Marathon Boston

I started at the front; when the starting gun went off, I was gone immediately and got off to a good start. Together with two men, I was in the lead. Up to 3 miles, more of the men caught up, which allowed me to run nicely in between them and stay out of the wind—that's always nice—and wow, what a crowd! It really felt like the mass of people was pushing me forward; at times it felt like I was at a Justin Bieber concert... such a magical feeling, and really, I enjoyed it so much! Many people around me were saying from the sidelines, "Oh girl, look at that smile, I love it!" and I knew that I was also the first woman in the para group, which gave me even more energy, but... I was enjoying myself so much that I missed my alarm on my watch, so I only realized at km 8, "Oh, I should have taken my gel"... but oh well, just keep going, I thought at the time. But at 15 km things went wrong... I felt my body boiling, I was incredibly thirsty, my heart was racing, and I started getting cramps in my legs. I thought then, "Okay, I have 2 options... either I keep running and risk not finishing because I'm going to collapse, or I walk now to a certain point and then keep running so that I *can* finish," so that's what I did. It got tough, and I saw that that Sub3 wasn't going to happen anymore, but I had one goal in mind... finish and bring in the first of the 6 stars. The crowd gave me so much energy that I felt like I had wings, and there it was... the finish line! I It came over him and my legs gave way, but I heard my coach shouting "GREAT JOB ESMEE!" I asked medical help to go to him and they pushed me in the back to walk towards him, and when I gave him a hug and I heard him say "I'm so proud of you... you push yourself so hard," everything faded away... I was so happy. After that, I was taken to the medical tent for some tests. It turned out that I was deficient in salt and electrolytes (although I don't understand it because I definitely took those electrolytes while running). I asked if Rose could come, just someone I know well. When Rose was allowed in and I saw her, I burst into tears... it was so nice to see someone I knew, someone I trusted. After about an hour, I could take baby steps again and we headed to the hotel, and only then did I realize... I came first!