Thunder Road Marathon
Charlotte, NC
Saturday, December 9, 2006

Time to Celebrate

Joe with his 1st place Age Group (25-29) trophy.

Closeup of Joe's hardware.

Karen and Chuck - always good to have friends waiting at the finish line,
especially those who go "way back"

Not only did Santa Ron continue his tradition of having a beautiful woman put
his medal around his neck, but he got a bonus kiss (from Wendy, #1 Scream
Teamer and his wife)

Chuck and Ron. The mentor and the student.

This was a special day for me (Ron). Chuck convinced me to try something unreasonably
difficult - running 26.2 miles - back in 1996. It changed my life. We've shared runs
and flights (we're both pilots) and adventures across and out of the country, and
the friendship is one of those you hope to find in a lifetime. Chuck is a survivor of
prostate cancer, since his successful surgery each day has taken on a new meaning.
This day marked not only a reunion of our running together, but a celebration of life itself.
We ran for what God has done for both of us - and we ran as a celebration of the lives of
others, like Liz Itter in Arizona, whose amazing story continues to touch people around the world.

Liz, we had a good time today. Thanks for coming along!

Ron with George, a fellow local Charlotte runner

When Ron was picking up his packet, they asked "last name?". He replied
"Horton" at the same time the guy right behind him said "Horton". So
there were TWO "R Hortons" from Charlotte running this marathon. This is Ray.

Being Santa all day can wear you out...

A combined 68.6 miles later - Karen, Chuck, Ron, Joe

Ron and Wendy. After cheering him along all day, she gets to hold him up!

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ps: One More Thing

There were rumors that the Grinch was spotted after the Marathon, but we wouldn't
know anything about that....