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Race Reports - 2007 Boston Marathon -

So the weekend started off on a high note, rollin' in to Boston around 1pm. The expo was like nothing I've ever seen before - really the size of 2 expos, and with loads of great deals, freebies, and of course, the Boston gear. The next day we visited the NB outlet (located in a very shady part of town), which had some amazing deals and shoes for super cheap. I'd go back to Boston just for that. The entire weekend there was some kind of Nor'easter blowing through, and it was rainy, windy, and just plain nasty. They were predicting some cruddy weather for marathon day, but hopes were still high.

The night before the marathon it was off to the pre-race pasta supper, which was ridiculously well organized and pretty tasty, considering it was bulk pasta and it was included with the registration. The highlight was the plethora of desserts, everything from whole tubs of ice cream to chips to all-you-can-eat chocolate bars.

That night I got everything ready for race day - I've never packed up so many clothes for a race before! The conditions were getting worse by the minute, and the forecast was getting worse as well. The newsfolks now said that the storm was worse than expected and that the marathon would be a nasty one. In the middle of the night I awoke to realize that the storm was indeed still going strong, and that American hotels aren't made for rain. A huge flood was accumulating from a leak in our room. Luckily my Pops had gotten up from the noise of the drip and moved all my running gear so that it wouldn't be drenched in the morning.

The next AM it was still gross out. Super windy and super rainy. The news was calling for rain and wind until the late afternoon. I trashed the shorts idea and put on as many layers as I could and we headed for the buses. We then waited for 3 hours in a crowded gym while it poured on and off outside. But we soon realized that shorts were the way because even with the wind/rain the air temp was much warmer than in Mtl.

Around 10:10 the gym filed out to go to the corrals. But the corrals were quite a walk away. I lost Mikey in the bag check and started heading to the corrals alone because I couldn't wait for her any longer. People were heading to the corrals soooooo slowly, and I'm thinking - the race starts in like 2 minutes, what are we waiting for? Lo & behold, the gun goes off, and I'm still at corral 21 . I'm like, wow, this is off to a fantastic start, haha. Me and a few other runners (also supposed to be in corral 12) decided to then hop the fence and run through lawns/gas stations to get to an earlier corral, much to the dismay of the state troopers . Finally, a very nice race official opened up the gate and let us in somewhere around corral 15.

The start was very congested and very slow, but at this point I didn't really care because I wanted to start slow anyway. I had no idea of the pace because my Garmin wouldn't work in the clouds/rain. Somewhere around 1K I stopped for a bathroom break in a very crouded set of woods - they were really very serious around the waiting area that no bushes were to be used as bathrooms, so all of the runners took the first chance they could get during the race.

The race was uneventful for the next 15ish K, other than a few bouts of rain. I figured the time was probably ok because the pace felt about right. I just tried to keep consistent. At 15K I met up with the girl in the frog hat that I'd run with in Philly, which was too cool. We exchanged a few words and then I ran on. Somewhere near halfway you could start to hear the Wellesley cheering section. It was like crazy, you could hear them from a mile away!!! I've never seen so many people cheering in one location. It was nuts.

Around 18K I started feeling a tad tired and I knew it was the make it or break it point. So I took some beans and hoped for the best. It worked and by 25K I got a second wind. Somewhere around mile 17 (?K) the heartbreak hills began. I've gotta agree that they are waaaay overrated. If you've run in Ile-Biz, these are not real hills. But that's not to say that they weren't challenging. They still slowed the pace a bit and it of course would have been nicer if they weren't there, haha. So ya, they were hard but not heartbreakingly hard.

Around 20 miles I got a 3rd wind and knew then that I'd be good 'til the finish. There was no dying allowed now, not so close to the end. When I saw the 1-mile to go mark, I couldn't believe it was already over. With the tons of spectators cheering the whole way, the race had gone by in what seemed like no time. With a couple 100m left to go, coming onto Boylston, I checked my watch and realized I could beat my Philly time, so sprinted it in full blast to come in 4 seconds faster than my PB (ok, a tad pathetic but it's still faster, haha).

Overall, I don't care what people say about Boston not being that great of a race. It was definitely the best marathon I've ever run (even though I've barely run any) by FAR. There were spectators cheering us on the whole way, the organization was fantastic, the course was challenging and I like the point-to-point, and it was a thrill just being there. Plus, the history! It was the best experience ever. Now I just can't wait to go back next year, hopefully with a bigger pack of Phoenixers this time!!!

Congrats Julia, Mikey, Ian, and Todd!

Allison Gates