The Privilege Of Being A Runner... The Boston Marathon '08

Wow, I don't even know where to start. That was the most amazing experience I have ever had as a runner. And I know how lucky and fortunate I am to have lived it. If I can make you (the people who have given up their valuable time to read this) feel even one tenth of what I felt, you will be tingling from head to toe. You will feel so alive that you will be bursting with life and energy. The expo was great, the hotel room was adequate for my needs, and the weather was fine.. but lets get to the good stuff. Are you ready to run the Boston Marathon with me??


The Boston Marathon experience starts with a bus ride from the Boston Common out to Hopkinton Massachusetts. It is the first of many kind of surreal experiences as you nervously look around at your compatriots. It takes most of an hour to finally get to Hopkinton and then into the athlete's village. Finally, it is time to walk a little less than a mile to our starting place in the 2nd corral. I take the time to sit down on the ground and do one last check of shoelaces, chip, and even some kind of cursory stretching. It is only a couple minutes until the start of the 112th Boston Marathon and as I look around I can't believe I'm here in the presence of all these great runners. The gun goes off and it takes me 39 seconds to get to the start. We are really bunched up and seem to be moving a little bit slower than I would like. Down that first hill we go, a mass of flying feet and bright colored singlets. We go through the first mile in 6:25 and the second in around 6:18. The first part of the Boston Marathon is so fast that you almost can't slow down. As a matter of fact, two other runners and myself have a little conversation about this and end up laughing as we fly down yet another hill.
The number of people lining the course today is more than I have ever experienced in my 14 previous marathons, but does little too prepare me for what awaits in Ashland. The crowd must number in the tens of thousands and everyone of them seems to be screaming. I move to the far left side of the road to get as close to the throng as possible. Despite all the craziness, they are amazingly respectful and almost gently try to touch me as I woosh on past. The 5k marker goes past in 20:19 and we are off to Framingham. At this point in the race I feel really good. We've gone out fast, but I feel like I have run at a pace that felt pretty comfortable. The 10k mark in Framingham comes along somewhat quickly and I am running with the same group of guys. The conversation has started to lag a little as we push a bit harder to stay on pace. Again, the crowd is huge and adoring in this small town and their enthusiasm is almost palpable. So many times I have run races where I retreated to a safe place... all my energy focused on the running. Today, for some reason I want to be close to this crowd. I want to let their excitement and enthusiasm in and show them the respect THEY deserve. I move past the 10k mark in just under 41 minutes. I chuckle to myself because I am feeling great and know that it will not be too long before I am feeling some serious pain.

I honestly don't remember too much of miles 7, 8, or 9 and figure that at this point of the race, I must have retreated to that place where I am completely focused on running. How is my stride? Are my arms properly positioned and loose? Where are my shoulders? I start monitoring everything about my body from my feet all the way up to my head. At mile 10, we enter the town of Natick and are treated like rock stars. The outpouring of affection from these people, who will never even know our names, is amazing. I will say this now.. the crowds of people who come out for the Boston Marathon are what makes this race so great. Again, I am inclined to get close to these people and find myself hugging the edge of the course. I see a little boy, a head full of shaggy blond hair like my son, with his arm stretched out so far he literally is standing on one foot. I can't help myself and for the first time all race, my hand touches another as I almost gently reach down and give him a low five... not an easy thing while running at a sub 7 minute mile pace! I look over my shoulder in time to see him excitedly pointing and waving. Even now it makes me emotional to think about that moment and how lucky I am to have been a part of it.

I'm going to stop for a bit... I've got so much to say about this one day in my life and how special it was to me. I will try and work on the story a little more later and we still have 16 miles to go. Thanks for taking this journey with me so far and I hope I can convey some of the wonderful experience that was OUR 2008 Boston Marathon.