“Though in a crowd of stunned runners and spectators, I felt alone”
After months of training, my wife and I had arrived at the marathon event of the year, the 2013 Boston Marathon. We started together in Wave 3, Corral 6, running for an American Medical Athletic Association charity. In four hours our day would drastically change. A knee injury forced me to slow my pace and […]
Since Boston doesn’t have pacers, at least I didn’t have to watch each successive pace group pass me
The “Marathon” race from Ashland to this city, held under the auspices of the Boston athletic association yesterday… proved a great success and is an assurance of an annual fixture of the same kind. – The Boston Globe, 20 April 1897 I’d made it to Mecca. Not the Holy Land to which devout Muslims make […]
26.2 mile of kissing the earth with my feet: The Hula Man does Boston
There were so many memorable moments about my running of the 104th Boston Marathon I could write an entire volume. Boston is one of the best cities in the US and we loved it. We arrived at our Bed and Breakfast five blocks from the finish line late Thursday and spent the night resting. When […]
In life, enduring pain often leads to the sweetest moments
In 2009 when I decided to run my first marathon, my goal from the start was to see if I could qualify for the Boston Marathon. Boston is the dream for so many people, because it is legendary. It is the oldest, longest running marathon in the world, and it is the only one, other […]
Let me tell you, Boston takes no prisoners
Boston is one tough marathon course. Reading about the route and even driving the course doesn’t really prepare you for what it is like to race at Boston. Everybody who struggles with the Boston Beast can take some solace in the fact that even four-time winner Bill Rodgers dropped out of his first Boston race […]
735 Days
Two weeks after the 2015 Boston Marathon, I am finally finished with my thoughts about the entire experience. Those of you who know me are aware of the emotional challenge these last two years have been. They, of course, pale in comparison to the pain and heartache countless families have had to deal with in […]
Quinn Strong: Running with the power of purpose
I didn’t choose to go blind. But the choice I made after going blind, that’s what defines my life. On a cold, gray April day, running into a headwind and then steady rain, this choice led me to the hilly, grueling Boston course. Here, on this most unlikely day, I beat my previous personal marathon […]
Drinking Beer, Kissing Wellesley Women and Abstract Journeys
In one sense this was 26.2 mile journey. In another it was a three-day weekend. In yet another sense it started in 1994 when I finished my first marathon and I realized that I had never tested my physical limits. And in another sense the journey started in 7th grade when I ground to a […]
A Postponement for a By-Pass
I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2001. My goal was to complete my first marathon in under four hours, but that day I crossed the finish line at 4:15. I was overwhelmed by such a large race atmosphere and was not prepared for a race of that caliber. A few months later I ran the […]
Thank you, Boston, for your strength, perseverance, beauty, and grace
Just about anything I say will not do it any justice. But let me try…again. Amazing support. The BAA kept in perfect contact with us through the final crazy month and few last weeks. Their information content was right on and they repeated very important items. Volunteers realized what they were in for and they […]
“Toronto runner conquers double Boston Marathon — and much more”
Two weeks prior to last year’s Boston Marathon I disclosed to family and friends that I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I was on the street when the bombs went off… After five months off work with PTSD, I decided to return to Boston and run a double marathon to raise funds and […]
Joy in the Journey Back to Normalcy
Boston strong? Absolutely. Boston loud? Hell, yeah. On a day when the finish line at the Boston Marathon was reclaimed, normalcy made a triumphant return during the 26.2-mile journey from Hopkinton to Boston… It was evident as we pulled into Hopkinton this would not be just another Patriot’s Day. Buses were everywhere. Cars were everywhere. […]