The Boston Marathon is the oldest and arguably most prestigious marathon in the world. I had the incredible opportunity to run the marathon this weekend and participate in the many festivities the event has to offer.
I arrived in Boston mid-day Saturday, two days ahead of the marathon. There were plenty of runners on my flight from O’Hare, and my excitement for Monday started to grow. My dad and I went to the hotel, and I got in a nice, easy jog in around the Boston Harbor.
I then made my way to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. I have been to roughly half of the MLB stadiums, and Fenway has always been a bucket-list stadium of mine. That Saturday was the 10-year anniversary of the horrific Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, that killed and injured many. It was incredible and moving to see some of the survivors and heroes from that day be honored on the field. I knew that remembering that day 10 years ago would be additional motivation for me come Monday.
The next day, I did my final pre-race jog around the Boston Harbor and then headed down towards the Boston Marathon Expo with my parents. I was astonished at the scale of the Expo itself. There were runners from all over the United States and the world picking up their race bibs and looking at the booths at the Expo. I picked up some Boston Marathon gear, took some cool pictures in front of some of the displays and even sampled the famous Sam Adams 26.2 Brew.
My high school friend from Harvard met up with my family, and we walked from the Expo towards the finish line. It was amazing to see the groups of runners analyzing the last part of the route and preparing for the next day’s journey. We also passed by the two memorials at the locations of the bombs that went off in 2013, which was very moving. We finally made our way to the finish line, and I was astonished at the size of the whole finish line area. I knew this marathon would be a completely different experience from Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, which I ran last June to qualify for Boston.
I got some lasagna to carbo-load for the race and headed to bed early to get some good sleep before the big day.
I didn’t sleep well because I was both nervous and excited for the race, but I woke up feeling ready to go. After getting up at about 5:15 a.m., I made my way to the finish line where I checked my gear bag and hopped on a shuttle to the start in Hopkinton. The bus ride lasted about an hour, but it was fun to talk to other runners and discuss our plans for the day ahead. I arrived in the athletes’ village where I hung out for awhile and met up with two of my teammates on the Notre Dame Running Club. We talked for a while, and then I made my way to the start line around 9:20 a.m. After the mile walk to the start, it was finally time to start at 10 a.m.
The first mile was a blur. There were so many people, and I could feel the energy in the air. I couldn’t believe that I was actually running the Boston Marathon. I started a little slow because of the big crowds, but I settled into my pace near the start of mile two. The first six miles felt like they went by in less than 10 minutes. I had so much adrenaline, and the streets were already lined with people cheering the runners on.
The Boston Marathon is unique in that it is a point-to-point race where you run through seven towns before reaching downtown Boston. Each town along the course had a different feel, and it was fun to see the scenic New England suburbs around the route.
I don’t remember much about miles six to 12, but I continued to settle into my pace and felt pretty good. Then, just before the halfway point, I reached the famous Wellesley College scream tunnel. The noise was so loud that I could barely hear myself think. I saw my parents just after the scream tunnel as well, and I started to gain a lot of confidence. I began to feed off the crowd’s energy and gain more confidence.
Despite the confidence, I held myself back a bit because I knew a series of hills from miles 15 to 21 were going to be a defining point in the race. When I reached the first hill just after mile 15, my legs still felt pretty good. I focused on maintaining effort on the uphill and then used the downhills to pick up some time. I weathered the first three hills well before reaching the infamous Heartbreak Hill, which is a three-quarter mile hill that starts at mile 20. It didn’t feel good, but I saw my parents again and let the rowdy crowds from Boston College carry me up the hill.
Once I crested that hill, I knew I had the chance for a massive personal best. I was averaging about 6:15 per mile at this point, and my previous personal best was about 6:29 per mile. At this point, I ignored my pace largely and just gave it all I had for the last five miles.
I was amazed at how the crowds continued to grow as I ran through the Brookline neighborhood into downtown Boston. I was wearing my Notre Dame Running Club singlet, and I heard some Irish fans cheering for me which helped me even more. With a mile to go, I ran by Fenway and the crowd grew even larger. I even started to tear up at this point because I was so thankful to be running this prestigious event, and it was such a surreal experience.
With just under a half mile to go, I made the final turn onto Boylston Street and picked up the pace even more. At this point, I was moving at a sub-six minute mile pace, and I was passing people left and right. As I crossed the finish line, it all hit me. I had completed the Boston Marathon and recorded a seven-minute personal best from my previous marathon. There was no better feeling in the world.
After getting my medal and picking up my bag, I met up with my family and friends to grab lunch. Both my parents, two high school friends and one friend from Notre Dame came to watch me, and it was so special to have them there for the race.
Later that night, I headed back to Fenway for the Mile 27 after-party, which was a great way to celebrate the race with friends, beer and food and cap-off an incredible marathon weekend.
This weekend proved to me that the Boston Marathon is one of the greatest athletic events in the world, and I am so thankful I had the chance to be a part of it.
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