Praying and Running

It took a long time to get to Boston. This is true both of the training and the actual trip. I have been preparing for this race for 2 and a half years and on Friday the 18th we left home and began the journey to Boston. Because there are no direct flights from Indianapolis to Boston we drove to my parents who live about 45 minutes from the Detroit airport and stayed the night. At 3:00 AM we we "outta bed, clothes on and out the door" and headed the airport to catch a 6:30 AM flight. We arrived in Boston around 8:00 AM and got a cab to our hotel. Checked into the hotel but of course that early there were no rooms available. My wife and I changed into running clothes in the bathroom, stowed our luggage and headed out for an easy run. We ran up and around Boston Commons where I would need to load up on the bus on race morning to head to the start line. First hour in Boston and I already had an easy 4 in the books. The remaining time between our Saturday arrival and the Mond...

For the last 2 and a half years I have had a singular focus; to run the Boston Marathon. Why? Because it is the super bowl of running. Because it is a legendary and challenging course and because it is the most iconic marathon finish line in the history of the sport. Merely qualifying for the marathon is a badge of honor among runners and is something that they aspire to and once they have completed it, it is a cherished moment for the rest of their lives. It was a lofty goal by most accounts and one a lot of people didn't think I could achieve given my background and fitness level. In order to accomplish my goal, I ran. A lot. I ran 2700 miles in 2012 and 3000 miles in 2013 and about 900 in the first 3 and a half months of 2014. I trained in the early morning hours well before the sun was up and in whatever Mother Nature threw at me. I wore out countless pairs of running shoes and although they never complained I’m sure I wore out my wife and daughters’ patience. But on Monday A...

I originally signed up for the full marathon way back last May for half price. I knew at the time that there was a very good chance that I would switch to the half because if I got into the Boston marathon I would be running that 10 days later. That is exactly how it played out. Little did I know back in May that I would be battling a pulled groin muscle. But I was/am and this was the hardest I have run in over 6 weeks. Picked up my packet Friday over a long lunch and headed back to work. On the way home my wife was looking though and saw that my bib had the name "Brittney" printed on it. I contacted the RD and arranged to pick up a blank bib in the morning before the race. Got up Saturday morning and headed to the race. By the time we got there, picked up my new bib and stoped at the port-a-pots it was about 5 minutes to race time. As such I couldn't get up past corral C. I met an older guy, probably late 50's, who was running his 25th full here and his 26th next w...