My brother- first time 1/2 marathoner!!

Meet my oldest brother Eric (and his adorable son / my nephew Joseph) 

There are 6 years between my brother and I, so growing up, our age + different interests meant we didn't really have much in common.
I was "the runner" of the family, Eric was "the baseball player" and Andy was "the football player."
 Now I may be getting my story mixed up, but from what I can recall, it was back in the spring 2010, when Eric decided to pick up running as a way to lose a little bit of weight and get in better shape. We occassionally chatted about the dos and don'ts of running, enough to get him started, but I didn't think it would last. As he felt more comfortable with his ability, he began signing up for 5ks left and right, always hoping to beat the previous race's time.

Before long he graduated from 5ks and wanted to race a longer distance. During Thanksgiving, him and I ran the Turkey Trot 5 miler (both of our first times racing a 5 mile distance) which you can read about HERE. Although the race sucked for both of us in terms of how we were feeling, we both surprised ourselves with our times.

Before the Turkey Trot

I went on to beginning my '50 1/2s in 50 states quest' and Eric kept running (to the best of my knowledge) but  more maintenance than building up mileage.

Unbeknownst to me, as I would recap my races / adventures, Eric started to get inspired to see if he too could one day run a half marathon- thus deciding to sign up for the  15th Annual Air Force Marathon (since its practically in our backyard in Dayton, Oh)

Once the school year ended in May (hes a teacher and baseball coach) he began a training program to prepare for this race and from what I was told- was RELIGIOUS about sticking to the runs. Our conversations became more frequent as he was going through a lot of the 'trial and error' aspect of what works for longer runs, dealing with heat, etc.

About 1.5 months before the race, I decided that since he was serious about doing well, I wanted to come home and pace him to what his goal time was... plus a trip home is always fun.

My parents were gracious enough to buy me a flight home to save mileage on my car, so once back in Dayton I met up at Eric's house and we made our way to the expo! He already went the day before, but decided to go back to get some goods!

Entrance leading into the expo.

As far as the expo itself- not as big as I expected. Instead of being in a large room, the expo was set up around the upper deck of the Nutter Center- which is an arena. Whats nice about the set up is that its spread out so you literally just walk the outer perimeter of the arena before you come to an end where you're forced to walk down into arena to get your bib and bag. The con side is you had no idea what companies were there until you walked into them.

I managed to get a great steal- 3 for $30 on Chica Bands! I know there are so many headband companies out there- for me, it just depends on who has the best deal at the time / what are the best designs. Found a great matching band for my running skirt, and as an added bonus, 2 pairs of my FAVORITE running socks Thorlo socks in pink and magenta! They don't carry these at my local fleet feet, so I'm always looking at expos for these bad boys. 

Eric spotted this gem and knowing my love for taking photos with mascots, he suggested asking Mr. Newbalance (which I have NEVER seen before) for a photo opp.

We heard a speaker behind a curtain, so we peaked to see who it was- Dr. Mark Cucuzella who was talking about the benefits of barefoot running or using a minimalist shoe. A lot of the information I already knew, however it was fascinating learning about body positioning and compensation etc that your body already does when running in certain types of shoes

After listening to him for an hour (something I've never really done at an expo before) we head home, eventually have dinner, then depart ways. 

Eric sent me a photo of his pre race outfit, which I thought was cute how excited he was, so I decided to do the same.... FYI it was going to be chilly at the start, hence the multiple shirts so he could take it off and put at bag drop

I wanted to be as bright as possible so my mom, dad, Tracie (Eric's gf) and little Joseph could easily spot us. I think I NAILED it. Also my first time using arm sleeves- yikes!

Up next- our race report!!!!