The Boston Marathon has a special place in the marathon calendar
and for good reason. It is the longest continuously running
marathon, starting in 1897 and now on its 118th edition. It is also
significant because almost all of the field have to achieve a
Boston qualification time (a "BQ" in the language of American club
runners) to get there. And clearly this year's Boston marathon also
took on more significance with the Boston bombings in 2013 that
took the lives of three spectators and injured or maimed race
participants.
My journey to Boston was on the Saturday before the race on
Patriots Day (Monday 21 April), but - to pardon the cliché - the
journey had started a long time before that. My original
intention was to BQ at the Rome Marathon in 2006!
Unfortunately, I was just outside 3:10 qualifying standard and
after a break I returned to marathons in 2011.
Various 'failures' at Brighton 3:24 and Portsmouth suggested my
times were going south of my target. Finally, I got the time
at Chester in 3:02, and again at Manchester 2:58 which now meant I
had to apply. (Note: In the end the number of qualifiers
achieving the 3:10 standard for my age group was quite high, so the
cut-off ended up being 3.08 for 35-39 year old males - which could
have been quite disappointing had I training to get just within
3:10).
The build
up
The build up for the race had been fairly good for me averaging 35
miles per week, although I lost a block of time in the 'peak month'
before the race with a tonsillitis/scarlet fever combo and my
preparation races - Hastings Half and the Worthing 20 were a bit
down on the year before. Nevertheless, I had the feeling that I was
good to scrape under 3 hours. This was not least because I
thought that the net elevation drop on the course meant it would be
a fast course (how very wrong was I).
Given the costs of the flights and accommodation I decided to go
out on my own. This was a blessing in many ways as it meant
not having a three and five year old with me that might not
understand the finer points of different time zones or rest before
a big race! I stayed at a hostel in downtown Boston which was
superb as it was 5 minutes from where I needed to be on race day
and was filled with other marathoners from around the
world.
With the excitement of the race in my mind I walked to the expo
for number pick-up etc. This meant passing the finishing line,
which had already been set up. It was a sight to behold due to the
hundreds of people milling around taking shots. I'm not sure
many races would generate so much interest. The next day was spent
chilling out around Harvard trying desperately not to do too
much.
Before I knew it race day was on me. The race is not conventional
as you are taken in buses from Boston Common where the race starts
26 miles west to the race start in Hopkington in rural New England
(lots of trees and nice wooden boarded houses as far as I could
tell). I sat next to a guy from San Diego who stood out as he was
wearing 'Google glass' specs that had a built recorder he used to
video the race. After the usual conversations about what
races we'd done, worries about the race, and what we wanted to do
we eventually got to the start.
There was a lot of security about but luckily it wasn't too in
your face (although someone afterwards pointed out that they saw
snipers on the roof overlooking the race village!). The problem, as
with many marathons, was waiting for race start in the cold very
early in the morning. Luckily the organisers were giving out
space blankets and I was thankful for it despite having purchased a
thermal top for $4 that I could chuck away.
The race itself
Thanks to my qualification time I was in the first wave of runners
that got to start at the same time as the elite men (although it
still took 2 minutes to cross the start line from the gun
going).
The Boston is known for a fast start and I had read that the route
drops quickly in the first four miles. However, even at this stage
there were some short sharp rises that interrupted the
downhills. Pacing was extremely difficult as was trying not
to go into the red on the uphill but also to keep things relaxed on
the downhill so my pace varied significantly between 7:30 to
6:30. Unfortunately, with a large pack of similar standard
runners, the downhills were difficult to navigate, there were a few
nasty falls by runners clipping each other, and in the congestion I
was braking (wasting energy) rather than letting gravity do the
work.
It was great to be running however as the crowds were already
amazing even in the early stages, especially going through various
small towns such as Ashland and Framingham. These were on the
'flat' part of the race, but there never really was a section of
level ground.
Even in the early stages of the race, which started at 9.30, the
sun was pretty strong and I was having to take on water at most of
the water stations at every mile. But I was ticking along
nicely and in the first half of the race I was consistently on
sub-three pace. I passed the half-way point at 1:29:30 feeling ok
but not super.
It was just after half way that I heard the 'scream tunnel' - this
is the section of the route where the Wellesley College Girls are
out in force. It was certainly high decibel and high
frequency for a significant amount of time. It is Boston tradition
apparently to stop for a snog and there were many amusing signs
inviting runners to do so, but with race times still on my mind
and, given the ages of the girls, concerns about scarring them for
life I pressed on through the hormone highway.
Between miles 13-16 I was drifting slightly above race pace and
started to have the nagging doubts about what was to
come.
In the run-up to the race I had heard a lot about the difficulty
of the Boston marathon due to infamous 'Heartbreak Hill' at mile
21. What proved to be the killer for me though was the
cumulative effects of the ups and downs already in my legs; the
heat which drifted up to over 20 degrees on the day; and the Newton
Hills, a series of tough uphills starting from mile 16 onwards. My
goal pre-race had been to allow my pace to drift up and get enough
back on the downhills and the last five miles after
Heartbreak.
On the day however this wasn't going to happen as the uphills were
far tougher than I had anticipated (at least in terms of running at
the pace I wanted to).
Check the profile (in grey) for yourself!
At points my pace was painfully slow drifting above 9 minute pace
and by the end of Heartbreak I was totally shot both mentally and
physically as I was no longer on target for sub-3 hour and there
was no getting that time back given my legs or the weather. But
halfway up Heartbreak Hill I was determined to carry on running
hard and just to enjoy the atmosphere. I got a bit of a kick out of
the crowd and just looking around at the suffering on everyone's
faces. There were sub-3 hour guys and girls all around me,
some walking the hills (with 5 miles still left) and others pushing
through and me somewhere in the middle.
I was now nearing the centre of Boston with crowd noise seemed to
increase exponentially. A combination of American's outgoing nature
(unlike Brits who might politely give a "well done" or clap, they
cheer at the top of their voices), the passion for the event after
last year, and the constant ringing of cow-bells made it almost
over whelming. By that time it was a pure pain but at the
same time the emotion coming from the crowd kept me going. It was
unbelievable to see so many top runners stopping, limping, and
walking at that point in the race, which pays testament to the
difficultly of the course.
Finally however I made it onto Boyston Street, turning a left hand
corner for a 500 metre 'sprint' to the
line.
Post-race was a mix of joy (at finishing), tinged with mild
disappointment at my time (3:12), and the agony in my legs (the
worst ever). Nevertheless, as I reflected on the race over a
couple of beers immediately after the race and my time became less
important. I realised that Boston Marathon was so much better for
its difficultly. With the defiance of the city after last year's
bombing, it was also great just to be part of an experience and to
understand the "Boston Strong" motto the city has adopted. This
will stick with me far more than my results sheet.
April 2014 by Kevin James
