SCRANTON, Pa. — Under the cover of the bleachers at Memorial Stadium, runners were stretching out and preparing for the Scranton Half Marathon, which for some has been a long time coming.
"It's been something that I always wanted to do. And this was it got canceled due to COVID. And then, this past year, I had COVID for race day. So this has just been like kind of three years in the making for me," said Justin Wall, Pittston.
Many were prepared to run, sure, but the rain wasn't something they were planning on. However, they were not going to let it keep them from the finish line.
"It's not the best conditions, but it could be worse. I mean, I think it's just the challenge that I'm excited for, and knowing that I did something like this, it's going to be really rewarding in the end," said Monserreth, Camachoayala, Scranton.
"I'm not excited about the rain, but I've worked so hard that I will do anything to run. Rain, snow, sleet, I'm running," said Grace Miller, Archbald.
"Yesterday, it was beautiful. I wish it could have been yesterday, but kind of just have to find a way to overcome it, and everybody's running in the same conditions," said Wall.
"Ready for a great race, and I hope we get a little more rain, so bring on the rain, haha," said David Buckman, Forty Fort.
Luckily for the runners, fans cheering on the sidelines and volunteers handing out water along the route were of a similar mindset.
"It's very cold and rainy. So I mean, they're out here they're doing what I couldn't, which is running in this weather, so I'm proud of them," said Peter Pavuk, Volunteer.
Not an easy time there, congrats to everyone who ran Sunday in Scranton.
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