2009 Boston Marathon

SUCCESS! After months of training, the day finally came for me to run my little heart out in the Boston Marathon!

"Marathon Monday", as it is endearingly called by the locals, is almost like a holiday in Boston. The entire city rallies behind the runners as they embark on their 26.2 mile journeys-by-foot. It really was an amazing experience to actually be one of those runners.

My parents came into town to cheer me on, and it was so fun to have them come visit! Here we are, pre-road trip to Boston.

This is only the second marathon I have ever run, so I am still learning how to properly prepare. Experience tells me to eat healthy, right? Bagels, granola bars, fruit...I know the drill. So, when my parents innocently picked up burgers and fries at the Wendy's drive through, I opted to wait for a bagel instead. Experience should also tell me that passing up ultra tasty french fries never works in the long run. Ever.


Although strong enough to withstand the temptation of fries, my determination to be healthy was not quite as, um, successful come dinner time. My dinner Saturday night consisted of one extra large, chocolate covered cannoli from North End's famous Mike's Pastries. This might have been the reason I ran so well. Just maybe.

On Saturday, we picked up my packet and my bib number. There were over 26,000 runners signed up for Boston 09'! The efficiency with which the marathon staff collected, exchanged, handed out, and performed all of their dozens of other tasks was astonishing.

Lucky number 8165.


I documented the finish line a couple days before the race, just in case I never actually made it there again...

The morning of the race, I woke up at 5:30, ate a bagel and a power bar, and it was off to the shuttle buses. All of the athletes arrived at what is called the "Athlete's Village", which is the official waiting area before the start of the race. There were huge white tents set up, beneath which thousands of runners huddled for warmth, waiting in the bitter cold for the race hour to arrive.


The Village was complete with small options of pre-race food, as well as the occasional booth for entertainment. I passed some time by getting an AT&T "good luck" tattoo carefully sponged onto my right calf.

To get out of the cold, I also opted to wait in the one-hour line for a massage...inside the gym. Hmmm...free massage inside a warm gym, or, no massage outside in the freezing cold. The decision of so many runners to remain outside that morning still baffles me. Perhaps their judgement was impaired by their nerves, or maybe the bitter cold.

As I started the race, I thought of only two things for the first couple of miles.

"Don't go too fast!" and, "I am running the Boston Marathon?! Yay!"

It was amazing to see the crowds of people lined up along the streets to cheer the runners on. There were spectators on the sidelines almost the entire way. These pictures were taken at mile 22.

I think it's quite safe to say that the cheers of the crowds had a direct effect upon how fast I ran. During the last four miles of the race, the crowd was cheering deafeningly loud, and the streets were overrun with people. I remember looking up at one point and seeing people frantically waving and cheering from behind the glass of a 3rd story store window. That, my friends, is truly motivating.

Somewhere between the joy of running Boston, the wearied state of my mind and body, and the contagious emotion of the crowds, I felt tears in my eyes twice during the race. Needless to say, I snapped out of crying relatively quickly when I began losing my ability to breathe. Who cries while running a marathon?!

Through some mixture of training, determination, prayer, and inspirational fans, I did indeed finish the Boston Marathon. My friend Keila (in the red jacket below) also gutted it out and ran really well.

My final stats are as follows:

Time - 3:20:31

Average Pace Per Mile - 7:39

Overall Place - 4778

Overall Female Place - 494

It was awesome to have my parents and friends with me this weekend, and I am so glad that they were able to watch me race. Thanks to those who supported me!

No worries, I am fairly positive you will never have to do so again...