend. I will be forever grateful for your kindness and support throughout this entire
journey. I will especially hold you dear and I will always remember mile 21 in Duluth 6/20/09. I know God had to be with you - how you manage to carry 2 struggling team members were truly an act of God. Especially since I know you were having your own struggles. Thank you for bringing me along this extraordinary journey.
D- One thing I know for sure - once you make-up your mind to do something - just go ahead and bank on it. I am always in awe of your
achievements! You are truly awesome. You created your check list and as you promised yourself - the marathon is now DONE! You are an inspiration and a friend.
B - thank you for your contribution to the group! You are an inspiration. See you in July for our next one ... what 6.2 miles... piece of
cake...LOL
E - you are truly "AMAZING". I know how you struggled from mile 16/17 or so and yet you would not give in - how STRONG you are?? If they didn't know before - they'd better ask somebody!! You totally ROCK! AWESOME!!! You have the will of steel! You go Girl!!!
R - You are such an inspiration - you did this before and you WANTED to do it again... Groovy.. ooh is that an old phrase... Groovy... well
okay... AWESOME! Do you have another one in you? Thank you for being a part of this you made it special.
M... My oh my!! Girl you know how you were impressing me! Truly amazing! Thank you for the laugh - you are quite funny you know - thank you! Wishing you best on your upcoming marathon.. can't remember if you said it was the TC Marathon or what. Let me know - just in case I can come out and "support/cheer" you. I've decided being on the cheering side of a marathon is just FINE! We need cheerers, too. Thank you. PS the next time I am in the neighborhood I'll be sure to check our your yard!!! LOL
J- you have a beautiful walking pace. Thank you for being a part of this group. You are truly amazing!
C - You go girl! Happy you were able to accomplish your goal of completing this in 6 hours or so - IMPRESSIVE! You are an inspiration!
LF - Thank you for being on board! It was wonderful to see some height - other than my own :o)! Thank you for keeping it light on the route -
don't know how you managed to that but thank you! Thank you for reminding the cheerers to cheer - I got a kick out of that. Thanks for the
cowbell! :o) :o)
And last but not least:
Auntie Shirley - thank you so much. That you were willing to host 10 women - most of them strangers- in your home - ARE YOU CRAZY???? Nah, thank you what a kind and beautiful soul you are. I count you as one of my many blessings. Thank you for your hospitality and thoughtfulness. Thank you for being willing with a good attitude of opening up your home to us. You have a beautiful place and it feels like home. I love your garden and your plants. Thank you for the beautiful clippings of the Lipstick plant. I will keep you posted as to how it is doing. I did end up going to the doctor for the blisters on my foot; more for caution than anything else; because it was so massive and painful I thought it best to know for sure what I was up against. Again, thank you for caring.
To you all thank you for the love and support! Thank you for the journey of a lifetime - I feel totally enriched and empowered to have completed this with such strong women and ones who embraces change.
During the course of this journey I have learned so much about my self... I have learned that I can do "anything" if I want to. I have learned that life really is 10% and 90% of reaction- attitude. I have learned that in the end it really is up to me - only I can make the changes I want in my life. I have learned that girlfriends are nice indeed. I have learned that friends come in all sizes, colors, shapes, economical woes, addictions, - that the truth of the matter is we are all wanting and needing the same thing - validation.
This marathon has meant a lot to me and one thing I know for sure - I HAVE TO BE THE CHANGE I WANT TO SEE - that it all starts with me.
Until we meet again have a wonderful, fun and safe summer!!" G
"OMG - that is AWESOME!" Holly (Gloria's coworker)
"Gloria,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! I am standing here in my office crying!!!! I am so proud of you!!!! It sounds like an experience that you will never forget.
WAY TO GO GIRL!!!!!!!" Gail (Gloria's co-worker)
"Fabulous : )" Sara (friend of Linda B.)
"I can see from the photos that you all created wonderful community. How cool!!!" Bonnie (friend of Linda B.)
"congratulations on completing another Grandma's -- and with such a fun group. makes the celebration even better." Carol (marathon walker and friend of Linda B.)
"...To answer D's question, why I chose to participate in the marathon again,...It was an incredible experience training and getting to know everyone. And being able to walk with most of you during the race was wonderful. You guys have encouraged me to keep on remaining active and to improve my fitness level...Thank you all for the words of encouragement, food, reality checks, and a great positive attitude before during and after the race. It was truly an honor to be a part of this group. And, I will probably do another marathon at some point...Peace," R
Sorry this is late but a big WOW for your 26 mile Grandma Marathon walk. Way to go!!! Anne Marie (Gloria's co-worker)
