When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1927
Unless you were living in a cave this week, or just mesmerized by CNN's seemingly never-ending coverage of the disappearance of flight 370, you probably noticed that Monday's 118th Boston Marathon went off without a hitch.
I received an email from the Boston Athletic Association yesterday, indicating that of the 32,456 runners that crossed the starting line in Hopkinton, 31,913 completed the race (a 98% finisher-to-entrant ratio). It was the second-largest Boston Marathon in the race's history. An American male (and fellow UCLA alum! Go Meb!) won for the first time in 31 years, and Rita Jeptoo set a women's course record with her third Boston win. It was a joyous day, in stark contrast to the traumatic events that occurred during the race in 2013.
As I sat down to write this post, I recalled the day I wrote my last post-race report in the middle of a week that was filled with tears, anxiety, confusion, and anger. Over the course of last week, I revisited those feelings upon seeing the finish line on the morning of the attack's one-year anniversary, when I later walked into the Marriott Copley Hotel (which I hadn't visited since we were evacuated from its lobby), and as I spoke with friends who were injured in the bombing or were running the race and stopped short of their finish.
When all was said and done, I'm extremely happy that I decided to run again this year. In order to gain some closure, I, like so many people here, needed to have a beautiful and amazing, incident-free Marathon weekend. And it did not disappoint. Below is the story of my 2014 Boston Marathon experience.
My weekend started off on Friday night after work, when my friend Hannah and I headed down to Nike Boston to check out the pictures on display in the store from the photo shoot we attended. That day was Nike's grand opening so it was very busy, and I'll admit it was kind of awesome to see pictures of myself up on the wall at a retail store, even those in which I was in some contrived stretching pose. We grabbed some food with a few other runners and then I headed home for an early bedtime.
On Saturday morning, Kristen and I got up early and headed into the city just in time to see people racing down Boylston at the end of the B.A.A. 5K. We met up with Hannah and her roommate Katie again at Nike, so Kristen could check out the pictures while the rest of us joined the Nike Run Club for a "shake-out-the-cobwebs" run along the Esplanade. They actually had some of the elites there to warm up with us, including soon-to-be-record-holder Rita Jeptoo, last year's men's winner Lelisa Desisa, as well as the first-ever winner of the Olympic Women's Marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson. So cool!We then made a quick stop by the Old South Church near the finish line, where a group was handing out scarves that were made all over the world for the runners. With the sun shining and everyone in a good mood, walking down Boylston to the Hynes Convention Center felt like a dream. The Fitness Expo, however, was a complete nightmare: it was jam-packed with people, so we quickly picked up my bib and my marathon jacket, then got out of there.
On Sunday afternoon, Kristen's parents joined us for the Dana-Farber Pasta Party. As with last year, it had a number of touching moments and we were very excited to hear that DMFC had already exceeded $6M in funds raised for the Barr Program (which is about a million more than its goal!). There were ~700 runners on the team this year and I was amazed by how many people were recognized as "Pacesetters" (including myself, thanks to the generous donations which allowed me to hit my own personal $10,000 goal).
It's hard to describe what it's like to run in the Boston Marathon, other than to say it is 26.2 miles of pure, radiating positivity and happiness. Coupled, of course, with a large number of miles of serious pain and a necessary determined focus to make it to the end. It was hot-- temps got up into the 70s, which was a shock to the system of those of us who trained in sub-30 degree temps for most of the winter. With a few exceptions, the 20-something people I knew running this race all said they cramped up and had a rough time out there. I read similar stories online about other runners. I think I read that 10% of the field required medical attention at some point during or after the race, and upon finishing I saw many, many people in rough shape. I ended up running a smarter and stronger race than last year, but finished in 03:39:29, 2 mins slower than last year and my slowest marathon time to date.
But I didn't care. I decided to do this race without setting a hard time goal for myself, because more than anything I just wanted to appreciate it. After I saw Kristen and her mom in Wellesley, I was still feeling pretty strong but entering the Newton hills my calves started seizing up and I kept having to stop and stretch them out. But then I started seeing people I knew...
Last year's event shook my city to its core and affected me in a profound way. I felt a persistent "don't worry, we'll get through this" undercurrent here all the way up until the night before the race. My friend Jack wrote a great blog post a few weeks ago about his experience training for this marathon, having grown up in Cleveland, and I could relate to much of what he said about bonding with this city. And in thinking about how best to convey my experience in this year's race, I thought mostly about that bond. While many saw this as an opportunity to celebrate our country's resilience and patriotism (this is, after all, the reason for Patriot's Day in Boston), my experience gave me a reason to feel at home again.
Monday was a perfect day, and one that left me feeling the embrace of my city and its residents, the running community, and of course, my friends and loved ones. I was proud of my accomplishment and that of my friends, and grateful for the hundreds of thousands of people that I saw across those 26.2 miles whose only purpose in those moments was to celebrate the human spirit. To relish the bonds that define this community, which are based on a shared pride in where we live and what we do. Those bonds are the essence of "Boston Strong" and I'm proud to call myself a Bostonian.
In closing, I want to say thanks to all of my family and friends that have supported me over these past two years of fundraising and training-- especially my wife, Kristen, without whom, I wouldn't have been able to raise as much money for Dana-Farber. All of this is a ton of work, and I'm not sure I'll be doing it again next year, but I will most certainly be looking forward to attending next year's Boston Marathon.
For those still wishing to make a donation, you may still do so!
In closing, I want to say thanks to all of my family and friends that have supported me over these past two years of fundraising and training-- especially my wife, Kristen, without whom, I wouldn't have been able to raise as much money for Dana-Farber. All of this is a ton of work, and I'm not sure I'll be doing it again next year, but I will most certainly be looking forward to attending next year's Boston Marathon.
For those still wishing to make a donation, you may still do so!
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