Thirty-one of Twin City Track Club’s most tenacious runners braved the wind and rain April 17th to run the famous Boston Marathon (the Super Bowl of marathons) among nearly 30,000 other runners. After having the honor to panel our runners, here is what they had to say.
For those who don’t know, to run for Boston you have to qualify for your age group and gender in a Boston qualifier race or fundraise for a charity spot. Qualifying for Boston is no easy feat; if it were, we all would go. If you’ve been around for a while you’ll find that for a lot of these runners, it was not their first run at Boston. For several members, this was Boston experience three to seven.
And while the race is obviously the centerpiece of the weekend, some of our runners found other experiences just as meaningful. Maddie Stambugh and Jeremy Bush mentioned reuniting with family and friends near and far among their favorite moments of the trip. Dan Bradley loved getting to see the Red Sox game as well as their fantastical win.
The race itself was a whole other world. Bush and Bradley remarked on the Wellesley Scream Tunnel around the halfway point in the course. A crowd gathers on each side of the road and competitors run through the middle as the crowd roars at deafening levels, cheering on the runners as they go. This is a big favorite part for the runners, as it helps get the adrenaline back up for the second half of the race. They often will run to the sides to get as many high-fives from fans as possible. They do need to prepare for breaks, though; it’s a workout in itself to hold your arms out for that long.
The last mile also left a lasting impression on Rosemary Lather, Ed Flowers and Nathan Beamguard and others, who can’t miss the Citgo sign. A few runners even try to avoid looking for it so they don’t get too excited. The crowd of Boston fans cheers their hearts out at eardrum-splitting decibels for the thousands of runners crossing the finish line.
A few of our runners had some heart-touching moments for their race too. Jeremy Bush ran this race with his whole heart in memory of his wife, whom he lost last year, not long after the Boston race. To further commemorate his wife, he had a green heart (her favorite color) sewn into his racing singlet. “May her memory live on,” says Bush.
Maddie Straumbaugh explained that she enjoyed running the back half of the race with her coach as said coach was struggling with some health issues throughout the race. It was a joyous moment having the opportunity to cross the finish line together. Keith Miller simply enjoyed the opportunity to run side by side with the same friends he trains with on a daily basis.
One might think that the drizzly rain would have put a damper on the running spirit, but in fact the reality was quite the opposite. Most of our runners found the cool and dampness of the rain made for better running conditions. The big challenge for runners was being wary of the paint on the roads as it made the course a bit slippery. However, even with great care taken, Keith Miller took a tumble at the end and was assisted in getting back up.
The excitement didn’t end there; our runners rewarded their hard work and efforts over the last few months in different and spectacular ways. Some celebrated the race with drinks, a nice hot shower and nap combo, or going to dinner. A few others had some other means of celebration that were rather interesting. Stambaugh went to get her medal engraved and a poster of her finishing time. However, her biggest reward was returning to her students, who were excitedly waiting for her return after tracking her throughout her race. A solid group of our runners even spent the following day further celebrating by strolling around town—gotta prevent the lactic acid from settling in one way or another.
As grandiose as Boston is, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for every one of our runners. A few of them felt their performance was rather lackluster. Some were fighting injuries or pain, and Bradley acknowledged that it just wasn’t his day. If you hear about this from any of our runners, be sure to give them some good ole Strava style kudos for their accomplishment.
As far as a return to Boston, most of our runners plan to qualify and run until they can’t anymore, or they lose desire. The thrill of the race, the history and tradition keep our runners coming back. For others, they have immensely enjoyed their times of running the famous Boston Marathon, but have elected to pass the torch of opportunity to other runners for their time to shine at Boston.
Before signing off, Ed Flowers had some advice for the rest of us: Everyone needs to try to attempt a marathon, even if it’s not as impressive as Boston. To successfully compete in a marathon, you have to dig deep, both mentally and physically. This is not something you can really explain to someone to get the feeling across; you have to experience it for yourself!
