Boston Marathon - April 20, 2009

Hats off to Boston and the job they did - all the way from the officials, to the volunteers and particularly the spectators. I was surprised how passionate the spectators were about their marathon. I had heard that spectaor support was amazing but until I experienced it I had no idea.  They made the weekend and the race very special - everything it was cracked up to be. Boston is very proud of their marathon. Many of the runners (including me) wore our Boston marathon jackets around town all weekend, creating a sea of blue and yellow in the downtown area.

Brad and Andrew took in the Sox/Orioles game Friday night at Fenway, obtaining a great price on two tickets to the game. Very tempting for me as well, but I needed to get some sleep this weekend with the early mornings and didn't want to risk getting run down a few days before the race.  It was a cool evening at the park but they had a good time!

I spent hours and hours this winter reading about the history of the marathon and studying all the nuances of the course in an effort to prepare myself as best I could for this experience. Having an understanding of the 113 year history of the race made the race more meaningful as I ran it. There are also historical markers/monuments along the way and near the finish line to honor past notables.

The day before the race, the marathon sponsored a 5k event as well as a men's and women's invitational mile run for a handful of select runners. We watched the 5k event and then went to the Marathon Expo to grab my runners packet (BIB) and mingle around the exhibits. On our way back, we saw the women's invitational mile which included Shalane Flanagan (USA's 10,000 meter Olympic bronze medalist) as well as Minnesota's own Carrie Tollefson (a former MN HS cross country champion). It was a big weekend for Minnesota runners with Kara Goucher from Duluth (also a former MN HS cross country champion) as the US favorite to win the marathon...and then of course I was there to represent Minnesota in the men's field!

Race morning came very early. I was on the bus at 5:45 am in the hotel parking lot. The bus arrived at the athletes village in Hopkinton at 7am, three hours before the race began. Most of the runners were carted to Hopkinton in school buses which dropped them off and left them to the elements. I was fortunate in that two months ago I was able to join with a Minnesota Lifetime Fitness group as a "tag-along". This provided us a downtown hotel just blocks from the finish line and a nice charter bus that stayed on the grounds so we could leave or return to the bus any time prior to the start of the race while the other runners had to sit outside in the 38 degree cold for 3 hours before the race. There are no indoor facilities at the athletes village, just large canopy tents.

At 9:30, we were instructed to make the half mile walk down Ash street to the starting area on Route 135 in beautiful downtown Hopkinton. The women's elite race began around 9:35. After a few announcements, the national anthem was played, followed by two fighter jets flying overhead. Then the gun went off and the race started - at least for the Elite men and top qualifiers. Since most of the race takes place on a two lane highway, there is very limited room to funnel 26,000 runners through the starting area. I was near the back of "Wave 1" and it took about 7 minutes to slowly walk toward the starting line as we waited for the runners in front of us to began their race. With electronic chip timing, each runner's 'personal' clock doesn't begin until you actually cross the starting line.

It warmed to the mid 40's by race time and we were sheltered from the winds by the forest lining the highway. The first mile of the race is an alarmingly steep decline. I felt like I was going down a ski slope, but it also gave me an interesting view of the winding sea of humanity (14,000 runners) in front of me like a giant snake as we started our trek to Boston on Route 135. The first 4 miles are all downhill and it required constant monitoring of my Garmin to ensure I was on pace and not running too fast on the easy downhill section. The biggest mistake many runners make at Boston is getting caught up in the adrenalin rush of the event and starting too fast only to pay for it dearly when they hit the Newton Hills.

I settled into my pace and felt comfortable and strong. Although I knew the course had many hills, it wasn't until I ran it that I realized there are only 3 miles of relatively flat terrain. The rest of the time, we were either descending or climbing - a tremendous workout for the hamstrings and quads! I had my name pinned above my race number and it produced unexpected and passionate encouragement for me. As we ran through the first 3 towns of Ashland, Framingham and Natick, the locals were out in full force (everyone had the day off in the Boston area due to Patriot's Day). They latched onto my first name and never let go. I can't begin to tell you how many people were calling me by name and shouting encouragement. Others wore their names as well but apparently not as visible as mine. Some of the runners near me began to ask if I was the 'Bruce' everyone was cheering for. It was so surprising how genuine the cheers were throughout the race. These people don't know me, never saw me before, and likely will never see me again, but for the few seconds I ran past them, they felt like family and acted as if my success was the most important thing to them. This continued all the way to the finish line. There were several times I got choked up by the support. It was overwhelming at times. I tried to acknowledge and show appreciation for their support without expending too much energy. I wished I could have personally thanked every one of them after the race. They had a huge impact on my performance.

Next we ran past the Wellesley girls college who by tradition create their own scream section that stretches for about 100 yards in front of the college. You begin to hear them a half mile before you get there. It sounded like you were nearing an open air college football stadium as we rounded the bend and reached the girls. As we passed Wellesley, we came to the half way point in the race. The easy part of the race was now behind us and the "real race" was about to begin. Up to this point, the entire race had a very small town feel to it as we ran along this tiny highway through the New England woods.

At mile 17, we made a sharp right hand turn onto Commonwealth Avenue, heading toward Newton and the infamous Newton Hills in miles 18-21 - three hills each about a half mile in length. The last one in mile 21 is appropriately named "Heartbreak." It was during this stretch of hills that I found myself passing large numbers of runners who were struggling with the uphill miles. I maintained my pace through the hills fairly well - something I didn't think I would be successful doing, although I did considerable hill training all winter long. Heartbreak is a bit deceiving because it's like a long par 5 dogleg to the left. You think you are reaching the summit only to realize there is more to go when you reach the dogleg. Newton is also the transition from rural to suburban life in Boston. It's amazing how close you get to downtown Boston before entering the suburbs.

At the top of Heartbreak, we began another 3 mile downhill section as e reached the Boston city limits (miles 22-24). I got my first glimpse of downtown Boston and realized the finish was within my grasp - sort of. Mile 22 felt euphoric in that the tough hills were now behind me and the downhill seemed inviting. We also ran past Boston College during this mile and the students were a big encouragement. Groups of young students chanted my name continuously as I ran by. One was up on an elevated platform cheering my name via loudspeaker. I was able to maintain my pace through mile 24 with the benefit of the downhill stretch and the encouragement. But now I was in "gut check" territory. My strides were significantly tougher than the first half of the race and I searched for ways to distract my mind from what my body was feeling.

Mile 25 is a long straightaway down Beacon Street and the large Citco gas station sign one sees beyond the Fenway fence during Red Sox games. The large red sign represents the "one mile to go" mark once reached. However, reaching it was a challenge. You can see the sign in the distance the entire mile, but it felt like the old carrot on a stick game - close but still out of reach.

Once past the Citco sign, I began thinking of all my practice runs and how I envisioned running the final mile in Boston, and how great it would feel to proudly stride to the finish line. Actually I envision this before every marathon, but it never really works out that way. I envy how fresh some of the runners look as they cross the finish line, arms extended and big smiles on their faces, but that's never been my experience. Most of the time I can't even remember much about the final miles as my vision blurs and my mind shuts down. One last turn onto Boylston. The final straightaway on Boylston is much longer than you think or would care for. Almost a full half mile. I can't imagine how tough those neck and neck battles for first place must be that you see on TV, and I understand why you often see back and forth lead changes in the process. It's just too long of a straightaway to sustain a final sprint. I don't remember hearing the crowd anymore when I crossed the finish line. Too bad as my family had been camped 50 yards shy of the finish line since 6:30 am, waiting for me to sail past, but I didn't hear much of anything at this point. We finished into a 15 mph headwind, so there was no sailing this day anyway, but the race was over and I was very satisfied with the results and happy to maintain a solid pace despite the tough hills.

The next day it finally sunk in that I had joined the ranks of a small percentage of marathon runners who have had the privilege of running this race. I can even say I laced up my shoes Monday with a 3-time former Boston Marathon champion - the legendary Bill Rodgers and beat him by 35 minutes! No need to mention the fact that he's 61 but hey, I'm 52 myself. Overall I am very pleased to have finish among the top third. I came to Boston with the 13,838 fastest qualifying time, but finished 7,644 among 23,000 finishers.

It's Saturday morning and my body feels great. No soreness or lingering effects of the race. I hit the road again on Thursday and just completed a 10 mile run this morning. I have 2 half marathon races in May (Maple Grove and Minneapolis), then it's on to Duluth for Grandma's Marathon on June 20th!

http://www.bostonmarathon.org/2009/cf/public/ResultsSearch.cfm