Boston

Details

• April 18, 2022
• Entry: Charity Bib
• Marathon Number: 4
• Expected Finish Time: 3:30:00
• Actual Finish Time: 3:44:13

Overview

Boston was supposed to be my first marathon, and after it was cancelled, I had sort of put it on the back burner as a priority. My ultimate goal was to qualify for Boston and have it be my sixth World Major – a goal that seemed somewhat possible based on a 1/2 marathon I ran in March of 2021.

Lessons Learned

Be ready for opportunities

After having raised over $10,000 to run the Boston Marathon in 2020, I felt like I needed to take a break from asking people to “support my running journey” and qualify to run Boston. I was not pursuing a bib for Boston, but had kept up with my running as part of my goal to run every day in 2022. The Pioneers Run Crew that I’m part of has great relationships with other organizations in the city, and one of their partners, the Dimock Center, had reached out looking for a few more runners to round out their team. After speaking with them briefly, I was ready to make the plunge, but only had less than two months to raise the (lower than typical) minimum of $4,000. With the help of some incredible friends and family, I was able to raise over $8,000. Since I hadn’t stopped running, I was also physically able to finish the distance, with an abbreviated training plan.

Don’t follow the crowds to the porta potties

Once in the athlete’s village in Hopkinton, I noticed some huge lines for porta potties. I kept exploring to get a lay of the land and found a bounty of porta potties in other areas that had virtually no lines. Moral of the story is don’t just get in long lines – keep walking and you’ll probably save yourself some time and stress.

The charity corrals are packed to the gills

Given that I was running for a charity and not with a qualifying time, I was mashed up with thousands of other runners, with no specific pacing corrals. The first indication that we were going to be tightly packed in, was the 15 minute slog down the main street to the starting line. People were packed in shoulder to shoulder, spanning the entire width of the street. Not surprisingly, the crowds did not lighten up near the starting line. I figured it would spread out enough once we started running, but it wasn’t until about 3 miles in that I could run the pace I wanted to, without the potential to accidentally trip the person in front of me. Needless to say, I felt like I was playing catch up for the rest of the way.

Sunscreen is your friend

With the race being in mid-April, its a bit too early to wear anything other than long sleeves (at least for this guy). When you are running for 3+ hours though, long sleeves aren’t going to cut it. In my small brain, I thought that since it was cooler out, I didn’t have to worry much about getting burned – that feels more like a summer problem. The thing is, the sun doesn’t care about my underdeveloped brain and will burn skin even in the winter time if it gets the chance. Enter singlet Tyler, who is out on the roads for nearly four hours without any protection from the sun. I knew it was bad because I could feel my shoulders start to leather up DURING the race, and didn’t find out (like I typically do) when I hit the shower. Ultimately I got deep fried on my arms and legs, which I do not recommend.

Tommy Rivs is a legend

If you have never heard of Tommy Rivs, I highly recommend reading about his story and incredible perseverence. I had initially heard of him when I started getting back into running, but during the pandemic was shocked to learn about him contracting a respiratory illness, that was later diagnosed as a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer. This incredibly fit athlete and father of three young girls was very close to dying in a few short months and his perseverance was nothing less than miraculous.

I found out before I ran NYC in 2021 that he would also be running, and I had really hoped to see him at some point. With over 50,000 runners and millions of spectators, it wasn’t realistic and did not come to fruition. Enter April of 2022 and I found out the day before the race that he would be running in Boston. I figured the same would be true as NYC, and had somewhat forgotten about it. After passing through Natick center around miles 10-11, I was about coming up on the famous scream tunnel at Wellesley College and saw a runner with a pack of videographers surrounding them. As I came up from behind, I was amazed to realize that it was Tommy Rivs himself, chipping away at the course.

Not being the type to typically approach a famous person, I hesitated for a second but than fought my instincts and called out to Tommy as I came up alongside him. I thanked him for coming to Boston and told him I cared a great deal for him (I might have said “I love you” but can’t remember…) It was amazing to see him fighting back via Instagram but to watch him in person, even for a minute, was incredible. It was a memory I won’t soon forget. My only regret is that I wasn’t wearing his hat when I saw him…

Marathons are not for the faint of heart

Despite being somewhat ready to run this marathon, I never felt good during the race. Whether it was general tightness, soreness or random discomforts, it was a grind the whole way. At the end you feel a pretty incredible sense of accomplishment, but throughout the entirety of the run you may very likely be wrestling with whether or not its worth it. So far, after each marathon I’ve run, I had no regrets for getting out there. It certainly helps to have a loving and supportive crowd along the way.

Train for the race you are running

If you haven’t run the Boston Marathon yet, I’m going to let you in on a not-so-super secret: there are a few hills you have to climb over. The most notorious of them is called Heartbreak Hill, but there are a few before you reach there, that I find to be just as challenging. These hills were no surprise to me because I live in Boston and know the course well AND I had run on them many times before in my training for Boston 2020. As a result, I incorporated hills into my training throughout, and specifically added them in late in long runs. The first hills don’t start until about 16 miles into the course, so it’s best to get practice running hills with tired legs.

When I took that first right onto Commonwealth Avenue, I knew a big long hill was coming and was somewhat surprised by how many people I passed. This continued on the following hills, and made me appreciate that my training had incorporated long mileage hill runs to build up my endurance. It allowed me to run the way I wanted to and not force me to walk. It was by no means an easy section of the race, but it was a lot more manageable than it could have been.

You probably aren’t running as fast as you think you are, at the end at least

After coming down the backside of Heartbreak Hill I was really hurting. I needed to stop near Boston College to stretch a little and squat down to loosen up my legs. Anyone who has done that before knows it’s no miracle treatment and your next few steps may look like Forrest Gump running with his braces on. My cramping kicked in again and I worried I’d get a repeat of Chicago and NYC, so I focused only on my breathing to keep me locked in. I chugged along and finally was running in a good rhythm and step for step with another runner from mile 23 to 24. Once we hit Cleveland Circle, there was a slight downhill, so I decided to see if I could push my legs a bit and hold on until the end. Somehow I left the other runner in the dust and channeled my inner Eliud Kipchoge as I ticked off the steps nearing the finish line. If you had asked me, I swore I was doing 6 minute miles (after averaging about 8:30/mile before that) those last few and was concerned I might not be able to slow down once I hit the finish line. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately for my ego) I was A) wearing a GPS watch and B) filmed by a co-worker as I finished the last 1/4 mile to the finish line shoot. To my surprise my watch had me at 8:00/mile and the video had me at about 20:00/mile. I was thrilled to be finished, and humbled to be filmed.