Hi all!

December sure came and went as if in a rush, but doesn't it always? Well, this is the official word: coming waaaaaaay under my goal of six hours, I finished the Honolulu Marathon in 5:59:25, and I have the photos to prove it!

It wasn't bad at all, and I only felt like throwing up for a couple of minutes after I crossed the finish. On mile 9 the top 3 males passed me, they were on mile 26, and about 3 minutes later the wheelchairs whizzed by.

On race day there were about 28,000 entrants of which 22,020 finished. There were about 2,500 runners and walkers for the Leukemia Society, and 300 or so coaches, mentors, and volunteers along the route. We raised over $8,000,000 for this race. I placed 13,696 of the 22,050 finishers, and 4,473 of 9,311 women.

Hawaii was very beautiful, but there's no place like home... in that California spirit, please, don't forget to stop and send your good vibes to my cousin Ben who is still doing battle. In fact, let's all send him some ooey gooey lovey vibes right now...

I hope you have enjoyed my one-sided chats, we all know how I like to talk! I would like to thank you for the $2,956 that, as a group, you parted with, revel in the knowledge that you kept me from going door- to-door to pester my neighbors.

When I first spoke to you in September, I presented you with a metaphor from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. At one point in his adventure he comes to a ledge, he looks down to see how far he will fall if he fails the leap, and sees no bottom. There is no guarantee that he will not fall if he jumps, and there is also no guarantee that he will fall if he jumps.

Perceived failures and successes are in the eye of the beholder. Is it worse to fail or worse to never try? Life is a journey, not a destination. I think that it's going to be a good year, don't you?

May the road rise to meet you,
and the wind be at your back.

Stephanie D. Anderson