sweet race

emotions run high after a race, so it is almost unfair to propose marriage at the finish line. still, i think this cap times story is the cutest ever...

The time was right for romance at the Madison Marathon finish line Sunday when Dan Hogan met Gaby Canseco with a small jewelry box and a big question: "Will you marry me?"

A shocked Canseco, who had just crossed the line at the Alliant Energy Center after finishing a half-marathon, looked like her knees might buckle. But she managed a nod.

"I had no idea!" Canseco, 24, of Waterford exclaimed. Hogan, 26, of Naperville, Ill., said he chose the finish line of their first race together after the couple tried time and again to run past races only to be thwarted by one thing and another. On Sunday, he raced to the finish line to be there waiting for her.

The couple had not yet thought about a wedding date, they said. "I'm not sure she said 'yes' yet," Hogan said.

take your time, ms. canseco, but you might want to give mr. hogan a few points for romance and creativity.

my race was less eventful, but i had my own hokey marathon moment. about mile 19, i was fading fast and stumbling through madison's gorgeous arboretum. i looked up to see a hawk soaring and swooping above, while nevertheless remaining almost perfectly still. inspired and chastened, i tried to run with an economy of motion, rather than my usual pounding and flailing. this carried me nicely from about 20 to 23, when everything gets a bit easier in a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel sort of way. the weather was perfect and i finished smiling at 3:51 -- resolving, of course, to do a bit better in the next one.