Today was the Glass City Marathon here in Toledo.
As has been the case for as long as we've lived in our house (I think), the course for the full marathon snakes through our neighborhood.
This year the kids decided they wanted to go out and cheer on the runners, just like we did last year. We didn't make any signs, but when they arrived at the intersection the runners would be crossing one of our neighbors enlisted the kids to help pass out water to the runners.
As the girls passed out small cups of water from the "unofficial" water table, I stood on the sidewalk, cheering on the runners.
At one point Emma decided to head across the street to "get closer" to the runners. Suddenly I heard Kevin say "there's a firefighter running in full gear."
I looked up from my phone just in time to catch this moment:
And I heard him say "thanks sweetie" and he kept on moving.
Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with the local news, the Toledo Fire Department lost two of their own in an apartment fire in January. So I thought this firefighter might be running in his full gear to honor those fallen brothers.
Tonight, I saw this story on our local ABC affiliate - the firefighter taking the water from Emma is Brian Hackenburg from the Perkins Township Fire Department. He ran 26.2 miles wearing 42 pound of turnout gear...and he was doing it to honor the memory of his fallen brothers.
He finished the marathon in 5 hours. And he was still wearing his full turnout gear.
Amazing.
And inspiring.
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