Boston Marathon- April 16^th, 2007

http://www.baa.org/

We have always wanted to run the Boston Marathon, however we knew that we would never be able to qualify for it.  Given this, we decided to join the marathon by sponsoring a charity.  This was a great way to experience one of the oldest and prestigious marathon’s in the world as well as provide funding to a much needed cause.

Race Day

The night before the race the Race Director was still unsure as to whether the race would be held due to a Nor’easter that was coming in!   There was trepidition amongst all the runners that we talked to at the expo.  Many folks were just plain wondering what they were going to wear for the marathon if it happens to take place! The weather prediction for race day was 30 degrees and potentially3 to 5 inches of rain with winds from 20-25 miles per hour!  They also had medical alerts out warning runners to watch for possible hypothermia.  I am going to tell you right now, we were scared to death.  Just running without wind is difficult enough.  Now we had to prepare our minds for running in very cold, wet weather with strong winds.  To be honest, I think in the back of my mind, I was hoping for cancellation!  Another unique occurrence during this race was that there was an astronaut running the race in space on a treadmill at the same time of the marathon.  In addition, there was the third running of the Iraq/Boston marathon in Iraq!  It felt great to be able to be a part of history!

The race is on!  We were shuttled to the start line where we all sat inside Hopkinton High School until it was time to walk to the start line.  Thank goodness that they had inside shelter as it had been raining for quite awhile and there was no way that we would have been able to keep dry if we had to stand outside.  Many runners did go into the tents outside as well.  We brought plastic bags to keep us warm and as dry as possible during the race.  Plastic was definitely the fashion trend at this years Boston Marathon!

The race started out very very cold and it was raining steadily.  Usually when we run races we end up taking off of our jackets and putting them around our waist.  This did not happen in this race.  It got colder and colder as the day went on.

Luckily the wind was not like the night before or even how it was earlier that morning about 4 a.m.   All along the path we had to dodge  lake sized puddles.   What was amazing to me is that eventhough the weather was very very disrupting and nasty, the crowds still showed up! In fact they were sometimes 2-3 deep on the sidelines!  At mile 11 you could hear the Wellesley College screamers that were about 2 miles up the road! The girls lined the streets with signs that said “kiss me”, “ I’m smart”   The girls definitely helped to uplift spirits and this was definitely needed during this time in the race!

After the half it was hill time.  Rolling hills for the next five miles into I hit Heartbreak Hill at mile 20. These hills were tough, as you can imagine.  Many runners were on the sidelines stretching and tending to possible injuries. It seemed as though the hills just never stopped.  I cannot tell you how relieved I was after heartbreak hill!  On the other hand, I will tell you the winds were very strong now and the clouds were very gray, I knew I had to get moving before the weather got any worse! This definitely made me keep my pace up!

I  remember running across the finish line, colder then I have ever been! Excited to receive my foil blanket and get back to the room as soon as possible for a hot shower!  I will have to say, eventhough the weather was the worst in the history of Boston Marathon, the race was so well organized that it was a great race!

Memories

• Freaking out on the bad weather reports
• Staying up to watch to see the weather and wondering if cancellation
• Leaving early in the morning (4am for a 10am start)
• Sitting with all the runners in the school building
• Wading through puddles to the start line
• Kissing David and wishing him good luck- we both knew this was going to be a tough one!
• Trying to keep warm!
• The Wellesley College Girls
• Beer along the course
• The spectators- Amazing!
• Heartbreak Hill-yes it definitely broke my heart!
• Finishing the most Prestigious marathon in the world!!