The Little Chemist That Could: Race Report: The 127th Running of the Boston Marathon

[Written a couple weeks later and back-dated]

It's a dream come true that I can say "I ran the Boston Marathon." 💙💛🦄🤩

Pre-race days

Scott and I flew out of Greenville early Saturday morning to head up to Boston. Other than arriving early and sitting on the tarmac for about an hour, flights were uneventful.

Arrived around lunchtime and first order of business was to get over to Sam Adams brewing for some food and to get the special marathon pint glass they were giving away. We rented some of the city bikes ("Blue Bikes") and pedaled the ~3 miles over on a lovely sunny afternoon.

Successfully obtained the commemorative pint glass as well as the tasty 26.2 Brew, a golden ale brewed especially for marathon weekend.

Also did the nails for the occasion :)

We stopped at Swamp Turtle Brewing "on the way" to head to the race expo, then finally made our way to the convention center. We went through the lines (and lines and lines) up and down escalators, in and out of hallways and doors, before finally making it to the packet pickup areas and then into the expo area.

I made my way over to the official race swag area only to discover that they were sold out of my size in the coveted official windbreaker jacket! 😭 I was also overwhelmed by the sheer number of PEOPLE in that room all scrambling and trying on things and I realized I needed to get out and get somewhere quiet. We stopped for food on the ~1 mi walk back to the hotel (we had a different hotel for Saturday night vs. rest of the trip) and then I decided I was done for the evening.

The next morning (Sunday), after a good night's rest and hotel breakfast, we walked over to meet a group for a 3-mile shakeout run. One of Scott's friends from his graduate research advisor's group was also running, so she suggested this group and we met up for a lovely easy jog through the Boston Commons.

Afterwards we headed back over to the expo where I was able to more calmly make some swag purchases, including a (too-large) jacket. Better than none! :)

Next on the agenda was the Marathon Sunday service at Old South Church, located on Boylston Street right near the finish line. It was such an amazing service - bagpipes and drums and such inspiring messages.

The rest of the afternoon included lunch, a beer at the Cheers pub, a walk through Boston Commons to see the Make Way for Ducklings statue dressed in running gear, and then seeing my BFF Amanda who came over from NY! We got to spend the afternoon catching up then went to dinner.

Monday, April 17th - Race Day!!

Bus loading time for me was scheduled for 8:15am with a 10:50am start time... which meant a very odd schedule for a race day! Woke up a bit before my 6am alarm and went for hotel breakfast around 6:45, in no hurry. I was a little concerned about the balance between eating a normal enough amount of food to keep me going through the day, but not so much that would be problematic while running given that I'm used to doing long runs on a mostly-empty stomach.

After breakfast and checking 10000x to make sure I had everything, Scott and I walked out to the bus loading area at the Boston Commons, about 3/4 mi from the hotel. I'd decided to not use the finish line bag drop because Scott was going to meet me at the finish anyway and would have whatever I needed there vs. me having to fight the crowds to go find my bag.

The buses were lined up for the entire block, and crowds of athletes were making their way through the security checkpoint and into the grouped lines for the buses bound for Hopkinton.

I waited for maybe 20 minutes to get on the bus, then we began the ~45 min drive out to Hopkinton around 8:45am. As we drove, I ate a second small breakfast, texted with some friends who were awake and already cheering me on, and listened to the excited chatter of other runners around me. As we pulled into Athlete's Village, it started raining a bit harder (had only been a sprinkle up to this point, with temps in the upper 40s). We unloaded from the buses and everyone made their way to the tents and port-a-potty lines.

The rain was coming down pretty hard during the wait in Athlete's Village, but thankfully there was enough room underneath the big tents to stay dry while I got all my gear, fuel, and clothing situated for the start. I debated on which layers to wear for the start, what to shed when. etc. Started off with tank top + arm warmers, windbreaker over it, and "throw-away" sweatshirt on top just for added warmth while I wasn't moving around much. On top had the space blanket that worked for warmth and to keep dry!

It wasn't long before I realized it was time to start making the walk towards the start line (another 3/4 mile walk from Athlete's Village) so I gathered my things and headed out with everyone else huddled under space blankets, ponchos, and trash bags.

On the walk to the start corrals, you could feel the excitement building... everyone eager to get their race started, and even some spectators out in the yards of the houses lining the street on the way there. The crowd of runners got very clumped up as we arrived on the street with the start corrals... and I realized I had only a few minutes to make my way from Corral 8 all the way up to Corral 3 where I was supposed to start! Whoops! Ended up jogging a bit to get there right in time to shed my throw-away layers and then off we went!

I only kept my windbreaker on for the first mile or two, then ran with it tied around my waist the rest of the race. The tank + arm warmers ended up being the perfect combination, and I was on the cool side of comfortable for the entire race, even during the downpours in the middle!

The energy and excitement of the start was just incredible... everybody whooping and cheering as we crossed the official start timing mat with the feeling of "omg we're ACTUALLY running it now!"

The first miles of the race passed pretty quickly... I tried hard to control my pace and save some energy for later but it was so hard with the excitement + downhill trend of the course. Spectators were everywhere, cheering and yelling for us, and I couldn't stop smiling the whole time!

The first half of the race was a bit of a blur - just soaking in everything, smiling at the whole experience and atmosphere, trying to see everything along the way. Each time we'd enter a new town, and I would see the flags marking the way, it would give me a little jolt of excitement. Another milestone down!

✅ Hopkinton

✅ Ashland

✅ Framingham

I saw Scott around mile 7ish, in Framingham. He apparently saw me a couple more times, but this is the only one where I spotted him! Clearly I was excited!!

There were photographers at lots of places along the way, and timing mats with overhead cameras at (I think) 20K and 30K, if not more.

Maybe this was 15K just before Natick?

Yes I think so.

✅ Natick

Just past the halfway point, we approached Wellesley College where there is probably the absolute loudest cheering section of the entire race. The girls from the college come out in droves, and I could hear the roar from at least a quarter mile away.

The tradition is that you're supposed to kiss the Wellesley girls as you run past... I opted for lots of high fives and fed off of the energy of their incredible cheers. My pace definitely picked up (also it was downhill) and the photos through here don't even look like I'm running!

✅ Wellesley

Passing the 25K mark is about where it REALLY started to rain hard. I was absolutely soaked, and even had to run while wiping rain from my eyes to see where I was going. It was fairly cold rain, but thankfully not cold enough to warrant fussing with getting my jacket from around my waist. It was also a pretty good distraction during the notorious Newton Hills, including Heartbreak Hill right around mile 20. Boston college was also here, where I missed out on another of the traditions of chugging a beer with the frats. 🍺

Giving serious side-eye to this very happy chick 😂

Heartbreak hill, in my opinion, really wasn't all that bad. It wasn't steep at all, but I definitely felt it. And it clearly helped slam me right into "the wall" because my pace never went below an 8:30/mi for the rest of the race (except the final ~1/4 mi sprint).

✅ Newton

I was definitely hurting and ready to be done by the final 4 miles. I remember seeing the Citgo sign in the distance and having to catch my breath for being so excited I was NEARLY DONE!

Great photo in the background of this dude.

...and another.

Some of these might be out of order, because the timestamps on them aren't accurate...

✅ Brookline

✅ Boston

...and finally, there it was... the familiar stretch that I had seen and actually run before on a visit 2 summers ago. Running down Commonwealth Avenue, down through the tunnel, then up for the right on Hereford, and left on Boylston St. Making this turn was probably the most memorable part... the OMG I'M REALLY DOING IT part, even moreso than the finish line... by then everything was a blur, trying to keep my breathing under control so I wouldn't just absolutely lose it.

Left on Boylston!!

Yes, the stretch down Boylston is LONGGGG but man, by then you almost don't want it to end (but ok really you do). For me, I guessed I'd run about a 3:45... and I ended up with an official time of 3:45:01. How's that for knowing yourself? I leave you with the photos of the finish line approach...