Quotes from my (adorably naive) seventh graders

"Miss Kimball, did you win the marathon?"
"I think if you didn't stop to hug your family, you might have won."
"Did you come in the top 10?"
"It only took you four minutes and eleven seconds?! Wow, you really are fast."
"Did you beat any boys? Boys are faster you know."
"I tried to watch on tv, but I got bored. All I kept seeing was people running."
"I fell asleep trying to look for you."
"Did you sleep for 80 hours after the marathon?"

Wow!

Running Boston was one of the most incredible experiences I can think of. Even though I heard stories about the crowd, nothing could prepare me for Monday. Since I put my name on my shirt, I got a lot of "Run Megs" and "Keep it up Meg." Among the cheers, a few favorites stuck out though...one of the best was "Hey, Meg! Where've you been!" This cute, old man shouted that at me when I passed him at a water stop. That really got me going. The most amazing feeling was when I heard someone shout out a "Thank you" to me for running for Dana-Farber. Each time someone said that, it reminded of why I chose to run this race.

I certainly will hold the memories of Boston very close to my heart for a long time. In the past when I have had too much on my mind to possibly write on this blog, I have resorted to lists. I think this is one of those moments when I need a list. Here are my top memories of the B.M...

10. Standing in the corrals with thousands of other runners waiting for the gun to go off, thinking to myself "what am I doing?!"

9. The sight of David only a half mile into the run, ready to jump in with me to run the entire 26 miles at my pace out of support for me

8. Hearing the Wellesley girls cheering and screaming a full three minutes before we even ran by them

7. Seeing my "Fan club" at the bottom of Heartbreak--Thanks Mom, Dad, Suzanne, Ryan, Steph, Jess and my beautiful nieces Meredith and Hillary!

6. The surprise at seeing our second fan club on Beacon just as I was about to walk...Thanks Kevin, Christine, Phil and Amy!!

5. Running through Kenmore...I can't even explain the amount of noise that followed us for the entire last mile. I suddenly felt a surge of energy

4. Picking up the pace as I approached the finish line, telling myself I had to finish strong

3. Hugging Utta Pippig at the finish line!!!!

2. Holding David's hand as I crossed the finish line and thinking "we did it!"

1. The feeling of awe as I crossed the finish line

I finished!!

Meet my running buddies...

Here's a picture I stole from Anne's blog (from right to left: Anne, Beth, Me, and Deb. I feel like I post a lot about these girls, so they deserve a picture post! Look for us all on Marathon Monday :)

History of the First Marathon

The name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, according to legend, was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city, he collapsed dead. There is no evidence that any such event took place; according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta. The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD. The International Olympic Committee estimates the actual distance from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens is about 34.5 km (21.4 miles).

The idea of organizing the race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted to put the event on the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon, and this first marathon was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a Greek shepherd, finished fifth in this race but won at the Olympics in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, despite stopping on the way for a glass of wine from his uncle waiting near the village of Chalandri. The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA).

world's oldest continuous and most prestigious footrace....

The Boston Marathon Fact Sheet
A guide to the world's most celebrated road race

by Erin Teare Martin and Mike Morrison
Joseph Chebet


The Boston Marathon, organized by the Boston Athletic Association, is the world's oldest marathon. It takes place on the third Monday in April, also known as Patriot's Day, which is a holiday (in Maine and Massachusetts) that commemorates the famous battles of Lexington and Concord.

$575,000 in prize money was up for grabs in 2008.

In terms of media coverage, the Boston Marathon is the second biggest single-day sporting event in the U.S., just behind the Super Bowl. 500,000 spectators are expected to line the course in 2007.

The 2000 Boston Marathon was the closest in the race's history. Kenya's Elijah Lagat and Ethiopian star Gezahenge Abera sprinted to the finish, with Lagat prevailing. The two actually recorded the same exact time (2:09:47) while Kenyan Moses Tanui followed just three seconds behind.

In 1988, Ibrahim Hussein became the first black male to win at Boston.

Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mike Dukakis finished 57th (3:31) as a high school student in 1951.

In 1975, Boston became the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division.

Starting in 2007, the marathon began to implement the wave start, with one group of runners going off at 10:00 A.M. and a second group starting a half an hour later.

This year, the marathon will start wave one at 10 and wave two at 10:30

Number 22238!!

That's my official bib number:)

You can track me on race day using that number...details to follow.