Marathon Monday
today was the 110th Boston Marathon. as per tradition, the race started at noon (first wave of runners) and 12:30pm (second wave). my running club was hosting a BBQ at mile 23 to cheer on fellow club members who were running the race. the weather was perfect for the marathoners, i think mid 40 - 50s, - quite cold actually for the spectators, but great for the runners. many people PR'ed this year due to the agreeable temps. for the past couple years, it was around 80F and people were suffering from the heat. let me tell you, i was cheering people on at mile 25 last year and they did NOT look in good shape. but this year, many people looked very strong toward the finish. top two male finishers were from Kenya (surprise, surprise) but the third, fourth and fifth place finishers were all American. the top male finisher actually broke the previous Boston record by one or two seconds. apparently, he received an additional $25,000 bonus for breaking the previous record.
afterwards, we had a post-marthon party with lots of yummy food - burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fruit salad, a variety of desserts, and of course, beer (and lots of it). it was amazing to see the runners in such great spirits after having run 26.2 miles! my only memory was an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that it's over and limping everywhere for about two days afterwards. Boston is such a presitgious marathon to run - not only because it's the only marathon where you have to have run a certain time to qualify (unless you're running for charity) but also because of the challenging course (Heartbreak Hill, anyone?). it was very inspiring to see all those runners out there - looking good, in high spirits or looking worn and limping toward the finish line. it takes such dedication to train and run a marathon. i wasn't thinking of running a fall marathon this year (doubt i can committ the amount of time required to train) but after seeing all those runners out there today, i'm kind of tempted. oh well, we'll see.
for some pics:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2107258905
afterwards, we had a post-marthon party with lots of yummy food - burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fruit salad, a variety of desserts, and of course, beer (and lots of it). it was amazing to see the runners in such great spirits after having run 26.2 miles! my only memory was an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that it's over and limping everywhere for about two days afterwards. Boston is such a presitgious marathon to run - not only because it's the only marathon where you have to have run a certain time to qualify (unless you're running for charity) but also because of the challenging course (Heartbreak Hill, anyone?). it was very inspiring to see all those runners out there - looking good, in high spirits or looking worn and limping toward the finish line. it takes such dedication to train and run a marathon. i wasn't thinking of running a fall marathon this year (doubt i can committ the amount of time required to train) but after seeing all those runners out there today, i'm kind of tempted. oh well, we'll see.
for some pics:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2107258905