Chris, a dental school student in Omaha, hates running. Absolutely hates it. His girlfriend, Kaitlyn, a student at Truman State in Missouri, loves running and signed up for the Music City Marathon in Nashville. An ever-supportive boyfriend, Chris flies into Nashville to surprise her the morning of the race. Already stunned and happy to see him, she is doubly shocked when he lets her know he has been secretly training for months to run the race with her. (I overheard her say, "I feel like my alarm clock is going to ring and I'm going to wake up!" All the pre-finish line pictures were taken surreptitiously. I kept pretending to shoot in all directions, hoping she wouldn't suspect.) 

So, they run together, chat, catch up, and THEN, when they cross the finish line, the race commentators hand him a microphone. You guessed it. He is about to propose. I wish I had a transcript of what he said. Somewhere in there was “You're the best friend I've ever had, and I just can't wait one more day to ask if you'll be my best friend for the rest of our lives” (or something like that said much more eloquently.) He pulls out a ring box. Takes a knee. (I’m tearing up right now thinking about it.) Kaitlyn (beautiful girl) has this expression of... well... a description won’t do it justice. Photos below show the story of the day: Chris waiting for Kaitlyn to show up. Joyful reunion. Kaitlyn's surprise and disbelief. Mile three of the race. Crossing the finish line. Proposal. And joy-love.

Chris waits for Kaitlyn to arrive