Boston 2007 (part 2)
If there was one thing I could change about the Boston experience it would be the pre-race stuff. I guess I'm spoiled with the Pig pre-race routine. I live about five minutes from the start line and usually leave about an hour prior the the Pig, do a little stretching, and run.
At Boston the race started at 10:00am, so I foolishly thought I'd get to sleep in a little. Wrong. The first ten thousand runners had to meet at the buses to be driven to Hopkinton at 7:ooam. Of course, it took a shuttle bus to get to the train which took us to the buses. So, I got up around 5:45, met Jay at 6:15, and we waited in the hotel lobby for the shuttle.
While getting ready for the race it dawned on me that I left Garmin at home. I felt like the parents form the movie Home Alone. How could I have forgotten Garmin? I guess I was in such a rush to get ready that I left him on his cradle charging. I'm happy to report that Garmin survived the long weekend alone. He still hasn't gotten over missing the trip. I'll make it up to him somehow.
Dressing for the race was tricky. The weather hadn't improved. It was still cold, rainy, and extremely windy. I decided to run in pants. I wouldn't have been uncomfortable in shorts, but I went with pants, two shirts, gloves, and a hat. I never run in a hat, but I wanted to keep the rain out of my face. When you check out the picture you'll understand why I don't wear hats very often - those are some big ass ears.
So, we met up with a large group of runners in the lobby of our hotel. When the shuttle arrived we piled in and took the five minute ride to the train station. Even more runners were there. Jay and I weren't sure where we were going, so we just followed the masses. The train took us to Boston Common where there was a line of school buses as far as you could see. We jumped on the first available bus and took the one hour ride to Athlete's Village located in a small town called Hopkinton.
Athlete's Village was basically a large tent in the middle of a rain soaked baseball field. It was 8:00 when we got to Athlete's Village, so we had two hours to kill before the race was to start. We went inside the tent and there were hundreds of runners sitting on anything they could find that would help them to stay dry. There wasn't a place for us to sit. Jay noticed a cafeteria style table loaded with boxes and boxes of Power Bars. We decided to move a few of the boxes off the table. They turned out to be the best seats in the place. I was happy. We were off our feet and dry.
While in the tent we met up with a friend of ours from Northern Kentucky. Small world. His name is Steve Chapman and he is a great runner. He had only run one other marathon (Pig '06) and qualified with about a 3:07:00 (I think). He told me his goal was to run a sub three hour Boston. I thought he was being a little ambitious. A lot of people told me that I could expect to run about fifteen minutes slower than my qualifying time. So, I thought Steve would probably run about 3:10 - 3:15 at best, especially in the weather we had. Shows what I know, Steve ran a 2:55. The best part of Steve's story is that he proposed to his girlfriend on the finish line. A local news station was supposed to cover it, but he got bounced for more coverage on the storm.
At about 9:20 they made the first call for runners to start heading to the start. We made the long walk from Athlete's Village to the start. I would guess that it was at least a half mile walk. At the start, race officials lead everyone into a corral. The corrals each held 1000 runners and you were seeded according to your qualifying time. For example, the fastest thousand runners were in the first corral. My number was 6423, so I had to start in the seventh corral. Jay was numbered 4000 something, and Steve was 3001. We said our 'Good Lucks' and went to our designated corral.
It was about 9:50 and I was alone in my corral. As alone as you can be with 10,000 other people packed tightly together. I took a few minutes to just take everything in. What struck me most was the number of runners. They were everywhere. I watched them. They all looked so determined. I'm sure each of them had their own stories about their training and how they got to the starting line of the 2007 Boston Marathon. I later found out that of the 23,000 runners to start the race over 16,000 were like me - first time Boston runners. I thought that was interesting. Where were all the other runners that qualified in previous years? I guess a lot of people run Boston once and never go back. I hope that's not the case for me. I hope to go back often.
9:55 was the singing of the National Anthem. I did a few last minute stretches and readied myself for the start. At 9:59 the starter announced that we were ready to go. At 10:00 the gun went off. I was so far back that it took me almost five minutes to get to the actual starting line. At 10:05 I started my race!
Next... The Race!!!
At Boston the race started at 10:00am, so I foolishly thought I'd get to sleep in a little. Wrong. The first ten thousand runners had to meet at the buses to be driven to Hopkinton at 7:ooam. Of course, it took a shuttle bus to get to the train which took us to the buses. So, I got up around 5:45, met Jay at 6:15, and we waited in the hotel lobby for the shuttle.
While getting ready for the race it dawned on me that I left Garmin at home. I felt like the parents form the movie Home Alone. How could I have forgotten Garmin? I guess I was in such a rush to get ready that I left him on his cradle charging. I'm happy to report that Garmin survived the long weekend alone. He still hasn't gotten over missing the trip. I'll make it up to him somehow.
Dressing for the race was tricky. The weather hadn't improved. It was still cold, rainy, and extremely windy. I decided to run in pants. I wouldn't have been uncomfortable in shorts, but I went with pants, two shirts, gloves, and a hat. I never run in a hat, but I wanted to keep the rain out of my face. When you check out the picture you'll understand why I don't wear hats very often - those are some big ass ears.
So, we met up with a large group of runners in the lobby of our hotel. When the shuttle arrived we piled in and took the five minute ride to the train station. Even more runners were there. Jay and I weren't sure where we were going, so we just followed the masses. The train took us to Boston Common where there was a line of school buses as far as you could see. We jumped on the first available bus and took the one hour ride to Athlete's Village located in a small town called Hopkinton.
Athlete's Village was basically a large tent in the middle of a rain soaked baseball field. It was 8:00 when we got to Athlete's Village, so we had two hours to kill before the race was to start. We went inside the tent and there were hundreds of runners sitting on anything they could find that would help them to stay dry. There wasn't a place for us to sit. Jay noticed a cafeteria style table loaded with boxes and boxes of Power Bars. We decided to move a few of the boxes off the table. They turned out to be the best seats in the place. I was happy. We were off our feet and dry.
While in the tent we met up with a friend of ours from Northern Kentucky. Small world. His name is Steve Chapman and he is a great runner. He had only run one other marathon (Pig '06) and qualified with about a 3:07:00 (I think). He told me his goal was to run a sub three hour Boston. I thought he was being a little ambitious. A lot of people told me that I could expect to run about fifteen minutes slower than my qualifying time. So, I thought Steve would probably run about 3:10 - 3:15 at best, especially in the weather we had. Shows what I know, Steve ran a 2:55. The best part of Steve's story is that he proposed to his girlfriend on the finish line. A local news station was supposed to cover it, but he got bounced for more coverage on the storm.
At about 9:20 they made the first call for runners to start heading to the start. We made the long walk from Athlete's Village to the start. I would guess that it was at least a half mile walk. At the start, race officials lead everyone into a corral. The corrals each held 1000 runners and you were seeded according to your qualifying time. For example, the fastest thousand runners were in the first corral. My number was 6423, so I had to start in the seventh corral. Jay was numbered 4000 something, and Steve was 3001. We said our 'Good Lucks' and went to our designated corral.
It was about 9:50 and I was alone in my corral. As alone as you can be with 10,000 other people packed tightly together. I took a few minutes to just take everything in. What struck me most was the number of runners. They were everywhere. I watched them. They all looked so determined. I'm sure each of them had their own stories about their training and how they got to the starting line of the 2007 Boston Marathon. I later found out that of the 23,000 runners to start the race over 16,000 were like me - first time Boston runners. I thought that was interesting. Where were all the other runners that qualified in previous years? I guess a lot of people run Boston once and never go back. I hope that's not the case for me. I hope to go back often.
9:55 was the singing of the National Anthem. I did a few last minute stretches and readied myself for the start. At 9:59 the starter announced that we were ready to go. At 10:00 the gun went off. I was so far back that it took me almost five minutes to get to the actual starting line. At 10:05 I started my race!
Next... The Race!!!
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4 Comments:
I'm lovin' the story. Didn't know it was going to be more than a 2-parter. Can't wait to hear the rest.
Does your friend Steve need a wedding photographer?
guy -- you really need to expand your horizons beyond the greater cincinnati area . . . yes, you are spoiled . . . run around the globe . . . run around the country . . . if you experience more marathons than the pig and boston you will not be so flummoxed about the start. and your garmin will not be stocking you now! :-)
Hey Lance,
I am so glad that you talk so positively about the expo and start for the Flying Pig Marathon. I want my first marathon to be a great one, and your comment gave me the extra boost of confidence that I needed! :-)
Crystal
Great stuff. I'm riveted again, and reading it aloud to Paul. (I'm interrupting the Reds game to him, but it's worth it. And now he's into it.)
Even though I know your final time, your posts to get us there are great. I know you feel like you've hit the blog "wall," but you've got me checking in just to see if you've updated again.
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