Boston Marathon Alert

I sent this to friends and co-workers and now I'm posting it too for my fellow bloggy friends. What's pretty cool is how many people in the office told me they signed up for the alert and have forwarded on the email to others.  One of my friends likes being able to tell her friends she knows someone running the Boston Marathon.  The mystic of Boston is there for runners and non-runners alike.

**SPOILER ALERT**

Kara Goucher will beat me (along with 17,000 other runners)

On Monday, April 18th I’ll be participating in the 115th  Boston Marathon along with 27,000 other runners. If you’re interested you can receive a text when I cross the 10K mark ( about 6 miles), half-marathon (13 miles) , 30K (18 miles) and the finish line. You can text the word RUNNER to 345678 and you’ll receive a return text with instructions.  My  bib number is 17327.

I’m in the second wave and the gun goes off at 10:20am (EST).  My best guess is it’ll take me 10 minutes to cross the starting line and actually start running.  The first part of the course is downhill and then the hills start at mile 16. If all goes well, I’ll cross the finish line in Boston 4 hours or less later (about noon PST)

FAQ
How long is a marathon anyway?  It is 26.2 miles long. 

How did I get into Boston? To run Boston you need to qualify by running a certain time for your age group.  For the 2011 Boston I needed to run a certified marathon in three hours, fifty minutes (3:50) to qualify.  Last year I ran the 2010 IMS Arizona marathon in 3:44 and qualified to run Boston.  Boston just lowered their qualifying times making it harder to get in so it’s a good thing I’m running it this year.

How many marathons have I run?  This will be my third marathon

Will I walk? My goal is to run the whole time but a few runners use the Galloway run/walk method.

What about the wall?  Some people say it’s all in the runners head.  In my second marathon I didn’t hit a wall and felt great the entire time.  In my first marathon about mile 22 I got super tired (and grumpy) and guess you could call say I hit the wall.

What if I have to go to the bathroom? There are port-a-potties along the course but I hope that I can do all my business in the morning. This shouldn’t be a problem because I need to be at the buses at 5:45am and will have plenty of time for my body to wake up.

Do you eat along the way? Many runners use GU, a carbohydrate goo like blob that has 100 calories in it and is really sticky if you get it on your hands.  I’ll take one every 5 miles, or 45 minutes. If you’re curious on what GU tastes like, just ask my co-worker Nick.  He loves GU.

Why am I flying to Boston, spending money on a hotel, air, etc just to go running in a race where I can’t possibly win? Hey, it’s Boston.  What other explanation could there possibly be?



Happy Running!