Boston Marathon 2013 (Complete Story)
I was never so happy after a marathon as I was after the Harrisburg marathon in 2010. My time 3:30:44. This got me in under the 3:30:59 Boston qualifying time by 15 second. I was not sure of my official time as I crossed the finish line but I was sure it was a BQ time. Screams of joy as they wheeled me to the medical tent. I collapsed across the finish and could only remain vertical by the assistance of a volunteer. I was rushed to the medical tent, laid on a cot and given fluids. I normally like to keep moving after a marathon to work out the lactate. The cramps were excruciating, but I kept repeating to anyone that would listen, “I qualified for Boston.”
The cramps and muscle twinges were bad enough to get a massage therapist to work on me. After 5 cups of water, sports drink and broth I was taken to the back of the tent. There the gave me an IV of 1.5 liters saline. That did the trick. The muscle spasms and twinges stopped. I felt like a new man after that hour of treatment.
Next up Bob Potts in the spring. I would be able to run this marathon for fun and not worry about the time. That thought was brief. Due to the popularity of Boston and the quick sellout time this past September, the BAA changed the registration process. The times would remain the same but the registration process would allow faster runners to register first. The following year the times would all drop my 5 minutes and 59 seconds. This would require me to run 3:25:00 to qualify. No more resting on the next marathon.
The registration process next year before the time changes would allow runners that were 20 minutes or more faster than their qualifying to to register on day 1. On day 3 those runners that were 10+ faster could register. Day 5 would allow any runner with a timer 5 minutes faster to register. If after all this the following week registration would open to all who qualified for the entire week. At the end of the week they would look at the difference of you time and required qualifying time and take only the fastest. This meant that those who met the qualifying time would not be allowed entry. This is why I needed to run faster.
Bob Potts would now be a race. I trained and targeted ad 3:25:00. Race day came and I was on pace. The temps began the rise and the humidity was high. It was well in the 60’s by the time I finished and I missed my goal and only ran a 3:28:05. At least this would give me close to a 2 minute buffer. I only hope this was enough.
Registration came in september 2011 and I registered the second week. This was good. At least it did not fill up the first week. It was a long week. The following week they announced the cut off times. The cutoff was 1 minute 14 seconds faster for each age group and gender. For my bracket that translated into a 3:28:46. I was in by a whopping 41 seconds, but I was going to Boston.
For some reason I felt compelled to go faster. I wanted to see If I could break 3:15:00. My next Marathon would be NCR Trail marathon in late November 2011. I was targeting a 3:20:00 and training was going well. So well that I smoked that marathon with a 6th marathon with another PR with a 3:21:06. Each of my first 6 marathons was a PR. This new time should be good to go to Boston in 2013 if I desired. I had no intentions of doing Boston in 2013 until a twist of fate occurred.
March 12, 2012, approximately 5 weeks before the Boston Marathon I was diagnosed with 2 DVT’s (blood clots) in my left leg. The dream was dented but not destroyed. Don’t get me wrong I was extremely disappointed, but what could I do. One week completely on bed rest injecting Lovenox. Then on the Warfarin. Week 2 I was allowed back to work. Week 3 I was cleared to swim. Week 4 I was cleared to bike. After the fifth week I was cleared to run. My doctor indicated I could go run part of Boston but not the entire race. I think I’ll pass on that. When I do Boston I will complete the entire course.
I healed and got back in shape, but I needed a different challenge. I wanted to go longer so I trained for my first ultramarathon. I was held locally. It would be a 40 minute drive and I could train on the course. So I trained for an ran my first ultra and completed it in September in 7 hours 9 minutes. I was registered for the 2013 Boston with my NCR Trail marathon time of 3:21:06 and figured 4 minutes was going to get me in. I don’t remember the exact cutoff, but I was in.
Since I had all this training I focused on the Harrisburg 2012 marathon to run for fun. I needed to get the marathon bug back. I was not planning on running to race, but just see what my existing training would allow me to do. So a few weeks after my ultra I ran Harrisburg in 3:24:43. Another BQ time. This made 4 straight marathons with BQ times. On to Boston 2013! Hopefully this will be the year.
After a long winter of training I was ready for Boston. It was really going to happen this year. It was not going to be a normal pre marathon preparation. I have a routine and fueling regimen I follow before each marathon. Ten days prior to the marathon I went to Bethany Beach for the weekend with fellow WRFB friends. We had a blast. This included a 12 mile run up the highway to Rehoboth and Dogfish restaurant where we enjoyed good beer and food.
Sunday morning it was off to the airport to go to Vegas for work, attending MMS. I had my runs planned and tried to get to bed early, but it was late most evenings. Friday I flew home and was concerned my legs would be tired from sitting all day. I did not think much about Boston all week. I was too busy with work. On the flight home It finally started to sink in that I would be running my first Boston Marathon. I became a nervous wreck. It was all I could think about. Saturday before we drove to Boston I did a 5 mile run just to relax a little and burn off some energy and I wanted to see If my legs still worked. They worked fine.
Arrived in Boston Saturday evening and stayed with a friends family (Tom Berridge). Sunday morning we headed to the convention center to retrieve my bib. It was amazing the number of people at the convention. I walked with the crowd and picked up my packet and Sharon took my picture with me holding my bib. It was official, I was going to run Boston. I picked up my shirt then met John and Bob. We toured the convention a little before heading off into the city. We had our picture taken with Dick Hoyt and also saw Bill Rogers. We headed toward the North Chapel following part of the route Paul Revere road. We ended the tour at Mikes Bakery and all got cannolis.
We left the bakery and got lucky enough to hail a cab that was a van and we headed back to convention center. We enjoyed our cannoli and departed for the evening. Back at Tom’s sistes house we hung out with his family. They all treated my like royalty, it was amazing. We enjoyed pasta for dinner and good conversation. I turned in around 9:30 and slept pretty well considering how excited I was all day. It was finally starting to calm down.
That evening Bob went to bed with a fever. His son Josh had GI issues from a rare hamburger he ate. John was icing his foot that had been sore for several weeks.
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Sit down and grab a beer. This is a long story. This was a bittersweet day, but I decided to regale you with another marathon tale as I have done with my previous 7 marathons. I was apprehensive in sharing my joy, in light of the circumstances, but we must persevere and overcome the events of the day. ***( move paragraph to top and explain why I embelished to include my entire first Boston experience)***
This was my first time to Boston. It took me 4 marathons to qualify for Boston and then they changed the qualifying times and registration process. I knew I would need faster times to get in. I ran faster my next marathon and used that to qualify and get into the 2012 Boston Marathon. 4 weeks prior to the 2012 marathon I was diagnosed with 2 DVTs (blood clots) in my left leg. Boston would not happen in 2012. I continued to push my training and PR’d my next 2 marathons and registered for the 2013 Boston marathon and made it in. I was almost 4 minutes under my qualifying time. Today was redemption time.
April 15 2013. It actually happened this year. No injuries, blood clots, or any other ailments to keep from this years event. I was a bundle of nerves 2 days prior to the race. My wife was about to strangle me in my sleep. The day finally arrived.
We awoke at 5am to head to Hopkiton, where Tom’s cousin lived. I had a muffin and bannana before we left.
We arrived early in Hopkinton, so we walked to the start area. It was an amazing site. The crews were still setting up the corals, TV crews were setting up cameras, and vendors getting stands ready. I even saw Dave McGillivray at the start line. I was hard to believe that in a few hours the elite athletes would be standing just where I was standing. Cars were still driving past the start are, as the roads were not yet closed. In just a few hours I would stand here and traverse the same path as the elite runners of the world.
We were fortunate enough to spend time at the home of a friend, so we did not need to hang out in the runners village. Before every marathon I watch the movie “Spirit of the Marathon.” I did not get to watch last evening so I watched it as we waited for the race to start. I fueled with my traditional oatmeal and gatorade as I watched Spirit of the marathon. Start time was approaching so we headed to the start area.
We took some pictures and headed to our specified start corals. I was wave 2, coral 1. I did not realize that only one wave is processed at a time. When the entire wave 1 was out on the course then then send in Wave 2. Having ascertained this information ahead of time I perched myself at the gate for coral 1. When wave 1 was clear, I was lined up on the front row to the right. I could see my family and they had an opportunity for some good pics.
You could feel the energy in the air. I talked to the runners near me and the volunteers. The announcer asked who was a first timer and I raised my hands and hooped and hollered. There were TV crews filming it all. The start crew moved out of the way and we advanced to the start line. I felt like an elite toeing the line for a big race. The gun fired and I sprinted 100 yards to remain in front so my wife or son could snap some good pics. I never thought I would find them at the start. This was a good thing because I would not see them until the end of the race.
My strategy was to start slow to warm up. Then pick up the pace a little. Then push after Heartbreak Hill. Sounded like a good plan, too bad I could not execute. On to plan B. As I flew through the first 5k I realized it was too fast. I was trying to hold back, but everyone was flying by me. These runners were going at a sub 3:15 pace. I tried to slow down for the next 5k and managed to slow a little but I needed to slow even more.
The crowd support was amazing. This combined with a downhill run was the reason for the fast pace. The 5k point marked the Ashland area. The 10k point entered Framingham. Each town was densely populated with cheering fans. Between towns there was still fan support, just a little more thinned out. There would never be any point along the course were there would not be someone cheering on the runners.
I finally got my pace under control, but realized I had expended more energy than I wanted to at this point in the race. By 15k I was on the pace I wanted from the start. The course was mostly flat with small rolling hills. We approached Natick where we had a slight climb and a slight downhill. The next stop would be Wellesley college. These girls are loud and proud. You can hear the roar before you can see them. They all held signs like, “Kiss my I’m Texan” or “Kiss me I’m horny”. I definitely slowed through this area. I think I slapped ever outstretched hand and stopped to kiss 7 girls. I had my WRFB shirt on so I hear comments like “Kiss me beer man” “Hey beer man I want a kiss”. This definitely gets the heart pumping on a 49 year old man. This marked the halfway point of the marathon and I was way ahead of pace. It was time to slow things down before the Newtons.
I have wore the WRFB shirt in every marathon I have completed. It is never a disappointment. “Hey beer man there is beer at the end.” “Hey beer man I got a beer for you. “ “Go beer man.” “Like your shirt beer man.” “yeah beer man.” These were many of the quotes I would hear many times throughout the day. My favorite was “Hey beer man I’ll run with you any day.”
Just past the Wellesley girls I crossed the halfway point. I was still way ahead of pace. I slowed the pace as we cruised through mostly flat straight streets for the next 4 miles. The crowd support was amazing as we passed through these small towns. People had grills fired up and were eating, drinking and cheering the runners. It was hard to absorb all that was happening around me. Mile 15 saw a steep drop. Everyone just let’r roll down the hill. We now approached the first of four hills. The first hill was short and not much of a challenge. I cruised up the hill and passed several runners. We leveled off and made the first 90 degree turn to the right. We approached the second hill next. This was a little steeper but shorter followed by a downhill run. The third of the hills provided to be longer but not too steep. there was a short level spot then it continued up. I thought this hill was the most challenging. Three hills down one to go, Heartbreak hill. I was hoping to find family in this area so I slowed my pace and scanned the crowds the entire way up the hill. I did not spot the them so I kept the pace slow on the down side scanning the sides of the road for family, but to no avail.
At some point in these miles I passed Dick Hoyt. What a truly amazing man. If you have not heard of Team Hoyt or seen any of he or his sons videos, it is well worth a search on google. This man inspires me to be a better father, husband, friend and human being. I almost asked if he needed a hand but I knew the answer to that question. It was quite cool to have met him at the expo center. Bob, John and I got our picture take with him. What an honor to meet such an outstanding human being.
We continued down for the next 3 miles. It was somewhere around mile 22-23 that I realized this was soon going to end. I did not want this to end. This was a journey that was about to arrive at its destination. I was starting to feel the beginnings of leg cramps as the course flattened out around mile 24. I was not racing today so there was no need to sprint to the finish line. I slowed the pace and just took in all the sights and sounds. The crowd support was amazing. The streets in Boston were overflowing with spectators. “Beer at the end”, this WRFB shirt was amazing, it is very recognizable.
Several times on the course I heard people say they saw me on TV. This happened again on the straight shot into Boston. “Hey beer man I saw you on TV.” I slowed and looked at him while I asked “Really.” He responded that I was in fact on the TV. It must have been the local TV stations set up at the start. As the beer comments continued I continued to look people in the eye and give them a smile and thumbs up. I could see the Citgo sign which is one mile from the Finish line. I continued to enjoy the day as the final miles passed by. I finally would accomplish my goal after a year delay. I turned the last corner and could see the finish line roughly a half mile away. I was slap hands, lifting my arms in the air and screaming with join. The blue gates at the finish line approached and I had completed another leg of my running journey. I was so excited I never stopped my watch and had no idea what my finish time was. The runners were now moved through drink stations, wrapped in blankets, feed bananas and power bars and given a goody bag.
That was it. My first Boston and a wonderful experience. I turned off on a side road and headed toward “Bobs Tree” to connect with my family. My son and his buddy were there to greet me. I was getting cold and really needed my warm gear. My wife returned after finding a bathroom. We talked and then headed out of town just before the incident occurred.
The extreme joy I felt was quickly spoiled as we were leaving town and the police cruisers poured in by a dozen. We did not know what was happening. We lost contact with John Katora and quickly found out that there were explosions at the finish line. John is okay after 15 long minutes of waiting for a response.
We were in the car when we heard the news. The whole day had just taken a 180 degree turn. My wife was actually in the area were the explosions occurred trying to find a bathroom, about 30 minutes before. My sons friend was in college in Boston and stopped by the finish line to watch the race. It was his first Boston marathon and he wanted to watch. Thank God he was far enough away. He made it out of the area and is safe and well.
It was a bittersweet day and and the emotions swung far and wide in both directions. One second all is well and joyous the next you are trying to wrap your head around what has happened. Great idea Rocco for making the donations a reality and so quickly. Thanks to all the WRFB for your donations to this cause and thanks for all your support and well wishes. I could not ask for a better group of friends.
I feel deeply saddened by the injuries and deaths of the innocent. We were all family. 27,000 marathoners, thousands of volunteers, plus many family and friends. I ran with hundreds of thousands of my closests friends and someone had the audacity to perpetrate such a heinous act. It is hard to revel in the joy of the day with such a dark cloud shadowing todays event. Persevere is what this marathon and family will do. Not actions will deter this event or any other event.
