Fun running the Boston Marathon

The sound of crickets has been dominating my blog lately, so I'm finally breaking the silence to write about my experience of running Boston totally for fun.

The last time I ran Boston in 2012, I went into the race with ambitious PR goals. Actually, they weren't ambitious at all, but it was hot as hell that year. The disappointment of  my performance that day, although great considering it was 80+ degrees, left me real bummed out about Boston and not itching to return any time soon. I should mention here that during my first Boston experience I spent a lot of time focusing on not getting heat stroke* and very little time looking around/paying attention to the spectacle that is the Boston Marathon. *2016 was a wee bit warm as well, but this time I didn't care. I was mostly happy our cheerleaders wouldn't freeze while waiting for us at mile 22. 

Once I finally found my enthusiasm for the marathon again, I chose to run the Richmond Marathon (which you can read about here, here, and here). This race was like a dream: injury-free and nearly flawless training cycle, perfect race weather, and my legs showed up ready to do some work. Big ol' PR. My dear friend qualified for Boston in that same race, and we decided we would go to Boston together in 2016.

That was all back in 2014, and my running since then has majorly sucked (I'll save my sob story for a different post). So as Boston approached, and my training was still in the toilet I thought, "Hell, why not throw time out the window and go soak up every moment of this race?"

So this time I brought my phone, ran with a friend, and had a ball.

Here are some highlights:

Athlete's village is best experienced with a buddy. Primo people watching!

Exhibit A: This man is more hardcore than I will ever be.

Start line selfie--stoked to finally start running!

Trying to capture the hoards of runners

I didn't partake in any kissing, but there were ample options.

Fun running means you can veer to the side to pick up a rose.

Exhibit B: Not sure but I'm impressed.

Finally we can see "the sign"

Wooooooooo!

As if approaching the finish isn't emotional enough (cue the sweaty tears)

Done, tired, and happy! What a wonderful day to run a marathon!!

What these photos don't capture is how many times I was laughing, slapping hands, singing along to music, and gawking at everything.  I soaked up this experience to the max.  Fun running the Boston Marathon was one of my best decisions!

Marathon Monday

As I explained to all my co-workers and non-running friends, Boston Marathon Monday is my Superbowl/World Series/World Cup/Other-'mainstream'-sport-championship equivalent. It's a day set aside as holy and sacred in my mind. It's a day that I look forward to all year long. And it's jammed full of emotions and inspiration. 

I admit it, the marathon has a strong hold on my heart. Part of my love for the distance is the inevitability that you will feel vulnerable, elated, scared, and joyous all in the same event, perhaps within minutes. Often times, keeping those emotions hidden is impossible. People expose their anguish, pain, and effort as they pound out the miles, and as runners, we all know how many hours of training, early bedtimes, and skipped parties a brilliant race performance represents. 

No matter the year, I am overcome with emotion when I watch the elites finish Boston. Partly because dreams are being fulfilled and dashed within seconds. Desi's incredibly close finish in 2011 was heart wrenching. Shalane Flanagan's race this year was amazing, determination and passion written all over her face.

A determined Shalane. Photo credit: Andrew Burton (GETTY)

 Relive Desi's 2011 finish:

But of course, this year was extra emotional. Meb ran such a beautiful and controlled race, and the nail-biting finish had me sobbing at the end (as usual). To finally see an American win Boston was magical, especially in the shadow of last year's bombings. It felt like Meb snuffed out lingering uncertainty and fear and replaced it will hope and inspiration. 

I'm not exactly sure how 26.2 miles does all that, but that's the beauty of running.