RR Boston
Race Results:
Mon, Apr 21/14
Boston Marathon
Boston, MA
4:51:41
Marathon # 371
This was supposed to be my last race report? Due to
health reasons most readers knew that this race would be marathon # 371, my 8th
and final Boston and my final marathon! Well 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!
As most of my readers know, a few months before Boston
along came a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run Kosovo and I couldn’t pass
it up. More about that at the end of this report.
So I changed my story to “this would be my 8th
& final Boston & my final ‘domestic’ marathon”. I have run the Boston
Marathon seven times before and when I am undoubtedly asked “what is your
favorite marathon” I always answer “Boston”. I like the mystique and tradition
of Boston and it is one of the few marathons in the world that a runner must
qualify to run. Out of my previous seven Boston Marathons there are a few that
are memorable and I want to reminisce about:
1)
My 1st Boston in 1987. My 2nd most
disappointing Boston.
I had just run my 1st
sub 3-hr marathon to qualify and my goal was to break 3 hrs at Boston. I was on
pace at 24 miles to narrowly break 3 hrs. When I passed the CITGO sign at mile
25 my pace started to slow and as I neared the turn on to Hereford St I was
afraid that I would not break 3 hrs? Worse- I might finish in 3:00 and a few
seconds and I would be very mad at myself. So I deliberately slowed my pace and
cruised across the finish line in 3:01:51. Later I realized that if I had only
sucked it up, ignored the pain and pushed to the finish line I would most
certainly have broken 3 hrs. I vowed that I would never ‘give up’ again in a
race. It was a valuable but painful lesson – and the only chance I ever had to
break 3 hrs at Boston!
2)
My 5th Boston in 1996. My 100th
marathon & 100th Anniversary of Boston. My funnest Boston.
Runners knew that this would be
a special Boston – a 26.2 mile party. And it was! I decided not to worry about
time or goals – except to join the party along with 38,000 runners, the largest
Boston field in history. The runners and spectators were joyous and it was the
most fun I ever enjoyed in a marathon.
3)
My 6th Boston in 2004. My most
disappointing Boston.
Since I would turn 60 a few
weeks before the race and I was still running close to 3 hrs I figured this was
my best chance to win a coveted AG award at Boston. I trained hard and
seriously for this goal. I was running mile repeats @ 6:30 pace and bridge
repeats @ 6:45 pace and I felt confident. Three weeks before the race while
running a final speed work on a track I tore my left hamstring – my dream was
shattered in one short moment. With aggressive physical therapy and meds I was
able to go to Boston and ‘jog’ the race in 3:58:06. I promised myself that if I
was still running at age 70 I would try a 2nd time to achieve my
dream.
4)
My 7th Boston in 2005. My proudest
Boston.
I had no intention to run Boston
this year until a good friend, Frank Ouseley, aka ‘the Mad Monk had quadruple
bypass surgery and then declared that his wish/dream was to run Boston only
nine months after the surgery. I helped Frank qualify for Boston and volunteered to accompany him to Boston and guarantee
that he cross the finish line. We did well for the first 10 miles but Frank
had trouble starting at 16 miles and wanted to quit. I had to play serious mind
games with him to coax him to continue. After walking through the hills at
Newton I once again had to play serious mind games to coax him to ‘jog’ the
final 5K so we could finish under the time limit and collect our finisher’s
medals. I was very proud of Frank and his courage and determination to run –
and FINISH - Boston under such difficult circumstances.
So now we return to the present and Maddog is returning
to Boston also with heart issues but not even close to what the Mad Monk
experienced and overcame. I knew I
wasn’t going to be able to keep my promise made 10 years ago. There would be no
competing for AG awards in my 7th decade. I had to accept and be
happy with the fact that I was still running and able to enjoy what would be
another memorable Boston due to the unfortunate events that happened last year.
I didn’t expect the mood to be joyous or festive like it was in 1996 but I did
expect the 2nd largest running field in Boston history to be united
and determined to show that a couple of crazy/fanatical terrorists could not
intimidate or deter runners from enjoying their passion. All 36,000 runners
would be BOSTON STRONG!
I arrived in Boston on Sat afternoon and after checking
into a hotel in Cambridge I made my way over to the Expo. It was a zoo!
Actually bib pick-up was smooth and easy but trying to get into and around the
expo was difficult. I have never purchased any Boston memorabilia in all my
previous races but since this would be my final Boston I decided to treat
myself and buy a T-shirt and a Boston Marathon jacket. After squeezing my way
through exhibits for about an hour I met a friend at a designated spot. Malcolm
is writing Maddog’s marathon book. He explained that he was having problems
with the size of the book. Each marathon/country needed about 4 pages and there
are (will be) 121 countries. Nobody is going to read that many pages! We
decided to focus on a specific number of Maddog’s goals and include a specific
number of Maddog’s most memorable races.
My hotel was located in Cambridge and there are not a lot
of restaurants or shops in that area and few of them are open on Patriot’s
weekend. Rather than mess with the subway I decided to skip my traditional
Chinese/rice dinner and enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a Legal Seafood
restaurant near the hotel. But I did order rice with my delicious seafood
casserole.
On Sun I had arranged to meet a new member of the Country
Club for lunch. After a few minutes discussion we realized we had met and spent
a lot of time together in the past but didn’t remember it? Jeurgen and his wife
(from Germany) were on the same ship as Nicole and I when we ran the Antarctica
Marathon in 1997. We will meet again in Kosovo in May.
Mon (Patriot’s Day) was M-day! This year, because of the
large field (36,000) of runners, there were 4 waves of runners with 9 corrals
in each wave. I was seeded in the 3rd wave and 7th
corral. The 3rd wave started at 11 am – 1hr after the start of the
elite men. Runners in the 3rd wave had to board a bus in Boston
Commons by 8:30 am for the Athlete’s Village in Hopkinton which is the typical
time frame that runners have to begin their odyssey to the start line. I had
watched weather forecasts closely since it can be very cold waiting in the
Athlete’s Village. With extra security measures in place this year it was not
possible for runners to take bags to the start area so I visited a Goodwill
store at home to purchase several layers of throw-away clothes to wear before proceeding
to the start line. They came in handy since the temps were in the high 30s when
we arrived at the Athlete’s Village. However I had discarded all the warm-up
clothes before moving to the start corral. But I was glad I had them while
waiting in line for more than 30 minutes to use a port-o-potty (they did not
have enough for 36,000 runners?).
The 3rd wave was instructed to make their way
to the start corrals at 10:30 am. We barely made it into our corrals when they
started the 3rd wave at 11:00 am. It took 6 minutes for me to reach
the start line where I started my watch and began the race. As most runners who have run Boston know the
1st few miles are downhill and you can see runners ahead of you for
at least 1 mile. I remembered to run my pace and not get sucked in by the pack
but I still passed mile 3 in 30:06 and a split of 10:48. I stopped on the top
of a hill at mile 7 (1:15:03 and a split of 10:19) to take a photo of the pack
chasing me. I passed mile 10 in 1:46:23 and a split of 10:28 – I was running
faster than expected. Runners were serious but joyful and we were inspired by a
record 1,000,000 spectators that lined the entire 26.2 miles of the course who
were jubilant and noisy. It was the best crowd I have ever experienced at a
race!
As I passed mile 12 in 2:07:43 and a split of 10:41 I
could hear the ‘Wellesley tunnel’ ahead. My only disappointment with the race
was that they had limited the Wellesley coeds to only the college side of the
road whereas the coeds used to form a tunnel and narrow the road down to single
or double file for runners. The noise this year was not near as deafening (or
thrilling). However the coeds did their best and still held signs up asking for
kisses. I almost stopped for a cute coed whose sign said “kiss me – I’m from
Florida” but I would have had to cut off other runners to reach her. So I
stopped and took a photo of the Wellesley tunnel. I passed the Half in 2:20:36
and I was feeling good. I was way ahead of my predicted pace but figured the 2nd
half would be slower because of the hills.
When I passed mile 16 in 2:51:21 and a split of 10:41 I
figured that if I ran the final 10 miles at a 12:00 pace I could break 5 hrs so
that became my goal. When I helped Frank complete his dream in 2005 I had noted
after the marathon that it was the 1st time I ever “saw the course”.
In previous years I had been too focused on competing to actually see the
course. As I continued at an easy and smooth pace I think I noticed hills that
I had never noticed before? I passed mile 20 in 3:36:52 and a split of 10:55
and started up Heartbreak Hill. I always thought it was much tougher and
steeper? Half-way up the hill my right calf started to tighten and I became
concerned about cramping. I refused to walk until I crested the hill in 3:49:35
and a split of 12:42 (my slowest split of the race). At that point I could tell
that the calf was on the verge of cramping and locking up so I wisely stopped
and stretched the leg and walked for a short distance to let the muscle relax.
I hoped that preventative action would get me to the finish line without
cramping?
However as I passed mile 24 in 4:24:00 and a split of
11:43 the calf started to cramp and I was forced to stop and stretch again. I
knew that a sub 5-hr race was in the bag if I could prevent the calf from
cramping. When I passed the CITGO sign at mile 25 in 4:39:17 the calf started
to tighten again but this time I decided to ignore it and just slow my pace
down a little and try to get to the finish line. Thankfully I held off the cramp
and crossed the finish line in 4:51:41. Needless to say I was very HAPPY to
finish my final Boston and final ‘domestic’ marathon under 5 hrs!
After a long hot soak back at the hotel I decided to
attend the Mile 27 party hosted by Sam Adams at a pub near Fenway Park. Bad
mistake! The subway was packed. Every restaurant and pub near Fenway was packed
and noisy and the line to get into the party was over two blocks long! I turned
around and went back to the area near the Hynes Convention Center where I had noticed
lots of pubs and restaurants. Another bad mistake! Everything was packed and
noisy. I returned to my hotel in quiet Cambridge and enjoyed a snack of greasy
food and fries before going to bed. I had been looking forward to a delicious
meal to celebrate my success.
I am back home and trying to restart my training program
for my final marathon and country. As I mentioned at the start of the report a
‘one of’ opportunity came up. I completed a marathon in every country in Europe
in Oct 2005 but then Kosovo declared independence in 2008. I have been trying
for the past six years to find or organize a marathon in Kosovo. A few months
ago I managed to contact an American expat living in Kosovo who volunteered to
help me organize the ‘first-ever’ marathon in Kosovo. She is returning to the
USA in June so it was organize a race in May or lose the opportunity ‘forever’?
Fortunately ten members of the Country Club were able to
arrange/change their schedules to join me. We will have
about 20 runners for the marathon and once again I will re-establish my World
Record of completing a marathon in every country in Europe.
Stay tuned!
