Not really sure how to start this one…As a runner, what can you say about the Boston Marathon? It’s really kind of indescribable. There I was running over the same roads and hills that scores of famous runners had traversed. At certain points, I even recognized certain stretches from the numerous photos and videos I’ve seen of the Boston Marathon.
Needless to say, it was definitely one of the greatest running experiences I’ve ever had. There were so many places along the course where I just looked around at the hundreds of people lining both sides of the course and just took it all in.
I’ll especially remember the last couple of miles and just running off of the energy of the crowd in downtown Boston. Although I was a good 45 minutes behind the winner, the spectators still make you feel like a rockstar.
The race itself went well. From the gun in Hopkinton, my legs felt a little tired. It wasn’t the greatest way to start a marathon but it helped me settle into a relaxed pace early in the race.
Right around 4-5 miles, with dozens of runners bunch together on the road, I bumped into Mike Treder, another Madison runner. I tagged along with him for a couple miles and we worked our way through the crowd. Around mile 8-9, I had to back off the pace a little and let Mike go. He went on to run a low 2:49.
After running past the screaming girls at Wellesley College, I could feel my energy again begin to ebb. So, again, I backed off the pace. I tried to just keep a steady, controlled gait through the hills, which are as tough as advertised. Heartbreak Hill was crazy: very steep grade and long. When you start at the bottom, you can’t see the top. At this point, you’re 20 plus miles into the race but the crowd support was amazing along Heartbreak.
The crowd around Boston College is one of my favorite memories from the race. I started to feel a little better and I could start to feel the finish line approaching.
From there it just got better. As we entered downtown Boston, the crowds got even thicker and more intense. The last couple of turns and the stretch down the finish line were almost surreal. It really was overwhelming.
I finished with a PR of 2:52.31. I was hoping for a bigger breakthrough but it’s still a PR and it’s by far the smartest, most evenly-paced marathon I’ve run. It was a good day all around. Almost all of my friends who ran PR’d as well. My training partner Paul PR’d by almost 5 minutes! And my girlfriend Katie, who had been fighting off injuries the last month, set a personal best by more than 9 minutes!
It was a good day.