Two years ago I trained hard to qualify for the Boston Marathon. After months of work, I did qualify and then trained extra hard to have a great race once I was there. And then, I was surprised to arrive in Boston during a heat wave. The temperatures during my race were not in the normal 50 degree range, but went up into the 90’s. This made for a difficult race and a less than optimal experience. Getting to be in the race itself was my main goal, and since I had done that, I figured I would not go back to the Boston Marathon ever again. In fact, last year in the third week of April I was competing in a 100-mile trail race and the Boston Marathon was the furthest thing from my mind.
But then the bombs went off in Boston. I saw the footage of the race and the damage the bombs had done to a group of runners and spectators and I felt a connection. I had runner friends there that day (all finished before the bombs went off) I was worried about. I was sickened by the footage I saw on the news. Ever since that day, the running community, both in Boston and around the nation has tried to unite to raise money for the victims of the bombings and make to make the 2014 Boston Marathon something special.
So, after the hundred-mile race last year, I began training at shorter distances so that I might qualify again for the Boston Marathon. This year I will be traveling there with 6 other runner friends and I am hoping that my experience will be much better than that of the heat of 2012. Regardless of what the weather dishes out to me, my trip to Boston will hold much more meaning this year.