The day before Halloween was an amazing day for me and my family! I was fortunate to have won the Avis "We Try Harder" award which is given to 2 athletes per year. I want to thank Avis for this great award. I was asked to attend the marathon press conference where I met last years male winner, Marilson Gomes dos Santos from Brazil. I also met this amazing man Vincent Corso who I shared the Avis award with. He used to weigh over 300 pounds and is now down to 160 pounds. He plans on finishing the marathon in about 3 1/2 hours. Everyone at the press conference was really nice to me and my mother, father, Michael and Kate were all there.
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I know the press conference was for the media but I ended up asking Marilson if he had any advice for me as a first time marathoner. He said I should be "patient" which made a lot of sense to me but my dad thought he said "finish" which also made sense. So I'll take both words to heart.

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Last night I went to the Achilles Dinner and it was delicious and great. I saw so many friends and it was a special night. I felt so good that I wanted the marathon to start right away.
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The new weather forecast for the marathon is sunny so I won't have to wear as many layers as I thought.
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