BOSTON OR BUST - 26.2 MILES TO GO (PART II)
At noon on April 18, 2005, the gun went off and the Boston Marathon had officially begun for me. There were 20,000 people lined up at the start, and all at once, we were all on our way. It took me four minutes to finally get to the starting line since there were 5,000 people ahead of me, but once I did, I achieved the first part of a goal I had set 19 years prior. Now I was off on part two of that goal—to finish the Boston Marathon.
Many things can go wrong during a marathon that could prevent you from finishing the race. An injury could thwart your hope of finishing the race within the first hundred feet. So I was well aware my goal of finishing this marathon was not some guaranteed thing. I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work, but I felt like I had it in me.
The starting line was 26.2 miles outside of Boston in a town called Hopkinton. The map I saw of the course said it was supposed to be downhillish for the first 12 miles, but within the first mile we came upon a hill. I was like, “What the hell is this?” For the next ten miles, we ran across a lot more hills than the course map led you to believe there were. This was going to make it harder because the big hills lied ahead at mile 16 through 18, which is called “Hell’s Alley”, and at mile 19 to mile 20.5, which is the granddaddy of all hills called “Heartbreak Hill”.
The really great thing about this marathon was that there were crowds everywhere cheering all us runners along. You see, in Boston, the marathon is always held on a day the city calls Patriot’s Day. To demonstrate how big a holiday this is to the people of Boston, a bartender told me he would work Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, and his birthday just to get this day off. He says this is the best day of the year for Bostonians. And from the look on the peoples’ faces as we ran by them, I’d have to say he was completely right in his assessment.
Well, around mile 12 we entered a town called Wellesley and all of a sudden I could hear faint screaming. I noticed we were getting closer to an Ivy League all-girls college, and the closer we got, the louder the screaming seemed to get. And it was here I saw a sight I couldn’t believe. As we entered the college, there were girls on each side of the narrow road screaming as loud as they could. Apparently, this college has been doing this now for over a hundred years. This part of the course is known as “Scream Alley”. How great was this? I high-fived a number of girls and actually got kissed on the cheek by one of the girls. I’d have to say running in this marathon was already well worth it.
Unfortunately, to achieve my goal of finishing this marathon, I had to leave this college and continue on. So I did. Around mile 15 my legs were now starting to weaken from the rolling hills earlier in the race and I still hadn’t reached the serious hills. And then at mile 16 I saw my girlfriend on the side with my two friends who had flown out to cheer me on. She handed me a bottle of water. This was the perfect boost for me right before I started tackling the hills ahead. With that feeling, I went straight into the hills.
Miles 16 through 19 were tough but they did not break me. And then I reached Heartbreak Hill. This was a hill divided into two parts, with the second part being the steeper of the climbs. My legs were really tired at this point and I knew I was beginning to fade, but I could not let myself be broken here. I just motored through the hills, and when I came to the summit, a smile came across my face.
That smile quickly went away, though, because I still had another 6 miles to go and it was going to be a hard six miles. I had to slow my pace down and I was getting a little lightheaded. My thought here was unless I pass out, I will achieve my goal of finishing this race. So I just listened to the crowds cheering and tried to ignore the pain.
Once we reached Boston’s city limits, the crowds grew much larger and much louder. I was really trying not to stop because I knew if I did, I might actually never start up again. The problem I was having was my lightheadedness turned a lot worse. I was finally coming up on mile 25 and I got a great surprise—my girlfriend and my friends were there cheering me on again. I was so glad to see them. It gave me such a boost I actually started to run like it was the first mile of the race again. Immediately after seeing them, I passed the sign that said “one mile to go” and I was now flying again. The sides of the road were lined with crowds screaming so loud I couldn’t hear what a runner next to me was saying. We made a right on one corner and ran to the next block and made a left. This put us onto a street called Boylston that put us into an area called Copley Square. It was here I could see the finish line up ahead.
This area is, as one writer put it, “the runners’ holy grail,” and I couldn’t agree more. The feeling that came over me was overwhelming. I couldn’t believe that I somehow, after 19 years, made it to this point. The last 500 yards or so were just filled with me looking into the crowds, looking up to the sky and smiling. And then I crossed the finish line. Part two of my goal had been achieved. It was at this precise moment that with a smile on my face a tear came out of my eye, and not a thing in life could ever take this moment away from me.
Many things can go wrong during a marathon that could prevent you from finishing the race. An injury could thwart your hope of finishing the race within the first hundred feet. So I was well aware my goal of finishing this marathon was not some guaranteed thing. I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work, but I felt like I had it in me.
The starting line was 26.2 miles outside of Boston in a town called Hopkinton. The map I saw of the course said it was supposed to be downhillish for the first 12 miles, but within the first mile we came upon a hill. I was like, “What the hell is this?” For the next ten miles, we ran across a lot more hills than the course map led you to believe there were. This was going to make it harder because the big hills lied ahead at mile 16 through 18, which is called “Hell’s Alley”, and at mile 19 to mile 20.5, which is the granddaddy of all hills called “Heartbreak Hill”.
The really great thing about this marathon was that there were crowds everywhere cheering all us runners along. You see, in Boston, the marathon is always held on a day the city calls Patriot’s Day. To demonstrate how big a holiday this is to the people of Boston, a bartender told me he would work Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, and his birthday just to get this day off. He says this is the best day of the year for Bostonians. And from the look on the peoples’ faces as we ran by them, I’d have to say he was completely right in his assessment.
Well, around mile 12 we entered a town called Wellesley and all of a sudden I could hear faint screaming. I noticed we were getting closer to an Ivy League all-girls college, and the closer we got, the louder the screaming seemed to get. And it was here I saw a sight I couldn’t believe. As we entered the college, there were girls on each side of the narrow road screaming as loud as they could. Apparently, this college has been doing this now for over a hundred years. This part of the course is known as “Scream Alley”. How great was this? I high-fived a number of girls and actually got kissed on the cheek by one of the girls. I’d have to say running in this marathon was already well worth it.
Unfortunately, to achieve my goal of finishing this marathon, I had to leave this college and continue on. So I did. Around mile 15 my legs were now starting to weaken from the rolling hills earlier in the race and I still hadn’t reached the serious hills. And then at mile 16 I saw my girlfriend on the side with my two friends who had flown out to cheer me on. She handed me a bottle of water. This was the perfect boost for me right before I started tackling the hills ahead. With that feeling, I went straight into the hills.
Miles 16 through 19 were tough but they did not break me. And then I reached Heartbreak Hill. This was a hill divided into two parts, with the second part being the steeper of the climbs. My legs were really tired at this point and I knew I was beginning to fade, but I could not let myself be broken here. I just motored through the hills, and when I came to the summit, a smile came across my face.
That smile quickly went away, though, because I still had another 6 miles to go and it was going to be a hard six miles. I had to slow my pace down and I was getting a little lightheaded. My thought here was unless I pass out, I will achieve my goal of finishing this race. So I just listened to the crowds cheering and tried to ignore the pain.
Once we reached Boston’s city limits, the crowds grew much larger and much louder. I was really trying not to stop because I knew if I did, I might actually never start up again. The problem I was having was my lightheadedness turned a lot worse. I was finally coming up on mile 25 and I got a great surprise—my girlfriend and my friends were there cheering me on again. I was so glad to see them. It gave me such a boost I actually started to run like it was the first mile of the race again. Immediately after seeing them, I passed the sign that said “one mile to go” and I was now flying again. The sides of the road were lined with crowds screaming so loud I couldn’t hear what a runner next to me was saying. We made a right on one corner and ran to the next block and made a left. This put us onto a street called Boylston that put us into an area called Copley Square. It was here I could see the finish line up ahead.
This area is, as one writer put it, “the runners’ holy grail,” and I couldn’t agree more. The feeling that came over me was overwhelming. I couldn’t believe that I somehow, after 19 years, made it to this point. The last 500 yards or so were just filled with me looking into the crowds, looking up to the sky and smiling. And then I crossed the finish line. Part two of my goal had been achieved. It was at this precise moment that with a smile on my face a tear came out of my eye, and not a thing in life could ever take this moment away from me.
posted by Cruzbomb at 7:30 PM
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