By Mike Shreve
April 2009
Descending upon the scene in Hopkinton was a little intimidating at first. David and I weren’t able to latch on to a charity and certainly hadn’t qualified for the race so we were pretty much left standing on the periphery, staring into a packed street of runners, wondering how we were supposed to sneak in and bring to fruition four months of grueling training. We ultimately found an unregistered runner (bandit) like us who filled us in on the protocol. He told us that when the registered runners take off, you just jump in and become a part of the rich history that is the Boston Marathon - rocket science in its most complex form.
When the 15 minute hike to the actual starting line was up, we were more than ready to spring into our gait and immediately we were overwhelmed with the throngs of spectators tightly packing the sidewalks to cheer on a bunch of strangers. In the early going, we were maneuvering around a lot of the pockets of slower runners to keep our pace and make some room for ourselves. We were making the effort to slap fives with all the little kids holding out their hands, excited to be so close to the action.
Midway through the race, I’m starting to feel the drain and the energy packs aren’t delivering the punch they did during training. I think about how nice a ride on a stretcher would be. What feels like a snail’s pace over Heartbreak Hill provides little solace with six miles left. The home stretch is absolutely packed with people cheering and though their passion should provide a boost, the limitations of one’s own physiology surprisingly override any thoughts of a euphoria-driven kick to the finish line.
And just like that, the journey was over. David ran a 3:53. I ran a 4:05. We are rewarded with the satisfaction that no matter how fat and out of shape we get, we can forever point out smugly to people that we stormed the field at the 2009 Boston Marathon and conquered the course for the greatest reason of all (besides running for any number of the countless charities involved)
...........because it was there.
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