Boston Marathon 2009
So, once again I find myself on the sidelines watching the Boston Marathon. But this year, there is a difference. The knees are healing. I am beginning to re-introduce running into my workouts. I've got a long way to go, but things are looking good. I'm looking forward to posting the account of my "return to running"!
Sunday, April 19th
Had lunch with Elizabeth and two of her friends from Cleveland, Amie and Barb. It was a nice lunch at Bertucci's (especially nice for the extraordinarily short 5-minute wait) in Harvard Square. Nice to talk running for a change. I'm really missing it and am more motivated than ever to get the strength back in my knees and hit the roads and trails again.
After lunch I drove them over to Marathon Sports -- Amie was in need of a few more energy gels, and then dropped them off at Copley near their hotel -- after wishing them a good run for the marathon.
Monday, April 20th - 113th running of the Boston Marathon
Anita and I found a nice spot just before the beginning of Heartbreak Hill, right around mile 20. Seemed to be almost perfect running conditions early in the race. I'm guessing mid to high 40's with just a light breeze. As the day wore on, however, the temperature seemed to drop and the wind picked up (headwind for the runners).
The first of the wheelchair athletes had already passed when we got there, but soon after the elite women came by. At that point in the race Kara Goucher was right in the front of the lead pack. Kara finished third, only 9 seconds behind the winner, Salina Kosgei. Second place Dire Tune was only 1 second behind Salina.
The elite men came quite soon after. Ryan Hall was already in third place, though still within sight of the two leaders. He would finish third, 58 seconds behind Deriba Merga. Ryan finished 8 seconds behind the second place finisher, Daniel Rono.
Now came the most difficult task of all...
Spotting Elizabeth! ('cause she's so fast, right?)
Twice over the last three years I've looked for her without success. This year was going to be different. She gave me her predicted pace. I calculated when she would pass mile 20. And then I almost missed her. Almost...
So there she is, running in top form, looking great at 20 miles! [Yeah, crappy video from my cell phone.]
Unfortunately, I missed Barb and Amie (though I'll have to check my cell phone videos against their times -- maybe they're in one of them). [You'll just have to come back and do Boston again! If I'm on the sidelines, I'll find you next time.]
So now...
Congratulations Elizabeth (3:16:30) -- great run! Think you were close to your goal, right? [I see a sub-3 in your future.]
Great run, Amie (4:11:09) -- pretty damn good for your third marathon!
And Barbara (3:28:25) -- WOW! You won your division at Boston! That was well ahead of your prediction.
And congratulations to all the other runners who made it through the 113th running here in Boston.
So that's all for now.
Sunday, April 19th
Had lunch with Elizabeth and two of her friends from Cleveland, Amie and Barb. It was a nice lunch at Bertucci's (especially nice for the extraordinarily short 5-minute wait) in Harvard Square. Nice to talk running for a change. I'm really missing it and am more motivated than ever to get the strength back in my knees and hit the roads and trails again.
After lunch I drove them over to Marathon Sports -- Amie was in need of a few more energy gels, and then dropped them off at Copley near their hotel -- after wishing them a good run for the marathon.
Monday, April 20th - 113th running of the Boston Marathon
Anita and I found a nice spot just before the beginning of Heartbreak Hill, right around mile 20. Seemed to be almost perfect running conditions early in the race. I'm guessing mid to high 40's with just a light breeze. As the day wore on, however, the temperature seemed to drop and the wind picked up (headwind for the runners).
The first of the wheelchair athletes had already passed when we got there, but soon after the elite women came by. At that point in the race Kara Goucher was right in the front of the lead pack. Kara finished third, only 9 seconds behind the winner, Salina Kosgei. Second place Dire Tune was only 1 second behind Salina.
The elite men came quite soon after. Ryan Hall was already in third place, though still within sight of the two leaders. He would finish third, 58 seconds behind Deriba Merga. Ryan finished 8 seconds behind the second place finisher, Daniel Rono.
Now came the most difficult task of all...
Spotting Elizabeth! ('cause she's so fast, right?)
Twice over the last three years I've looked for her without success. This year was going to be different. She gave me her predicted pace. I calculated when she would pass mile 20. And then I almost missed her. Almost...
So there she is, running in top form, looking great at 20 miles! [Yeah, crappy video from my cell phone.]
Unfortunately, I missed Barb and Amie (though I'll have to check my cell phone videos against their times -- maybe they're in one of them). [You'll just have to come back and do Boston again! If I'm on the sidelines, I'll find you next time.]
So now...
Congratulations Elizabeth (3:16:30) -- great run! Think you were close to your goal, right? [I see a sub-3 in your future.]
Great run, Amie (4:11:09) -- pretty damn good for your third marathon!
And Barbara (3:28:25) -- WOW! You won your division at Boston! That was well ahead of your prediction.
And congratulations to all the other runners who made it through the 113th running here in Boston.
So that's all for now.
posted by Kurt in Boston at 11:02 AM
1 Comments:
Kurt, it was wonderful meeting you for lunch in Boston. I hope to meet your wife next year when I return. Thanks for posting your 'view' of the marathon. And hope you're back on the roads soon..
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