No Fears - No Regrets
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Boston Marathon
I was fortunate to win an entry to the Boston Marathon via a work raffle. HP are a sponsor of the Boston Marathon and had 50 entries which they raffled off in January 2006... and I won one of them :-) The race day was long.. as there are 20+ thousand runners and the route 135 is 2 lane highway, the busses from finish line to start line leave between 6:30 am and 8am. So after getting up early and driving 1 hour to Boston, it was a lot of sitting around prior to the start of the race. I was in the second wave of runners (first time this has been attempted at Boston Marathon) and started at 12:30 whilst first wave of 10,000 runners started at 12:00 noon. Once the gun went off, it was a full 8 minutes before I crossed the start line and there were so many people... there were so many runners that it was hard to run as everyone was weaving in and out and I tried to follow a friend who was keen on setting a qualifying time for next year and the first 2 miles were in the verges and up kerbs + hedges trying to pass the huge number of runners.. but after 2 miles and unfortunately almost no training since New Bedford Half marathon a month before (Final exam at college was on the Wednesday before the race) and being at least 20 pounds heavier than 2004, I decided to just enjoy the atmosphere. The whole route of the marathon course there were supporters screaming and shouting.. Wellesly was deafening as the crowds were roaring as al the runners went through (Aparently over 1.3 million spectators lined the marathon route) and I had to wait in line to go for a crap at 8 miles...!! But I said before the race I was aiming for just 3H45 to 4H ours for a time.. and I finished in 3H 50 mins. The time below in the picture started with the first wave, but the secnd wave was 30 mins later to start + 8 minute offset for when I crossed the start line. Next year I want to run with the qualifying runners.. so I need to run a sub 3 Hour 15 Mins marathon during 2006 and then will guarantee a spot in 2007 and will be running with other runners who qualified in the same time and will run at approximately the same pace.
The Race Route
Boston Marathon Qualifying times
Proof of qualification, such as a copy of your finish certificate or results listing (non-returnable), must accompany your entry. Qualifying times attained at marathons using the ChampionChip timing and scoring device do not require submission of proof.
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