Six Years as “The Flying Parson”
Although I was more of a plugger and a plodder than a natural speedster, from an early age I always enjoyed long distance running. While in college during the mid 1960s, I ran cross country for North Carolina State University. However, my first experience running in, or even seeing, a marathon was a new event […]
I PRed! I had food poisoning the night before, too.
Once on Boylston, I tossed my sunglasses. After racing with them all morning, it felt like seeing the world in technicolor. The sky was bright blue, the buildings were glowing and I was just SO grateful as I crossed the finish line. I cried a little, but mostly just laughed and couldn’t stop smiling. Terilyn […]
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 […]
My Personalized Motivational Sign Proved to be Textbook
The Boston Marathon is perhaps the definitive destination for distance runners. With its tough qualifying requirements, it is the goal to which countless runners aspire. As The Ultimate Guide to Marathons describes it, Boston is “the Mother of all Marathons, running’s best friend,” which “stands as the benchmark by which all other marathons are measured.” […]
In a “my legs are tired” way, not in a “I might die, need to walk, or maybe vomit” kind of way
Wow. Well, obviously the aftermath brought a lot more emotions and many things to process far more important than the actual race. Things I never dreamed I’d be considering when recording my first Boston experience. But her I want to focus on the good and the positive that came before… My husband Monte and I […]
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. […]
How could I be giving so much, yet running so slow?
After running back-to-back 2:58:30s in 2013 and 2014, I had set my sights squarely on going under 2:55 at Boston. However, I crossed the finish line on Boylston four minutes slower, not faster. I feel weird saying this, but I’m not as upset as you might think. Clearly, that was not the race I had […]
My early splits were at the mercy of the pack. In the crowd, it was too risky to pass.
As I tapered the week leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon, I couldn’t wait for the chance to write my post race report. I was so excited. I was healthy and trained for a sub-three hour marathon IN BOSTON! However, I had only an hour of utter elation post race before the senseless, horrific […]
A Spot on the Second Row
There are days when everything just seems to fall in place. For me, Monday, April 21, 1975, was one such day, although there was a good bit of worrying on my part as it was unfolding. After the debacle that was my first Boston race, I bounced back pretty quickly. Six weeks later I was […]
A Good Day for Americans
At noon a field of 15,606 runners left the Hopkinton starting line in the 105th Boston Marathon. I thus found myself among the third largest gathering in the event’s history, a field that included the last three men’s champions and the winners of the last four women’s races. However, after passing a half-million spectators along […]