After running the BAA 5K on Sunday AM, Mom and I walked around the finish area, went to the BAA expo and attended the DFMC past party on Sunday afternoon.
The DFMC pasta party had a list of all the pacesetters, those who had raised more than $8,000 thus far. During the party, the DFMC staff announced that the team had raised more than $3.7 million thus far toward our goal of $4.6 million. Personally, I'm well above my original goal of $10,000 and am at the $11,800+ mark. I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity and support.
Over 1400 people attended the DFMC pasta party at the Copley Marriott.
After the pasta party on Sunday, we returned home to prepare for Monday; I got my bag together and Mom and Amy figured out the viewing plans the following day. Their plan was to head to mile 17 and meet other DFMC supporters and then head back to mile 25 where the patient partners and family are waiting to support runner. Hopefully I would see them twice during my journey into Boston.
On Monday AM I was up early and headed to Park St to meet Tim, a DFMC runner that I spent a good deal of training time with. We caught the bus from Boston to Hopkinton around 6.30AM for our 45-60min journey. Once in Hopkinton, we headed to the DFMC church to wait and prepare for the upcoming race.
Runners putting our post-race bags onto the DFMC bus. They would be waiting for us back in Boston.
After the morning DFMC activities, including sending off Dennis Moran in the handcycle division, we headed to the start where, along with 9,000 others we began Wave 3 of the 117th Boston Marathon. After about 5 minutes, I crossed the start line with 2 teammates. We trained together and had similar goals so we ran together for the day. Though incredibly crowded (we run on two lane roads), the race started off really well...a great pace, great fan support and lots of energy throughout the race. The first 10+ miles went exactly like we hoped. We averaged a 9.15 pace or so and were where we wanted to be. I started looking for people around mile 10 and saw Shuhao, my former boss, who proceeded to run with me for a few minutes. The support was great and from that point on, I continually looked forward to seeing friends and family.
After mile 10, we ran through the scream tunnel at Wellesley College. At the 1/2 way point, I saw Jesse and Max and was still feeling great. It was around this point that our group of 3 runners broke up as Lauren pulled ahead and ran her own race in to Boston, just missing breaking 4hrs. Tim and I continued through Wellesley and up the first major hill at mile 16. That was my first chance to see Mom and Amy. As we were on a great pace, I stopped for 2 quick hugs and got back on the road. Shortly thereafter, I saw the DFMC flag and stopped to get a hug from Delores Barr Weaver, founder of the Claudia Adams Barr Program for Innovative Cancer Research. This was tremendously motivating as I turned onto Comm Ave and hit the first of the Newton hills. Seeing great friends like Jessie and Joe at this point was also a huge boost! Though I was where I wanted to be, I couldn't turn on the speed as much as I had hoped. The hills took a toll but I persevered and made it through.
As I made it through Heartbreak Hill in much better shape than last year, I also realized that breaking 4hrs would be incredibly difficult. I was pretty sure that it was not possible, but was holding out hope. Again, the energy in the air was amazing and thinking of all my support, all the donors and all those that I was running for provided a huge boost throughout the hills and as I made my way through Brighton and Brookline.
Approaching mile 25 this year I made sure to take in the whole DFMC Patient Partner section. I got many 'high 5s' and another energy boost. As I passed the DFMC group, I saw Amy and Mom one last time, got another 'high 5' and continued on to Boston. Unlike last year, the weather allowed the fans to enjoy the day as much as the runners. The entire race was amazing and helped propel me onto Boylston Street to finish the marathon. By this point I knew that I would not break 4hrs, but would still have a personal best and was ecstatic about that.
As I crossed the finish line, I knew I had given it my all and that a 4.02.39 was about the best that I could have done on that day. I was exhausted and slowly made my way to the runner's chute. I stopped to chat with Jack Fultz, the team coach, and Jan, the team coordinator. It was about 20 seconds into that conversation that the explosions occurred.
The rest of the week has been a bit chaotic as well, though I was able to relax a bit on Thursday as Burton, a therapy Leonberger, was available at work for the employees. Simply petting Burton was a tremendous stress relief and helped the rest of the week.
With the end of the marathon season, another tradition came to an end. Every Thursday runners would gather at a bar, travel on the T to Woodland and run the last 9 miles of the couse back. Following the run, everyone would socialize and catch up. Thursday was to be the last 'hoorah' for the Thursday night runs; instead, it was a time to chat with runners about the events of the week and have a tremendous support network around. With the craziness of the week, seeing friends on Thursday & Friday evening was a good way to end the week.
Crossroads with DFMC teammates and other runners
I'm not sure when I'll merge the events of the last week into a single experience, but having signed up for Boston's Run to Remember 1/2 Marathon in late May seems entirely appropriate this year. While I still have not made a decision about running Boston next year with DFMC, the events of the past week have made me strongly reconsider my initial thoughts about not running. Like so many other runners, the events of the week make me want to run again next year, rather than deter me from running again. As I said before, I can run, I can support cancer research and I can do more.
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