Jim's Race

Brian's boss, Jim, is an endurance runner.  He runs about 30 miles on any given Saturday, so marathons are easy for him and he really never has to train for one.  He is pretty good at helping his employees/friends run their marathons and pace them if they need him.  Jim has participated in 50Ks, 50 milers, and other ultra marathons.  It was no shocker when Jim decided to try the Boulder 100 mile race twice and unfortunately he DNF (Did Not Finish) both of those.  The first was due to an injury, the second due to hypothermia.  So, this year he was bound and determined to finish a 100 mile race, he signed up for the Pony Express 100 mile here in Utah.  
He asked Brian at the beginning of summer to help him if he needed.  Bri told him he would be happy to help him out.  About a month ago, Jim confirmed that he would indeed need his help with the race.  Jim also asked Lynn and Shane (Bri's co-workers) to help him.  Jim stated that he needed to supply his own crew, because this race was a non-supported race.  So, after a meeting, emails and lots of conversations, they felt that the crew and runner were ready for this race.
Yesterday, at 5:00 AM the race started.  Jim's wife, Erin, and their neighbor were his crew for the first half of the race.  Then Lynn, Shane and Bri were to pick up the second half and then get him to the finish line.  Bri told me that Jim was planning to finish around 9:00 AM today.  So, this morning I loaded up the kiddos and headed out west, it was a 2.5 hour ride to the finish line.  We arrived about 8:30 AM, a few minutes later Erin showed up.  We waited so anxiously, the race coordinators told us that they had 4 runners out.  The first came in the wrong way, walking but he made it.  We waited.  The second came in walking with his pacer limping.  Brian and Shane showed up and told us that they were measuring how far Jim had to go.  They were going back so Bri could run with Jim and Lynn, then Shane would drive back, park and run to met them  We waited.  The third came in walking and I spoke to his pacer, Jim was a mile or so behind.  We waited.  The race coordinators, told us that Jim had about 3 miles. We waited.  Shane showed up and told us that when he left them they had 2.7 miles to go.  Shane parked and started to run back to the group.   We waited with about 50 minutes left of the race.  (This race had to be completed in 30 hours or less; if you did not make the time, then you received a DNF.)  Erin and I got somethings out of Lynn's car and then we waited.  We waited with 20 minutes left, we began to sweat bullets.  Just then, Erin says "I've got people," she had been looking through binoculars.  With that, we could see them and we knew that he would make the deadline.  
As we watched them come towards the finish line, I asked Erin "Are they running?"  She said, "Yes."  I could not believe my eyes, here was Jim with all 3 pacers running to the finish line with mere minutes left.  And he was running.  The pacers got him within 50 feet of the finish line and let him finish on his own.  Erin and I held the tape as he crossed.  He did it in 29:48:35. 

As we were getting him to the car, after resting and some fresh bagels from Rich's.  He thanked his crew and stated he would not have been able to do it without them.  He had tears in his eyes, because they helped him "see the dream."  It was an amazing race to see, even though he finished last, HE FINISHED.  He did it!  His crew made it possible by encouraging him, blasting music with a huge speaker that made the moments even better, put Santa on top of the crew car with "run Jamel" in glow sticks.  After seeing this, it truly made my heart swell, 3 friends came together for 1 friend to help him make his dream come true.  Way to go crew!  Way to go Jim, way to go!!!