Seattle Marathon 2009 - Not Quite Sunny

Then again, the sun is overrated.

My butt hurts because earlier today I finished the Seattle Marathon in 3:23:31 (7:46 mi/min pace, official), a result for which I am happy given the difficulty of the course, my persistent and strong effort, and, maybe best yet, the absence of any muscle cramping.

It's a beautiful course as one would expect from such a beautiful city, and for today, at least, there was not a drop of rain, not even any of those teensy Seattle-size raindrops that always seem minutes away. I say that as though I would have minded the rain had it fallen, but I wouldn't have minded it at all.

I thank all the volunteers who were out in surprisingly large numbers, and I offer a special bit of praise to the Seattle Atheists, who operated one of the first water stations along the course. I was surprised, delighted, and encouraged to see their "we believe in you" banner.