Bucket List

So one of the main reasons for making the trip to Boston was to check one off my "bucket list". I feel a bit selfish that we planned a whole trip around it, but we ended up having a memorable adventure.This race has been looming over me for quite some time and it is still surreal that it's finally over. I had planned to run the Boston Marathon last year, but had the best excuse not to...her name is Berkley. The Boston Marathon might seem like just another race you pay a lot of money for, get a t-shirt, and a couple of orange wedges while running a ridiculous distance. For the most part you are correct. However, there is more to it. This race has such a history and the hype that surrounds it is infectious. A while back I decided to run a marathon. I told myself that I just want to run one in my lifetime and I'll be good. I signed up for the St. George Marathon and had a great time with the exception of being a little sore. I decided that I might be up for running another. I had heard that there was a marathon that one had to qualify for in order to run it, the Boston Marathon. I signed up for the St. George again with the new goal in mind, hoping for a miracle that I might qualify. When race day came somehow the stars aligned and I pulled it off.

At the beginning of the race, runners were corralled based on their bib number then into smaller subgroups based on qualifying time. I had never seen anything like it; runners lined up over a stretch of road more than a half mile long, packed like sardines. There were over 26,000 people and the crowd never really thinned out all that much. The crowds were incredibly supportive and runners made the streets look like a moving river of bobbing heads. There were some cute t-shirts in the crowd like "This Marathon is Wicked Fah!". Another guy ran in ONLY a loin cloth and it was funny to see the people avoid running behind him. Lets just say nobody looks good from that angle while running! Others dressed in costume. To be honest I wondered, on the scale of normal, how far off the chart are we? None the less, it was fun and I met a lot of cool semi-normal people. It wasn't my fastest race, but I had such a good time chatting with people and taking in the town that I couldn't be happier. (Ran a 3:50)

Pre-race convention

The faster part of the race that only Layne got to see.

One of my favorite people cheering me on!

It was this crowded the whole race...crazy!

The final stretch

Someone actually carried the flag the entire race

                                                    

Waiting for the race...3 long, anxious hours

Meeting new pals at the race