Matthew Pontifes, you're my hero, and you deserve your name in the paper.
Pontifes, a 16-year-old from Pearland, Texas, was the last official finisher of Sunday's Houston Marathon with the time of 6 hours, 13 minutes, 42 seconds.
He crossed the line just before the 6:20-mark when the marathon officially ended.
I'm sure there weren't many people there cheering him on other than a few family and friends as well as the workers who were anxiously waiting to begin taking everything down.
To me, you're just as phenomenal as winner Tariku Jufar, who would have finished some five minutes behind you — on his third time around.
In fact, all the 4,837 people who finished in between Jufar and Pontifes, are my heroes. Included in that group is my wife and two of her friends.
For my wife it was her fourth marathon, and it was the first for her friends.
As I sat near the finish line watching people pass through, the expressions on their faces varied: joy, exhaustion, exhilaration, pain and relief.
Too bad I can't write a story about all 4,839 of them because we would all be edified, uplifted, determined, and encouraged.
I'm sure some were running for a fallen or ill friend or family member; others were running to raise money for a worthy cause, while others were running just for themselves.
For those running their first, they can now scratch “run a marathon” off their bucket list, like Pontifes.
“I am now officially a marathon finisher:) 2.6.2 miles :D okay now Time for food and relaxin:)),” he said on his Facebook page.
I'm sure there are many more finishers saying the same thing.
My hat goes off to all of you who ran and officially finished the Houston Marathon.
My hat goes off to all that started, but didn't finish due to injury or some other reason.
My hat goes off to all of you who started and finished, but weren't recognized because you didn't finish in the allotted time. In my mind, you feat is just as impressive.
Your drive, diligence, guts and determination to run a marathon is admirable.
Wear you finisher shirt with pride; display your medal in place in your home where all visitors can see it. Pat yourself on the back.
You're not longer just a runner, you're a marathon finisher.

Jay Hinton is editor of the Crowley Star and may be reached at crowleystar@thestargroup.com.