And then they were One

"Thank you for reaching out and taking these photos.  They truly capture the essence of the moment. As I scrolled through them I was filled with the same joy and emotion as I was that very cold, but great morning.
 
The two other gentlemen are my sons and this was the first marathon we have all completed together.  I had actually run Philadelphia in 1999 with my son Steven and Philadelphia 2001 with my son Mike, but in all of our years running, were never able to do one as a group.  This was their Father’s Day present to me in 2016.  I was sidelined with a back injury in the fall of 2013 which required surgery in December of 2013.  It was a struggle to run in most of 2014, but my son Mike, a seasoned sub 3 marathoner, Boston finisher and coach, helped me through. After running a 10K and half in 2015, my sons signed us all up for Philly.  My goal was to qualify for Boston, but really just wanted to spend the day with my sons and enjoy our time together.  After arriving at the start line with the howling winds and cold temperatures, any thoughts of Boston were gone.  We ran, we laughed, we ached but we were together. 

The first time I looked at my watch was at the finish line and that was when I realized my sons had carried me through to a Boston qualifying time. 

The pure joy you capture in your photos was overwhelming.  It was the culmination of many lonely miles run in training for all of us, since we live several states apart.  Our first time running together in the last 5 years was at the start line."