Boston Marathon 2017

I ran Boston on Monday.

Mile 21ish

Isn't it funny how all you have to do is say "Boston" and everyone knows you're talking about THE Boston Marathon.

Even non-runners know that running the Boston Marathon is a big deal. It's the race that brings us all together:)

I'm making a joke, but it's actually true.

 

The truth is, the Boston Marathon is just another race. There isn't anything special about the course. It's not particularly beautiful, the elevation chart isn't particularly hard, even with the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill. There are harder races that are cheaper to run, and easier to get into.

Of course the fact that it's hard to get into is what makes it such an accomplishment and what lets everyone know what an amazing runner you are;)

But the thing that makes the Boston Marathon so amazing are the people of Boston. They LOVE this race!

They could really hate us runners. I mean think about it...Thirty-two THOUSAND runners AND their friends and family descend into the city and mess up their commutes by clogging the train system and gets in their way because we're stumbling around lost half the time. Restaurants are hard to get into because we all have to eat. Ubers are more expensive because...Capitalism.

PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE.

But they love us!

It's hard to imagine how a point to point race can have spectators every foot along the way, but they do it...and I'm not talking about a person here or there either. For most of the course people are elbow to elbow cheering for the runners.

Families have their own unofficial aid stations where they handed out orange slices, twizzlers, watermelon, popcicles, Otter-pops and little bags of ice (these people were my favorite), bottles of water, little cups of water and pretty much anything else you could possibly want.

Sure beats the Cliff Gu's out on the course:)

I couldn't find a photo from Boston, but this is a good representation (with a few less people!)

They also scream and cheer for EVERYONE. I got so many high fives over the course of the race. Little baby high-fives, middle school high-fives, adult high-fives and old people high-fives.

(As we ran past Boston College there were also some "high" high-fives handed out;) )

So it's not the Boston Marathon that makes the marathon so great and causes runners to work years to qualify to run the race. It's the people of Boston that makes the Boston Marathon so great.