Last Monday was the 1-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. And I made good on my promise that I would be in Boston this year. I wanted to run desperately. I even went back on my plan to not run a marathon in 2013 and signed up for the Wineglass Marathon, where I finally—on my 7th attempt—qualified. But it was too late. Weeks before I even got on the starting line, the registration to run the 2014 Boston Marathon filled up. Even friends who had qualified were cut out because of the high interest in running. Everyone wanted to demonstrate that we will run again.
I wasn't going to be running. No big deal. I'll be there in 2015. Instead, I went up to cheer on my sisters, my teammates, and my friends. I turned a terrorist and fearful act into a fun, but reflective weekend.
After going to the Red Sox game the night before, I got up early to join 8,600 other runners to race 3.1 miles around the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. And it was a great morning. Under cool, blue skies, and to a cheerful crowd, I ran along a part of the marathon course, including the finish line on Boylston. A fellow runner told me as we approached the finish line, "You ran very consistently", which was nice to hear as I race towards a personal record. My final time of 21:10 was a 56 second PR from last fall and I finally achieved my goal of breaking 7-minute pace from 2011. It meant something that I had such a big PR in Boston, and that it was done marathon weekend.
The rest of Saturday and Sunday was spent with friends and family, where we enjoyed the spring weather, supported a friend's fundraiser, and had Easter brunch. Sunday afternoon, we went down to the marathon finish line area. After racing through it on Saturday, I wanted to see it up close. It was great seeing so many people taking pictures and getting excited for when they would finish there on Monday. Very festive spirits all around. A part of me was definitely wishing I was racing on Monday.
I also went to see the Dear Boston marathon memorial at the Boston Public Library. As expected, I had to hold back tears as I walked through the items that were all left at the finish line last year. I would normally want to read everything, but I couldn't. I felt like I would have broken down. I can't even imagine what it would have been like if I was present during the bombing. It was really reassuring to see the outpouring of love and support that people from all over the world gave the victims, the cheerers, the runners, and the city of Boston.
Marathon Monday finally arrived. As I do every marathon morning that I cheer, I get up early, stake out my spot, and wait for the runners. My sister, brother, friends and I parked ourselves right before mile 25 to see the wheelchair racers, the elites, and then our sisters and friends make their way along the marathon course from Hopkinton. We were rooting for Shalane and Desi, the top American women. Both of who had great races, but Rita Jeptoo was able to secure her 3rd Boston win. On the men side, we had hopes for Meb and Ryan, but others were predicted to win. So were were all surprised and very happy to see Meb leading the pack at mile 25. And he came through. An American finally won the Boston Marathon, the last one in 1985. A little behind Meb (ok, more than a little), my sisters came on through and both had great races. It warmed up quite a bit that morning and afternoon, and was quite different from the multiple polar vortexes they trained through, but they were pretty pleased on how they did. One got a PR and the other came pretty close.
All in all very inspiring. We celebrated all the finishers on a beautiful day in Boston. Next year I'll be back and will race from Hopkinton to Boylston. And I can't wait.
I wasn't going to be running. No big deal. I'll be there in 2015. Instead, I went up to cheer on my sisters, my teammates, and my friends. I turned a terrorist and fearful act into a fun, but reflective weekend.
After going to the Red Sox game the night before, I got up early to join 8,600 other runners to race 3.1 miles around the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. And it was a great morning. Under cool, blue skies, and to a cheerful crowd, I ran along a part of the marathon course, including the finish line on Boylston. A fellow runner told me as we approached the finish line, "You ran very consistently", which was nice to hear as I race towards a personal record. My final time of 21:10 was a 56 second PR from last fall and I finally achieved my goal of breaking 7-minute pace from 2011. It meant something that I had such a big PR in Boston, and that it was done marathon weekend.
 |
| boston 5k finish line. |
The rest of Saturday and Sunday was spent with friends and family, where we enjoyed the spring weather, supported a friend's fundraiser, and had Easter brunch. Sunday afternoon, we went down to the marathon finish line area. After racing through it on Saturday, I wanted to see it up close. It was great seeing so many people taking pictures and getting excited for when they would finish there on Monday. Very festive spirits all around. A part of me was definitely wishing I was racing on Monday.
 |
| memorial on boylston. |
I also went to see the Dear Boston marathon memorial at the Boston Public Library. As expected, I had to hold back tears as I walked through the items that were all left at the finish line last year. I would normally want to read everything, but I couldn't. I felt like I would have broken down. I can't even imagine what it would have been like if I was present during the bombing. It was really reassuring to see the outpouring of love and support that people from all over the world gave the victims, the cheerers, the runners, and the city of Boston.
 |
| sneakers left at the bombing site last year. |
Marathon Monday finally arrived. As I do every marathon morning that I cheer, I get up early, stake out my spot, and wait for the runners. My sister, brother, friends and I parked ourselves right before mile 25 to see the wheelchair racers, the elites, and then our sisters and friends make their way along the marathon course from Hopkinton. We were rooting for Shalane and Desi, the top American women. Both of who had great races, but Rita Jeptoo was able to secure her 3rd Boston win. On the men side, we had hopes for Meb and Ryan, but others were predicted to win. So were were all surprised and very happy to see Meb leading the pack at mile 25. And he came through. An American finally won the Boston Marathon, the last one in 1985. A little behind Meb (ok, more than a little), my sisters came on through and both had great races. It warmed up quite a bit that morning and afternoon, and was quite different from the multiple polar vortexes they trained through, but they were pretty pleased on how they did. One got a PR and the other came pretty close.
All in all very inspiring. We celebrated all the finishers on a beautiful day in Boston. Next year I'll be back and will race from Hopkinton to Boylston. And I can't wait.
