A Year Like No Other
As I rode the bus from the Boston Common out the starting line for the 118th running of the Boston Marathon on the third Monday in April 2014, I thought how this journey had actually begun a full eight years earlier. I ran my first Boston Marathon in 2007, having qualified the prior May in […]
Running as the Bona Fide #14285
Though the 2014 Boston was not my “A” race of spring and I hadn’t been training specifically for a marathon, I’d been excited about it for weeks… First, it’s the Boston Marathon! Second, I had really strong feelings about running after being there and seeing the tragedy unfold the year before. And third, I would be running […]
Boston makes you stand taller, breath deeper, and run faster
Running the Boston Marathon was an incredible experience. Being part of a 118-year old tradition was both amazing and emotional. I qualified for the Boston Marathon in Paris in April 2013, a week before the bombings happened in Boston. I was still determined to be a participant in 2014. I arrived in Boston on the Saturday before […]
My legs were boycotting and there really wasn’t anything I could do about it
No one likes to write a race report about a race that didn’t go well. I questioned putting these thoughts out there, but I know eventually I’ll be glad I did. It will be good to look back on it in the future–hopefully when a race goes “right.” The first few days after the marathon, […]
The Sound of Music meets a scene from the Terminator
I don’t even know where to start! Boston 2014 was quite possibly the most amazing display of humanity ever. Boston pumped love, perseverance, support, and empathy; every second, all weekend. I have never in my life experienced this type of non-stop caring and selflessness from every single person I bumped into during my entire trip. […]
Finally, a BQ at Boston
Brian and I hit the road early Sunday morning for the 3.5 hour drive to Boston. The drive was uneventful, and before long we were checking in to the hotel and making our way to the expo by 11:00am. The expo itself was a madhouse. There were so many people crammed into the space it […]
The idea of the Boston Marathon is almost as powerful as the race itself
I ran Boston for the first time in 2011, and I didn’t have a strong desire to ever run it again. I had wanted to do it once in my life, and I was very grateful and satisfied to have had that experience. I just didn’t feel I needed to come back and do it […]
Running through the Center of the World
For over a year I dreamed about what it would feel like to run in the 118th edition of the Boston Marathon. Like many others, I felt compelled to be there no matter what it took. I was inspired to stand up as part of the running community, to help New England heal, to show […]
I kept screaming, “Just like you’re here for us, we’re all here running for you, for Boston…”
If I had to sum up this race, it’d be easy: it hurt like HELL! I suffered every step of the 26.2, but OMG was it worth it! It was FANTASTIC and during the whole race I had to deal with my uncontrollable body and the crowds making me cry and dry-heave all the way […]
A Fast Marathon Needs More than Fitness
How do you run a fast marathon? It’s one of the most interesting questions I can think of as a runner, training geek, and coach. It’s also incredibly complex. With a race as long as the marathon, there are more opportunities for something to go wrong. Quite often, your finish time is more strongly influenced […]
Proud to Accept the Invitation
At 2:49 p.m. on April 15, 2013, I was recording video from the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street, ten yards away from where the first bomb went off. I was trying to get a lot of those first-time marathoners and charity runners coming across. People who aren’t used to running that race let […]
Hearing “wicked ‘stache, bro!” a thousand times
I must have heard “wicked ‘stache, bro!” a thousand times, or “killer ‘stache,” “love your ‘stache, “Go Pre!” etc. Which is, as my good friend Eric Senseman confirmed, “The Dream.” Well, the dream for anyone who loves mustaches. I grew up wanting a mustache my whole life, probably due to some combination of admiration for […]