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Friday, July 13, 2012

Rock and Roll New Orleans Marathon Weekend Part 1: DetermiNation Team Brunch

I know, I know…it’s been FOUR months! What’s wrong with me?  Why even bother now?

Well, I knew in the back of my mind that this recap from start to finish would be very time consuming to put together, so I procrastinated…and procrastinated….and procrastinated some more. I apologize, especially to those who emailed and asked about this recap.

Since this was my 2nd Full Marathon AND I raised money (with your help) to run the race with the American Cancer Society’s DetermiNation Team, it definitely warrants a recap to me! :0)

If you didn’t see my race recap on Claim Your Journey, check it out here.

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Jason and I decided to leave on Saturday morning to drive into New Orleans. The DetermiNation weekend schedule included a Team Brunch for noon.

We made it – and we stayed in the ACS DetermiNation host hotel! :0)

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The DoubleTree!

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Our room was ready upon check in, so we dropped off our bags, then headed to the meeting area to check in!

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List of DetermiNation events for the day.

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Socialization time prior to the brunch…

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We ran into a few fellow teammates - Ariel and Garrett!

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Team Brunch

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I’m not going to lie – the food was “just ok”….nothing special or spectacular.

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My favorite part?

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Dessert! Good old traditional New Orleans Bread Pudding!

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I loved how they incorporated the “Happy Birthday” theme into the table decor! Nice touch! :0)

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After we ate, we heard from several guest speakers – one of them being Claim Your Journey’s very own Brandon Williams! He did a spectacular job and spoke about his running journey and tied it in with a family member of his who battled cancer.

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I loved the quotes from the video that played throughout the brunch. Very inspiring! :0)

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All of the survivors in the room were asked to stand – it was amazing to see how many survivors were also running this race! Major kudos to them! 

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Katie and Erin! Two fabulous teammates! :0)

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After the brunch, we walked together as a team to the Expo, then broke up to shop!!

Up next: The Expo and Singlet Decorating Party!

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