Fdip232: The 114th Boston Marathon

Apr 28, 2010

I had come to Hopkinton Massachusetts to run the 114th Boston Marathon, and found myself in the early miles facing the eventual breakdown of my body.  From the joyful celebration of a New England town, I ran myself into the unchartered land of exhaustion and pain…and through modern technology I broadcasted my suffering live through my blog and social networking sites.  I wasn’t doing that to show off or incite pity, I did it because I wanted to share my experience with you in hopes that you might want to run this race one day, and perform better than I did.

I know this course very well, it’s an old friend that I’ve visited throughout my youth and into my middle age.  I have experienced great things on this course, witnessed legendary athletes run with artistic form, felt intense ecstasy and crushing agony and run this race even when I had nothing left within me to get me to that finish line: but somehow, I always have.

For all my efforts in trying to distract myself to finish this race, for trying to go, in my mind, to my happy place…I had forgotten to consider this truth:  that This WAS my happy place…this race that is more than just a race, this marathon that is known by all simply by the name of the city within which it finishes:

This is my race: Boston. This is my town: Boston. This is my home: Boston

Beantown, the hub of the universe, the cradle of liberty, the Athens of America…we love that dirty water, we love our beloved Red Sox, we love our Samuel Adams beer, our Faneuil Hall, and our Patriots, Pilgrims, and minutemen…and we love our Marathon with 114 years of history dating back to the emergence of distance running in the world of athletics.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Phedippidations, thank you for running with me as I took you with me on my way to Boston, thank you for your kind words and support and for following my progress on race day; at Intervals, on Twitter and Facebook but most of all: thank you for your friendship.

You see, THIS is my happy place, running with fellow runners…and as the sky darkens upon the finishing line in the shadows of tall buildings and skyscrapers on and around Boylston Street, I can’t see the sun anymore…I can’t feel the ground anymore…but I don’t mind…you’re by my side…and I feel fine.

Show Links:

“The Curra Road” was by Fergus http://www.fergusband.com

“See the Sun” was by  Black Lab http://blacklabworld.com