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.

If I can do 20...that must mean I can do 26, right?

This week I've logged about 40 miles, which is on the higher end of what I've been doing. Today, I ran 20 of those 40 miles, and wow...I felt it. I wouldn't say I felt horrible, but to quote one of my running buddies, Beth, I had to give myself some internal pep talks to get to the top of the hills once we reached those last three miles of the run. The hills were short and steep, but I kept telling myself, this is preparing me for Heartbreak...these hills are preparing me for what it might feel like when I reach "The Hills," as I like to call them, after running on flat/downhill for 17 miles. It hurt, but I finished! So that's what I'm hoping for on race day. Pace wise, this was a good run. About 9:18 pace.

This coming week, I am hoping to log less miles, since our long run will only be about 13-14 miles this next weekend. It will feel good to rest. One more twenty miler (actually I think it's 21...but who's counting?) and a half marathon race, and then I'll be ready for the big day!