Not a ski report, but...
Did any maggots run in or watch the Bton marathon this past weekend?
My wife ran for the first time (she just qualified in February and decided to run it), and I went down with her to offer suport and to see for myself firsthand what all the hoopla about the Boston Marathon was all about. All I can say was it was intense... I've been to 5 other marathons that my wife ran in, and this was just nothing like i've ever seen in a race. Anyway, figured some folks here on TGR that run would like to read this.
I scored a seat right at the 26 mile mark right on Boylston, and could see up/down the last stretch. Holy shit - so many people, and so loud, it was infriggincredible! The street was lined with 3, 4, 5 people deep, in buildings, on bleachers, everywhere, and the place would just go bonkers when the athletes (runners and wheelchair athletes) would come down the street on the home stretch.
The weather was hot and sunny and very low humidity, and people were dropping like flies during the race and on the last stretch. The professional athletes (wheelchair and runners, both men and women) were so fast it was unbelievable. How you run 5 minute miles for almost the full race in that heat is just beyond me.
The heat and course took its toll, though - lots of people finished slower than they hoped, and some didn't finish at all. Lots of the elite women and men were hurting, as well as the average marathoners. My wife told me she saw a woman who was running just in front of her (at about the half-way mark) suddenly faceplant, and just start convulsing. She said that another had diarrhea running down her leg while she was running and didn't even seem to notice. Spooky stuff.
The final stretch down Boylston was awesome - the runners would turn the corner and come flying down the straightaway towards the finish. The cheering from the crowd on the final stretch really helped people along. Some of the runners were really hurting, cramping and just delirious from the heat. One dude was so delirious he was wobbling all over and really didn't know which way to run. The crowd cheered him and he tried to keep going, but he unfortunately crossed the 26 mile mark and collapsed - EMS was there to help real quick, but such a shame...so close yet so far...
Later, I watched another guy crawl...yes crawl, across the line. It made a shot in the Boston Herald. The loudest cheers of the whole race weren't for the top men and women finishers, but for people like that - the average marathoner just trying to finish one of the most, if not the most, prestiguous marathon event in the world! Such an awesome experiece as a viewer.
On a personal note, my wife was hoping for a 3:30-3:40 time and ended up with 3:58. She was bummed, but being her first time running Bton, it was more of a reconnaisance mission than a real race for her.
Anyway, simply an amazing experience...I've always respected marathon runners, but after this, i've got to say that the level of respect and admiration went up. Can't wait for next year's race!
