After Boston I had planned to step down to the half marathon distance in training and coaching. I had been pushing so hard for so long I really felt I needed a break in body and mind. However, being the softy that I am, when one of my runners said she was going to do Berlin in Sept. of ’22 and she really hoped I would train the marathon group for fall ’22 season, I gave in and said I would.
Best Laid Plans
Of course, the old saying ‘best laid plans of mice and men’ hit hard that fall. First, she ended up running in a different group and we didn’t see each other much. Second, she got injured and had to pull out of a lot of the training over the season.
But the end result was I did lead the 4 hour group that fall. I named them the ‘Fourtastics’ and it was indeed a fantastic season. The group was out of this world dedicated, strong, and fun. They bonded among themselves and with the coaches, creating a tight group of support. I was very impressed from the start with them and in particular with a few who I could tell would make great pace leaders themselves some day.
The Dallas Marathon
I had no doubt that they would be able to meet or exceed their race goals and indeed they did. I think 8 or 9 out of 12 broke the 4 hour time at the Dallas Marathon. And the few that didn’t came really close. And for most of them it was their first marathon so meeting a time goal in that situation is a BIG achievement. I was very, very proud of them.
Meanwhile, my training wasn’t going nearly as great as theirs was. My right Achilles was hurting quite a bit the entire season so I reduced my mileage considerably to try to manage that issue.
I ran the Dallas Marathon to help lead the group but it was a brutal, brutal race for me. I finished the race in 5:15, my slowest marathon by over 10 minutes. I had had crappy races before, with plenty of pain, but nothing like this. This was me in an intense pain cave, just focused on one step at a time. Luckily I had my wife and 2 very good friends waiting for me and they were very patient as I spent quite a bit of time recovering.
Done But…
My plan after the Dallas Marathon was now, finally, move down to the half marathon distance and take an extended break from the marathon, which I did. However, earlier in the fall, before my injury was so severe, I had decided to apply for the Berlin Marathon and 4 days before Dallas I found out I got in. I was excited but it was definitely tempered by my injury situation. The harshness of the race made me worried but I figured I now had time to reduce mileage, get some physical therapy and start back up with strength training and weight loss.
Lead up to Berlin Training
And that is what I have done for the last 6 months. I lead the 2 hour half marathon group (the Tworiffics) this spring but kept mileage low, have been strengthening my whole body – my ankles and legs in particular – with weight, isometric and band work, and have made progress on losing the weight with 10 lbs down and 15 more to go.
Next Up – The Road To Berlin part 2 – the Start of Training
There is a little known aspect to marathon races and that is what I call the walk of death. This is the chute marathon organizers force you to walk through so you can slow down gradually and pick up your medal, water, food, etc. What you see in front of you looks like the pic below. Hundreds of people walking VERY slowly and often times meandering all over the place, as they make their way to the exit where they can meet up with their families and friends. There are a LOT of hurting people at the end of a marathon. I know, I have been one of them more times that I care to remember. Luckily on this day I was not one of those people.
This is how I know if my race was good or not. If I am walking the same or slower pace then all these people then it was probably not all that great. But if, like on this day, I am weaving through all these slow pokes then I know I had to have done pretty well. I had places to go, people to see and they were in my way!
Family and Friends
I actually slowed down considerably on Boylston because I was filming and looking for my family and Friends. The entire time I was running I was thinking about making my friends and family proud. Of course I knew that no matter what I did they would be proud of me, but they were there for me and I wanted them to be happy and excited about it all. I envisioned them cheering me on and seeing them all for a big celebration afterwards. I wanted to have a good showing for that, and so I would be able to function for the hours of socializing afterwards!
My wife Linda with some new friends
While I was running the marathon they were enjoying breakfast, meeting new friends and gathering at the finish line. ‘They’ in this case included a total of 11 people, a huge personal crowd for me! I had my wife Linda, sister Jackie, her mother-in-law Diane, and my daughter Chelsea. In addition, since I spent my Jr High and High School years in Connecticut I had a crew of HS friends show up as well. They included Jim M. and his son, Cathy M. , Jim H. and Helen E. In addition my sister Jackie’s best friend Sarah and her son came to visit with her and experience the marathon as well.
My wife Linda with some guyFamily!High School Pals – 49 years later! from right – Jim H., Helen E., Jim M., me, Jim’s sonJackie, and Darien High School friends Cathy M., Jim M., Jim H.Panoramic view of our celebration after the raceChelsea and me outside Fenway
The Mile 27 After Party
One of the coolest things after the race is what is called the ‘Mile 27’ after party. It takes place Monday night at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox Baseball Team. If you like to drink beer then it’s fun to go to the after party. I don’t drink at all so I wasn’t interested in that.
BUT, I have been a huge Red Sox fan since 1975 when they almost won the World Series and there is no more iconic baseball park in all the world than Fenway Park. It was built in 1912, much older than almost any other active stadium and it shows. It is like going back in time to enter it. Inside they had some statues of famous old ballplayers who came to life as we walked around them. It was very cool!
Baseball Players of Old
The Green Monster
The most unique feature in the ball park (and really of any ball park) is the ‘Green Monster’. A gigantic wall in left field that cuts off much of left field. There is a road right on the other side of it and when they couldn’t demolish the road they just built a big wall instead.
Green Monster and Me!Jackie Atop the Green Monster
On The Field
The other cool thing, if you are a baseball fan, is that they let you down on the field to walk what is called the warning track. There you can see the hand worked scoreboard (unchanged in over 100 years) and stand next to the wall.
On The Warning Track
World Series
And at the end of the line on the warning track are the 4 World Series trophies the Red Sox have won. It may not seem like that big a deal but they had a drought from 1919 until 2004. That drought was called ‘The Curse of the Bambino’ because after their winning 1918 season they traded their star pitcher (yes pitcher) Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. He of course went on to be the greatest home run hitter of all time for many decades, leading the Yankees to numerous World Series wins while the Red Sox languished forever in the dregs of baseball. But finally in 2004 they broke through and have done very well since then.
With the World Championship Trophies
Conclusion
As I looked around the park I thought about how much I love baseball but that it a sport I don’t participate in. I watch it, as do all but the most elite baseball players. But that is not so with running. Just a few hours before this I was running the same course at the same time as the most elite runners in the world. Not many other sports can claim that level of coolness or accessibility.
We got back to the hotel around 9:30pm. We left the hotel at about 6:30am so it was about a 15 hour day including about 6-7 hours of walking, talking, eating and climbing stairs after the race. But I didn’t feel the least bit tired or exhausted until I got into bed. It was just way too glorious of a day, fulfilling every dream I had ever had of the Boston Marathon, for me to feel tired.
I am forever grateful for having found running as an activity all those years ago. I am thankful for all the fellow runners who helped me learn how to be a good runner and racer. I am even more grateful for my family and friends who yelled their hearts out for me at the finish line! And above all, I am grateful for Linda who has supported and indulged me as I trained and coached all these years.
What’s Next?
Linda asked me shortly after Boston, ‘Well, now what?’. I don’t think she would have been surprised if I had said I am done with marathons and will be lowering my mileage to half marathons and below. And before Boston I probably would have told her the same.
But that is not what happened. Here it is almost a year to the day later and since Boston I have led another training season ending in the Dallas Marathon (Dec. ’22), and currently am leading a Dallas Running Club half marathon group for a May ’23 race.
LInda and me with great friends, Evelyn and Joel
Berlin and the pursuit of the Six Marathon Majors
And this summer of ’23 I embark on serious training for my first international race, The Berlin Marathon in September of 2023. If I finish that race I will have completed 4 of the 6 marathon majors (NYC, Chicago, Boston, Berlin) and will only have London and Tokyo left. It’s not a foregone conclusion I’ll achieve this goal but it’s in the realm of possibilities if many things fall into place so why not work towards it, right?
Berlin Marathon Start LineWorld Marathon Majors Medal
Here it is, the time has come! 14 years of running, 12 years of marathons, 5 years of contemplating running Boston and 4 years since my first BQ, I was finally at the start line, in person, for the Boston Marathon!
Running Boston is different than running almost any other marathon because it is a culmination of at least one, if not many more attempts to get there. Because of that goals for the race can be all over the place. Do I want to run it hard try for a PR and BQ again for next year’s race or do I want to not care at all about time and just run along enjoying the race OR do I want to run it hard but not so hard that I am miserable and cranky about it and not able to enjoy the experience?
Start line
In the end I made a conscious decision that I would not let anything freak me out and turn my mind dark or pessimistic. I had my first test of that shortly before I took this picture. I had on an almost new pair of Shokz headphones but I lost them when I took off my throwaway sweatshirt a 1/4 mile back and didn’t realize it. I knew I couldn’t go back through the crowd at that point to rummage through a pile of old clothes to find them so I had to decide not to freak out about it and just go with the flow of the race. And it turned out I never missed them.
I also decided I would keep a consistent and competitive pace, try to get under the qualifying time but not push so hard that I forgot to enjoy the experience. The way I thought about it was like this: It’s not the World Series, it’s the victory parade after you have already WON the world series. The analogy isn’t exact, but the mindset is. I was going to love this race, the people, the runners, the environment. I was going to take it in and remember it and I would do that while running a respectable race that would honor the hard work I did to get there.
The Route
Here is a map to give you a sense of place as I talk about certain things. It also has the elevation so you can see that, while it is net downhill, it is NOT a downhill race by any means. It’s a hilly course that just keeps getting hillier the farther you run.
Hopkinton
I didn’t take many pics during the race so I found just a few to give you an idea of what it was all about.
The first thing that surprised me was the actual start. I knew the race was a net downhill race from Hopkinton to Boston but what I didn’t realize was how steep the downhill start was. This picture gives a good idea of it. I mean, it is really quite a downhill, so much so that you feel you need to put on the brakes almost right away. And that is a good thing because even though you can run fast during the downhill portions, especially the first 5.5 miles, it isn’t wise to burn yourself out doing that when you have some serious hills waiting for you between miles 16 and 20.
I went out slow on purpose and I was still pushing up against my race pace limit within a mile.
Off We Go!
Here is a picture I took not too long after the start. You can tell we were far enough along for some people to already take off their jackets and tie it around their waists. There is a guy on the far right who not only has a long sleeve shirt on but also has a vest AND a jacket draped behind him. That guy is overdressed. Meanwhile, the woman just to his left is going to have one heck of a sunburn on her right side if she didn’t put on sunscreen, which a lot of people didn’t. Luckily they actually had a sunscreen station on the walk to the start line and I took full advantage of it to make sure I wasn’t baked from 4+ hours in the sun.
Crowds and The Wellesley Scream Tunnel
To be honest, I’ve never been a huge crowd fan. I know they don’t really know me and I know they aren’t really cheering for me and so I often feel almost annoyed by them distracting me instead of helping me. But that has changed since the pandemic. My first big race after the lockdown was the OKC Marathon and the crowd support was off the charts. And maybe it was just a change of heart on my part but I felt like they were out there really cheering for me and everyone. I seemed to gain strength from them in ways I never had before.
The same thing happened in Boston. I was very emotional and happy seeing how many people came out in these small towns to make us all feel empowered, strong and loved as they cheered us on. It really was quite something.
Wellesley College
Of all the crowd spots on the route, Wellesley College has the reputation that precedes it. It is said that you can start to hear the screams of the women of Wellesley almost a mile away. That seemed a bit of hyperbole to me but it was not. I knew Wellesley was still quite a ways away when I started to hear something in the distance that just kept getting louder. And loud it was! By the time you turn the corner and see the crowd it is deafening and exhilarating!
I had also heard that there would be a lot of ‘kiss me’ signs but I figured that was most likely something in the distant past, certainly not something happening in 2022 but, once again, I was wrong. There were signs everywhere just like the picture above that said ‘Kiss me’ for one reason or another. Now, if I had run this race 20-30 years earlier, with the mindset I had back then, I would have done some kissin’ but I was 67 years old as I passed by these women younger than my daughters and I just couldn’t see them, or me, thinking a kiss was a good idea. So I did a lot of high fiving and waving and fist pumps as I went by, but no kisses.
Heartbreak Hill
Boston is a net downhill race, meaning the finish line in Boston is lower than the start line in Hopkinton. That is the reason the Boston Marathon can never have a world record, the difference is too great to allow it to be officially considered. Because of that many people get lulled into thinking it just can’t be that hard of a race. But the elevation drop is very deceiving. Like I said above, the first 5.5 miles is almost all downhill. After that it’s not flat but a series of mild up and down hills as you go through the towns.
That is until you hit the town of Newton at mile 16. Then the course goes uphill with a vengeance. These 4 hills are appropriately called the Newton Hills and it’s a critical moment in the race. If you have not reserved your energy the hills will wipe you out. The last of these hills, at mile 20-21 is the longest and it is called Heartbreak Hill.
Heartbreak Hill, mile 20-21
This picture is not an exaggeration, just look at the straight up vertical lines of the homes in the background if you doubt it. The beginning of the hill is not quite this steep but this is a good portion of it and it will kick your ass if you aren’t taking it seriously.
Luckily I did take it seriously and it only mildly kicked my ass.
My Race Analysis of Heartbreak Hill
Here is a close up of my stats at the bottom and top of Heartbreak Hill. I knew I would slow down on all the hills but especially on the last one and I tried to plan for that. But, as you can see I was actually able to increase my pace as I went up the hill because I took the prior mile stretch of flat ground slower than I could have gone so I could regain my strength.
Just remember, if anyone ever tells you race strategy isn’t important in a marathon, they haven’t run one.
Here the entire race analysis. It says my slowest mile was my first one, but that was because I had to take a pee break. Big races are notorious for failed bladder strategy! You think you have it all out and you get in the corral then you wait around 20-30 minutes until you actually start and next thing you know, you aren’t as empty as you thought you were! Without the potty break my actual running time was similar to all of those first 16 miles. My true slowest mile was Heartbreak Hill and I was ok with that because I planned for it.
One thing to notice if you are a runner. Look at my average time of 9:09 minutes per mile. Do you know what pace you have to run to meet or break 4 hours? 9:09! Then why didn’t I have a 4 hour marathon? Because I didn’t go 26.2 miles. My Garmin watch had me going 26.67 miles. Why is that? Because a race is measured point to point in direct tangents from one corner to another. But in a crowded race it’s almost impossible to run that exact line, thus you run a lot farther than the designated distance. I have run 18 marathons and I think in only one did my watch show a distance shorter than the race when I was done. All the rest had me at 26.3 or more. Those variables are why I always tell my runners they need to plan for and run 9 or just above to assure a 4 hour marathon.
Climate Considerations
Something to note on the stats above. the temperature, humidity and wind were all fantastic for a race. But what those stats don’t tell you is how the weather changed over the course of 4 hours. Yes, the wind was mild for most of the race, but not the last hour. During that last hour (right after Heartbreak Hill basically) the wind turned and started blowing harder and west, meaning it was in my face the last 5 miles. In addition the temp dropped. Not by a lot but the combination of the higher wind, lower temp and just the fatigue of running 20 miles made that last 5 quite a challenge.
As you can see from my race analysis I did slow down a bit over those miles. I was ok with that as well because it was more important to me to enjoy the final miles of the race, take in the huge screaming crowds, high-fiving the kids and waving and thumbs upping the adults along the final few miles. I knew from watching my pace that I would finish with a decent time and maybe even qualify again for Boston in 2024 (which I did, by 57 seconds) and that was enough for me.
Another climate note for runners. If someone says, ‘It looks like great spectator weather’ you are going to be struggling. Spectators like it around 70º, runners not so much.
If you are from the east coast you see Citgo gas stations all over the place. But if you are not you likely will only ever see one Citgo sign, and that is the one you see on the race course. Boston doesn’t have mountains so that sign is sort of like the mountain in the distance to give you an idea where you are. A marathon is approximately 42 Kilometers and you can see the sign there saying 40Km so you know you are close at that point. It’s a very helpful visual goal to reach for at a point at the race when you are hurting and worn down
While I was getting closer my family and friends were waiting on Boylston and already psyched up by the excitement of the race!
Sarah, Chelsea and Jackie whipping the crowd into a frenzy for me!
Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston
Sounds funny to say it, but one of the most iconic statements about Boston are a simple set of directions. “Right on Hereford, left on Boylston.” Everyone who runs Boston knows what this means, it means you are in the final stretch. For almost 26 miles you have made almost no turns, and certainly no sharp 90º turns. But that changes at the end. As you are headed down Mass Ave. you go under an overpass. It’s just a big dip in the road, no big deal. Except there are no spectators due to the underpass and it’s at about mile 25.7. Anything even slightly uphill at that point is hard!
Once you get back up to street level it’s just a hundred yards or so before Hereford is in sight. It is a very short street and then it’s a left on Boylston and the finish line is…is.. Wait, dang if it still isn’t a long way off! About a third of mile off to be exact. Luckily with the adrenaline and emotions pumping it really goes by so fast and before you know it I was done!
Here is my video of making that famous last turn and searching for my family. I sped it up because I was going way to slow to show the whole thing!
Man, I was running fast! hahahaA capture from my video
While I was doing that (and not finding them) they were recording me. Here I am going right by them. I had spied my friend Jim H. who was just about 10 yards past them and was focusing on waving to him.
The Finish Line
And then it was over. I felt completely exhilarated, to the point that whatever fatigue I had disappeared. I was proud of myself and happy and satisfied thinking back on the 5 year adventure it had been to get to this point. Before the race started I had pretty much decided that it would likely be my last marathon for a good long while. I was worn out from all the training and the idea of doing it again was depressing. But after the race my feelings were completely different. I was on a runner’s high like you can’t believe and all I could think about was wanting to experience this joy and fulfillment again and again. It was not marathon retirement time after all!
This is dorky me loaded down with clothes, food, water, and shoes as I left the hotel. Luckily almost all of this gear will be discarded or left at the gear check to be picked up later. It is now about 6am or so.
Dorky Me
To The Busses!
Awaiting the bus ride
The Boston Marathon is unique in many ways, one of which is that it is a point to point race. You start over 32 miles away (via freeways) in the small town of Hopkinton, MA. To do that, the BAA (Boston Athletic Association, the sponsors of the race) has a vast army of busses that take us all to that town early on race day morning. As you can see from the picture there is a long line but it moves fast and everyone is loaded up and ready to go in short order. It’s one of the best aspects of the race, the drive to the start. It’s when you meet other runners, eat your final breakfast items, and get your head together for the race ahead. Linda was not sure she wanted to get up so early to see my off but then decided to come and she really loved the experience. Plus she got to walk back to the hotel and go back to sleep!
At the Athletes’ Village
After an hour or so you are dropped off at the Athletes’ village. It is on the grounds of the Hopkinton Middle School I believe. This is where you go the bathroom 1 or 2 or 3 last times, finish your breakfast, gather into your corrals and await the sign to start your walk to the finish line, which is about a half a mile away.
You may be wondering why I have my shoes around my neck. The old pros have long said it’s best to not wear your shoes to the village since it could very easily be very muddy. It is also a long time from when you first put your shoes on at the hotel to when you start the race so being able to wear older, looser shoes saves your feet from being too tightened down for too long.
You can also see that I have on a white fluffy sweat shirt, something I obviously would not wear running. This was something I bought at our local thrift store, along with some old sweat pants, to keep warm in the early morning Boston chill while I made my way to the start. Most people do it this way then simply discard the outer layer right before the start. The BAA collects all the clothing and donates them to homeless shelters around the Boston area.
Athletes’ Village
Here is a view of the Athletes’ Village. I was happy to find that most of the ground was covered with rubber mats so it turned out the mud wasn’t that big an issue. The advice you’ll get about the Village is that you have to sit around for a long time, but my experience, both here and at the New York Marathon, is that the time passes really quickly and before you know it you need to be lined up and ready to make the walk to the start line. As a matter of fact, I missed the line up for the corral and had to play catch up on the walk.
As I walked to the start I thought about having started running so casually 19 years earlier just because my office mate wanted to get out once in a while and run during our lunch hour. I had decided to join her and I was able to run about 100 or so yards before I had to walk the rest of the 3 mile loop around the lake. Fast forward 5 years and I actually join a couch to 5k group with my wife and daughter and achieve the amazing feat of running 3.1 miles all at one time. Two years after that I run my first marathon and now, 12 years after that first one, I have qualified for and am running in the penultimate marathon on the planet. Quite the journey. I stood at the threshold of accomplishment, filled with nerves and excitement!
