The Happy Swallow
It all started several years earlier when I read an article in one of the Boston newspapers about how patrons of The Happy Swallow bar in Framingham would cheer wildly for the first marathon runner to come off the course near Mile 7 and enter the bar. Then the owner would give that runner a […]
“Try hard — try harder!”
On Friday April 15, 2016, I was on the train to Boston to attend a conference on Native American Running presented by Harvard’s Peabody Museum in collaboration with the Boston Athletic Association and other sponsors. This topic has interested me since reading a book by Peter Nabokov which described how Indians ran to communicate, fight, […]
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 […]
Charting my race versus plan
“Life is just a place to spend time between races.” — George Sheehan, Running & Being: The Total Experience I completed my third Boston Marathon in 2:48:32. This was just over a minute faster than my time in 2014. It was my eighth marathon PR, my fifth PR of the year, and my 12th PR since turning […]
A Tale of Two Bostons
My Boston story begins in 2008 when I ran my first marathon, although the description “run” is probably an over simplification: I ran, walked, hobbled, limped, and finally finished in 4:46. I could have checked marathons off my bucket list and moved on to something else, but I was annoyed with myself. I decided to […]
Three Boston Medals
In 2006, I visited my doctor weighing 104kg. With medicated high blood pressure, dangerously high cholesterol, and a shocking liver reading, I was on a path to destruction! I started my own butchery business at the age of 19, and that was the end of my exercise years until 2006. That day the doctor told […]
In the right place at the right time: How a race I had given up on became a reality
Running in the Boston Marathon for me was supposed to be a one and done deal: A bucket list item, a goal I set to celebrate turning 50 last year. Boston for long distance runners is the “Super Bowl” of marathons. You have to have a qualifying time on a certified marathon course to gain […]
I was overwhelmed with excitement, telling myself I was here, running the BOSTON MARATHON!
When I first started running in Sept 2010, I never could have dreamed I would ever run in the Boston Marathon. In November 2010, I ran my first race the Santa Clarita Half Marathon and I remember at the turn off from the South Fork Trail onto the two bridges where the half and full […]
Residents came out of their houses with food and water, offering any kind of aid they could
I am not sure I can put into words what we are feeling and what yesterday, April 15th, 2013, was like, but I will try. I was at the front of the group of runners police stopped within half a mile of the finish line soon after the bombs went off. Officials held us there […]
A lifetime’s worth of tragedy in the span of 20 minutes
Accompanied by cooler temperatures, race day started with promise and enthusiasm. The starting line was abuzz with talk of PR’s and possible personal Boston bests. A trend of new PR’s was also evidenced by the too-many-to-count runners who scanned their wristwatches while covering the last five miles. I crossed the finish line at 2:45 pm […]