Monday, up before 5am for my 10:50 start! First breakfast, walk to bus (1 mile), bus to Hopkinton, talk to runners and wait...

It was warm for a marathon with the temperature in the mid 60s at the start. For the first few miles I regretted my decision to run in short sleeves instead of a racerback tank. I knew that the first half was "easier" than the second half and I started off right at my target pace.

I held that for a bit longer than the first 10k. At about the 8 mile mark, a strong headwind started (now I was happy that I had gone with short sleeves!). The flags were staright out and whipping so 15 mph headwind (confirmed by local weather). The course was still super crowed but starting to thin out a bit. At the 10.5 mile mark, some kind of flying insect bit me. It hurt. I worried that it would swell up but nothing bad happened and by mile 12, it was no longer a distraction. By 12.5 I could hear the howl. I had been told it would sound like a train. WOOOOOOO WOOOOOO. The Wellesley Girls! And they were still a half mile away! The crowds had been constant up until this point but from Wellesley on, it was packed and seemed to be at least two-three people deep on both sides of the road (except if there were train tracks or a cemetery to keep people away. Then we approached Newton, home of the famous Newton Hills. Those hills are no joke. By now, I knew that my goal time was out the window and that maybe it hadn't been realistic anyway. As one person on my bus to Hopkinton said, "There are a lot of marathons but only one Boston. Enjoy the day." After reaching the top of Heartbreak Hill, I kept on telling myself things like, 45 minutes. In 45 minutes you'll be done. I tried to keep it together and look reasonably good when I passed Kevin and my parents. The crowds were such that I didn't see them. (Kevin was near Kenmore Square and my parents were somewhere on Commonwealth but I didn't know that until after.) It was amazing when I turned onto Boylston and saw the finish. I almost cried. I felt like I was moving in slow motion (probably was!)

Even after finishing, the crowds were intense. The hand you a bottle of water, medal, and then one of those silver cape things and you just keep on walking and walking. Gatorade, "hot bananas" (they'd been sitting in the sun), more walking. I had to sit down on the curb twice but had enough sense to sit next to a fire hydrant so that I could pull myself back up. They asked if I wanted a wheelchair (I wasn't THAT bad). More walking. Photo op. Finally, out of the athletes only area and off to find Kevin at our designated meeting place.

Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I'd qualify for and run in Boston. What a special experience.

Walk and walk and walk through the finisher chute. Stop and have my photo taken. Walk some more. Leave the area blocked off for runners and locate Kevin. Go to pick up my gear and walk back to the hotel.

One of the best signs from the race: "Run like a millennial from a commitment." Another good one was "May the course be with you."

Also an oldie but goodie -" Worst parade ever!"


This was my first, but hopefully not last, Boston marathon. It lives up to its reputation.