Boston XV - A Fountain of Inspiration At The 2019 Boston Marathon

There are few races that fuel the soul of a runner as deeply and consistently as the Boston Marathon. The rich history, great performances, wild card weather, and unstoppable energy permeating from first time runners and ever-cheerful volunteers/spectators always draws out our best. This cauldron of inspiration cannot be explained, nor contained, only experienced and permanently absorbed. It has now pulled me back for fifteen consecutive editions, and the 2019 race (my "Boston XV") once again exceeded all expectations. The perfect closure to my American chapter before we begin our European life adventure. 

(Picking up the race bib - Corral #1 this year!)

I had a loaded Patriot's Day weekend ahead of me as I stepped off the plane on the Saturday before the race. First, a chance to meet some soon-to-be colleagues at adidas, where I will be employed when we move to Austria in late May. Then to the 5th birthday party of Like The Wind magazine, the most original and artistic voice in the running world today, to meet founders Simon and Julie Freeman and their cadre of collaborators and see some running-inspired art. I only had enough time at the Expo to get my bib (#574!) and watch Tiger Woods make his extraordinary comeback at The Masters at one of the Expo booths. So many great vibes of courage and redemption, it was easy to shrug off the forecast of crazy thunderstorms rolling in for race day. With all this inspiration, how could we be stopped?!?

(Runners watching Tiger's historic 5th Masters)

(Meeting Simon Freeman, co-founder of Like The Wind magazine, in person)

(Runners listen to guest speakers at the Like The Wind birthday party)

(Slothie, my stuffy travel buddy who always finds his way into my suitcase,
is far more interested in the Game Of Thrones Season 8 Premiere)

Race morning found us boarding the buses in torrential rain and flashes of lightning, but with an expected forecast of clear skies within hours. Would we make it?!? It would be close, so we all dressed for every possible outcome. For those of us who were here last year, the 60+ degree temperature was already a huge improvement over the hypothermia insanity of 2018. 

The bus ride to the start was, once again, a great way to meet runners from all over the world and hear their stories. Ismael from Egypt started running after rehab from hip surgery and now found himself at his first Boston just two years later. Becky from Minnesota was on her second Boston, looking for some redemption after a sufferfest last year. Fred from Florida was running his way to spiritual and physical health post-divorce, back at Boston after a 10-year hiatus. Matt from Ohio took the new Boston standards as a challenge to shave five minutes off his PR, but had trained so hard he had his sights on a solid 25 minute improvement (which he would get!). Each story of triumph and courage more powerful than the next...I could listen to them all day. 

By the time I found Corral #1, it was obvious I had massively overdressed. The rain had stopped, the temps settling in the mid-70's, and Hopkinton was hot and humid...the siamese twins of exercise-induced heatstroke. I made the decision early to run at cruising speed, and just enjoy the ride. At 10:02am, we were off! 

(Overdressed in a motorcycle rain suit and muck boots...can't be too careful after '18!)

(Nice and warm in Corral #1)

(My buddy, Bob Weinhold, finds me on the NBC TV coverage...taking pictures, natch!)

(And we're off!)

It was a tad warm for us non-acclimated runners, but perfect weather for cheering and spectating. No surprise, Boston was out en force at every stop! I gave high fives to the kids of Ashland, recognizing a few of them as the toddlers who held out orange slices in these very same spots years ago. Santa was there in Natick, per usual, and we got our 14th consecutive selfie! I was sure to put in a good word for my girls, and let him know of our new Austrian address. ;-)

(Santa is looking good!)

The women of Wellesley were in full force (mile 12), and their siren song pulled us in like a tractor beam. I leaned in to exchange a smooch, and then saw something I couldn't believe - a sign with my name on it! "All Day Long I Dream Of Scott Dunlap"...that's it folks, I have officially jumped the shark. I suspect fellow athlete and Boston runner Shannon Hogan and her clan were behind it. Such a unique thrill, thank you! ;-)

(Love you, Wellesley!)

(DUDE...NO...WAY!)

I crossed the halfway in 1:26:54, comfortably on a sub-3 pace despite all the photo shenanigans. As I settled into a rhythm for the hills of Natick (mile 15), I stared down at the three stripes in the center of the road that lead us to the finish....those three stripes will certainly be leading me beyond Boylston this time!

I got my annual beer at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill (mile 20), and weaved through the carnage of walking runners in the final six miles. The sun had come out now, and those few extra degrees seemed to be enough to bring dozens of runners to a crawl. I opted for lots of water on the head, knowing the adidas Ultraboost 19 shoes and Injinji toe socks would drain well and keep my feet from getting thrashed. The heat wasn't stopping three runners in the M60-64 age group that were all within 100 yards around me, tactically eyeing each other for the first move...it was going to be a sprint finish! We made the historic left onto Boylston and the M60+ warriors all dropped the hammer, leaving me in their wake. Now THAT'S how you finish Boston!

(Past the new memorial)

(Home stretch down Boylston St)

(The finish!)

(The awesome volunteers set me up with medal #15...so glad they had a sunny day for once!)

(My volunteer masseuse gets my calves back in shape...still the best kept secret at the finish line)

I crossed the finish line in 2:56:48 for 1953rd place, all smiles, and plenty of fist bumps all around. The streets were filled with the roar of 100,000+ spectators, cheering runners in by the hundreds now. What a fantastic day!

I soon found myself sharing fish and chips and beers with finishers and family, watching how the professional races unfolded. Lawrence Cherono and 2-time champion Lelisa Desisa ended up sprinting the final stretch, before Cherono edged Desisa out by only a few seconds (2:08), and Kenneth Kipkemoi a few seconds later. The closest podium in history! Americans Scott Fauble and Jared Ward both had epic races, hitting the 2:09 standard and placing 7th and 8th, respectively. Wow! Worknesh Degafa had won the Women's race (2:23), with Jordan Hasay making the podium in 3rd (2:25), and Desi Linden in 5th (2:27). Once again, very impressive efforts all around.

(Lawrence Cherono edges out Lelisa Desisa in the final yards of the closest finish in Boston Marathon history, epically captured by Neil Powell)

As I numbed up my legs with one last celebratory cocktail, I found myself screaming at my phone to cheer my friend Chris Devine slogging his way through an injured 5-hour marathon to get his first Boston medal. Winners, finishers, comebacks...it's pretty amazing what we can accomplish when we set our minds to it. Thank you, Boston, for giving us the grandest of stages! My next life adventure is a big one, but my confidence is now #BostonStrong. 

(The XV Beacon hotel is happy to help me ring in my 15th finish)

(One more in the books...wunderbar!)

Bigger and Faster Field for Boston Marathon Results In Faster Qualifying Times for 2020

Since 2013, qualifying for the historic Boston Marathon has involved two steps.

First, you need to run a Boston-qualifying time ("BQ") based on your age and sex. The BQ standard is no joke - only 10.4% of runners ever clock a BQ time. It's one of the reasons that "getting to Boston" finds its way onto the bucket list for most serious runners at some point in their running career.

Second, you need to register for the race and hope the qualifying time that you ran beat the standard by enough that when they cut off the entries at ~24,000 runners, you have made it in. In 2014, you had to run one minute, 38 seconds faster than your BQ to be accepted into the race. In 2015, it was 1:02 faster. In 2016, it became 2:28, and suddenly the "squeakers" (those who just barely made the cut off) knew a new game was afoot. In 2017, it was 2:09. In 2018, it climbed to 3:23.

For 2019, it was 4:52.

This resulted in the largest number of applicants ever not making the cut off (7,384 of 30,458 total applicants), and an announcement from the B.A.A. that all qualifying standards would be raised by five minutes for all age groups for 2020 and beyond. For men age 18-34 (the fastest required qualifying time), it is now 3 hours flat. Hello, #breaking3 hashtag!

So how did this happen? Are runners getting faster? Well, it likely has more to do with the fact that the pool of applicants is getting bigger. Both last year and this year saw a 7% increase in applicants, well ahead of the typical 4% growth rate the race has seen historically. Qualifying times of new entrants are not noticeably faster, but by the nature of those times being evenly distributed, it is raising the overall cut off time.

Personally, I am excited to see the new BQ standards. Whether it is because more runners are getting serious, or we just have more runners in general, there is a growing global pool of people embracing their inner athlete and a committed healthy lifestyle. That's powerful. That is worthy of applause. My hat is off to all of you!

But I also understand for a lot of "squeakers", or those who have been eagerly pursuing a BQ for years, needing to find another five minutes is NOT what you wanted to hear right now (#finding5, anyone?). My hat is off to you as well. You are equally committed to a healthy lifestyle, you are equally as impressive, and there is no doubt you are doing the hard work. Less than 5% of adults exercise daily, and less than 0.5% of adults will ever run a marathon, so find solace in the fact that you are easily in the top 1% of your species. Don't let an arbitrary standard based on a constrained size of allowed runners on the streets of Boston cast a shadow on your devotion to your craft.

We all have our stretch goals. Perhaps the news from the B.A.A. will make you stretch a bit farther. If you're pissed off, that's great! Recognize the anger for the gift that it is - undirected passion. Then channel that passion proactively - get a coach, make a plan, share your goals with your friends and family and invite them to help, and then enjoy the journey, whether it is Boston or not. If you do that, you are SO winning. And it will feel that way, I promise!

Whatever your journey, I hope to see you on the road, on the trails, or anywhere outside when you are smiling with friends while covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. You know that's where I will be! And if you did make it to Boston for 2019, congratulations! I'll see you there. ;-)

Cheers, Scott

Registration for the 2019 Boston Marathon Begins On Sept 10th

Planning to be at the 123rd Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15th, 2019?

Registration begins in a few days on Monday, September 10th. Mark your calendars!

The race will once again follow a rolling registration, based on a qualifying time run since September 17, 2017:

• Monday, September 10 - Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or more. 
• Wednesday, September 12 - Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 10 minutes, 00 seconds or more (if space remains). 
• Friday, September 14 - Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 5 minutes, 00 seconds or more (if space remains). 
• Saturday, September 15 - Registration closes at 10:00 p.m. ET. 
• Monday, September 17 - All qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard (if space remains) may submit an entry. 
• Wednesday, September 19 - Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. ET. 

If space remains after this initial period, then on Monday, September 24 registration will re-open to anyone who meets the qualifying standards on a first come, first served basis. Registration will remain open until the maximum field size is reached.

Historically, you have had to have been faster than your qualifying time by 1:02-3:23 to get a spot since rolling registration has been in place (gets tougher every year!). Let's hope you have a speedy qualifier under your belt for 2017/2018, maybe even fast enough for Corral #1!

I'll be there for sure (#16 for me). Let me know if you're coming to Hopkinton!

- Scott

The Wet and Wild 2018 Boston Marathon

Courage in the face of great odds.

Triumph over adversity.

When the prepared overcome the unexpected.

When we, the endurance warriors, toe the line at a race, this is the shared and unspoken dream we hope unfolds. We don’t train so it all goes easily; we train to be laughing at the top of our lungs when the shit hits the fan at Mach 2. If it doesn’t, we just sign up for a new race and go longer, higher, harder, and in more extreme conditions until it does. It is the perpetual pursuit of the real.

And when “the real” delivers? Ooohh man, that’s the good stuff. Ambrosia for the soul. Stripped to the core, ditching our self-imposed ego baggage along the way out of sheer survival, the finish line cleanses us in unexpected ways every time. We dig deep to get there, unearthing pockets of courage, persistence, and humility that powers us beyond our own high expectations, then cross that finish line forever changed. For days afterwards, every moment has a perfect beauty...a glow that hums from the bruises, chafe, and lactic acid-filled muscles that scream in harmony with every handrail-gripping step down the stairs. Those around us may question why we do this, but we know why. It is nothing short of glorious.

(Runners tackling the weather at the 2018 Boston Marathon, photo courtesy of The Boston Globe) 

The 2018 Boston Marathon delivered big time for all of us. In 14 consecutive Bostons, I have never seen anything like the nonstop weather calamity of this one. From this day forward, “I ran Boston in 2018” is instant legacy and permission to tell the tale of snow drifts and mud fields at the start, the relentless 20-30mph headwinds that kept the wind chill below freezing, and the endless sheets of rain that sent thousands to the medical tents along the course. A coach at the finish line summed it up perfectly for me - if you made it to Boston 2018, you are a hero. If you finished, YOU ARE A GOD.

(Yes, that's snow along the tent, and enough mud to soak every foot)

(Layer up!)

I arrived at the start layered up like I was trying to avoid an airline $25 luggage fee by wearing all of my clothes at once. Inov-8 shirt, vest, sleeves, gloves, cashmere hoodie (that the moths got to), peacoat (a gift two sizes two big), jeans, a homemade garbage bag hoodie that a homeless guy showed me how to make, extra shoes to toss at the start, and a big roll of contractor garbage bags to hand out (they lasted 15 minutes). My fellow warriors were similarly clad, with extensive use of grocery bag-wrapped feet, shower caps, and hazmat suits. The snow was piled up along the tents in the athlete village, and three inches of mud faced anyone trying to enter, yet there were plenty of smiles and cheers of encouragement once you got in. You don’t come to Boston and not run. You come to eat up everything it has to offer. It was good to have some playmates!

(Layered up and ready to roll!)

I was in Corral 2 this year (#1644…gotta work on that), but had no visions of PR’s today despite being fit. Pictures were also a no go, so the focus would be on “just don’t get hypothermia”. We all yelled out a cheer as the elites lined up at the start – once again, it was the best runners in the world, with a particularly deep field of Americans in the Women’s division (Shalane, Des, Huddle, etc.). I found comfort knowing they were right in front of us, all in for the big dance, come hell or high water (and a forecast for both).

As we sang the national anthem and did the final countdown, I stripped down, but couldn’t get myself to shed the warmth of the soaked cashmere hoodie cinched tight around my face. It may not be fashionable, and the sleeves were already hanging to my knees, but dang, it was comfy! So be it. My first Boston in a cinched cashmere hoodie with seal flipper sleeves. Let’s roll!

(And we're off! Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe)

It only took a mile before the waves of rain came like the apocalypse, but we got strength from cheering Bostonians who lined the streets in their duck shoes and umbrellas (and a few semi-naked just for fun). The speed of the clouds felt like time lapse thanks to the headwind, and you could see each black cluster of rain and sleet soar through the sky before pelting us with half frozen evil delight. There were some groans, but if it got too bad, you could count on yet another runner doing a Bill Murray Caddyshack impression saying “I don’t think the heavy stuff is going to come down for quite a while”. Yup, still funny!

(Fa, fa, fa, fashion! Photo courtesy of USA Today)

By the 10k mark (40:52), the temperature had dropped again (felt about 35 degrees), and I tucked in with a group of runners that were moving fast. The fog of their charging breath whipped past my head, and the puddle stomping made it feel like rain was coming in all directions. Intros were short, using first name and city/country for brevity, but I soon found “Jamie, Buffalo”, “Rolf, Switzerland”, “Michael, Indianapolis”, and “Rico, Sao Paulo” to be just the right pace. I felt warm enough to chuck the hoodie, just before getting a photo with Santa and having my GoPro die.

(The ever-enthusiastic women of Wellesley)

(...except for that hot shower!)

The women of Wellesley (mile 11) were sparse this year, but those who showed made up for it with soaking, screaming enthusiasm. I swapped wet sloppy kisses on the cheek with my favorite sign holder (“blue lip kisses rule!”), then pushed on through the halfway point (mile 13.1) in 1:24:22. Although I wasn’t paying attention to time, a quick pace was required to keep hypothermia at bay!

(Only the bravest would walk...photo courtesy of The Boston Globe)

The temperature picked up a well-needed five degrees once we hit the hills of Newton, but Mother Nature made up for it with a relentless wind that tossed us back and forth. The medical tents were all full of runners at this point (mile 16-20), and we were still in the first 1,500 runners! I would later learn that nearly 2,500 were treated for hypothermia symptoms. The critical error seemed to be slowing to a walk and not being able to warm back up, so I kept on my food and hydration and stuck to the quick pace.

By mile 23, my hands and feet were permanently numb, and my hearing started to go (this happens when I get super cold) so I grouped with a few more runners. “Daniel, Denver”, “Brian, Texas”, and I encouraged each other to the final stretch then went bananas for the finish line. Boylston gave us a welcome tailwind for about a half a mile, and I finished in 2:53:22 for 819th. A cold but controlled race, feeling good at the finish, so I was quite pleased with the result.

(Des Linden decisively captures the win)

(Yuki Kawauchi, the nicest elite there is, takes home the win)

It wasn’t until I jogged back to my Airbnb rental and jumped in a hot bathtub fully clothed that I learned that Yuki Kawauchi (2:15) had won, and Des Linden (2:39) had won the Women’s division (American women took 7 of the top 10 slots), both breaking 30+ year firsts. Des had her full jacket and mittens on at the finish, and had once again run a nearly perfect split in her sixth attempt. I was so stoked for her! In her post race interview, she recommends to everyone else to just “do the hard work, and keep showing up”. Yup, so true, and something all of the finishers today can relate to.  It was extra special that two of the most humble athletes in our sport came out on top in the most dramatic conditions.

(A little pub fare to get warmed up again)

(A finish worthy of celebration!)

I warmed up enough to hit the Boston pubs and relish my favorite part of the weekend, which is hearing the stories of triumph from all the other runners. The veterans among us assured the first timers that this was an epic year, and it couldn’t possibly get any worse. Or maybe, just maybe, it will! Either way, you have to come back. ;-) The tales poured out from Miami, Colorado Springs, Mexico City, Dublin, Tokyo, Auckland, Nashville, Milton (MA), all with camaraderie and a renewed sense of passion. We were all aglow.

My thanks to the great city of Boston, the race directors, and the hearty volunteers and cheering crews who stayed out there all day for us. You are the reason this is one of the greatest races in the world! Also a big thanks to inov-8 for keeping me fast, and Injinji for miraculously leaving my feet with no blisters after 26.2 miles in the rain,  I will see you again next April, if not sooner!

The Bar For The Boston Marathon (BQ) Gets Higher for 2018 - 3 Minutes and 23 Seconds

If you were hoping to get into the 2018 Boston Marathon this year, you had to beat your Boston Qualifier (BQ) time by 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Wowza! That's the biggest gap since the Boston Marathon established this new process five years ago, and the fifth year in a row you needed to run faster than your age-group standard BQ. Here's how it compares to previous years:

• For 2017, you had to better your BQ by 2 minutes and 9 seconds.
• For 2016, 2 minutes, 28 seconds.
• For 2015, 1 minute, 2 seconds.
• For 2014, 1 minute, 38 seconds.

And it appears Boston qualifying runners are getting even faster. Here's the breakdown compared to the fields in previous years:

• 4,691 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or faster. (+7.5%)
• 7,673 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by 10 minutes, 00 seconds or faster. (+7.9%)
• 7,505 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by 05 minutes, 00 seconds or faster. (+10.3%)
• 2,905 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by 3 minutes, 23 seconds or faster. (-35.4%)
• 424 Qualifiers were accepted based on finishing 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons. (+2%)

That's a fast field! Congrats to all of you who got in. Hopefully you had a great year, and I'll be seeing you in Hopkinton on April 16, 2018. 

- SD

Registration for the 2018 Boston Marathon Starts On Monday (9/11)

If you would like to be one of the 30,000 runners at the 122nd Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16, 2018, have your qualification times ready to register next week!

The race will once again follow a rolling registration, based on a qualifying time run since September 17, 2016:

• Monday, September 11 - Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or more. 
• Wednesday, September 13 - Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 10 minutes, 00 seconds or more (if space remains). 
• Friday, September 15 - Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 5 minutes, 00 seconds or more (if space remains). 
• Saturday, September 16 - Registration closes at 10:00 p.m. ET. 
• Monday, September 18 - All qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard (if space remains) may submit an entry. 
• Wednesday, September 20 - Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. ET. 

If space remains after this initial period, then on Monday, September 25 registration will re-open to anyone who meets the qualifying standards on a first come, first served basis. Registration will remain open until the maximum field size is reached.

Historically, you have had to have been faster than your qualifying time by 1:02-2:28 to get a spot since rolling registration has been in place. Let's hope you have a speedy qualifier under your belt for 2016/2017, maybe even fast enough for Corral #1!

I'll be there for sure. Let me know if you're coming to Hopkinton!

- Scott

Rebel Run at the 2017 Boston Marathon

The 2017 Boston Marathon was my 13th consecutive running of this iconic event, and once again, the experience exceeded all expectations. There’s nothing quite like this quintessential American road race that consistently conjures a unique recipe of new and familiar, struggle and breakthrough, and story-building experiences that are nothing short of magical. It wasn’t my fastest Boston by a long shot, but has already become one of my favorites.

(Feeling fast!)

(My Mom enjoys playing tourist at the Boston Tea Party Museum)

My co-pilot for this trip was my Mom, Dr. Diane Dunlap, who has somehow gone nearly 75 years without experiencing the rush of a big city marathon or Patriot’s Day weekend in Boston. What? Who’s Mom is she anyway?!? (ha, ha) But as we all know, bringing fresh eyes to a favorite city has a way of presenting a whole new perspective. Mom definitely did not disappoint on that front.

Within hours of her arrival, we were at an April 15th protest at Harvard Square demanding that President Trump release his taxes. The protest wasn’t on my original agenda, but as soon as she asked, it did feel like Boston was a perfect place to yalp the voice of freedom (Huzzah! As they would have said in the 1770’s). My Mom has spent much of her career as a college professor helping students find their voice, and in our hometown of Eugene, OR, campus rallies are so common the protest signs are made of dry erase white boards. Yet in all this time, I’ve never seen her fire burn as bright as that stoked by the kerosene-soaked tinder of Trump. She even posted to Facebook live during the demonstration to unite with her sisters in New York, Maryland, and more…yeah, Gramma D! It was fascinating to exercise our right to demonstrate on the very grounds that birthed our nation from similar passion centuries ago.

(Who you calling chicken?)

(At Haavahd Yahd)

(Sam Adams, my man!)

A few hours later, we were dressed to the nines at the movie premier for Boston - The Documentary at the plush Boch Center Wang Theatre (with a live performance of the original soundtrack by the Boston Pops, no less). Pre-event dinner and drinks at the Local Crossing provoked so much deep conversation, it was 1950 by the time we found our seats. The documentary was amazing (highly recommended!), giving my Mom a perfect intro to the history and personality of a race that has survived 121 years. She was eager to experience marathon Monday, especially with Katherine Switzer back 50 years after she broke the gender barrier by entering herself in the race as “K.V. Switzer”, and now once again donning her original number, #261.

(At the premier for "Boston - The Documentary", with live orchestra!)

(E. Bunny makes an appearance)

Sunday found us playing tourist, grabbing coffee and green tea roasts at Ogawa Coffee (so good, we went there every morning), throwing tea crates into the Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party Museum, spending a whopping $12 on Old Navy sweats for me to wear to the start (and donate), and grabbing a Sam Adams at the local pub. It was flip flop weather (~86 degrees), and we could see the nervous faces of runners throughout the town. This was definitely going to be a hot one!

(This guy will likely go deaf from the cheering)

(Hanging with the Alaskans in Corral #1)

Race morning cooled a bit (~65 degrees), but heat and humidity would clearly be a big factor. This wasn’t an “A" race for me, but instead was the last long run before the Avenue of the Giants Marathon in a few weeks. On the way to the race start, I made the decision to take it easy today and try not to overheat.

(And we are off!)

(OMG, so funny)

Corral #1 had different ideas, and as we headed from Hopkinton to Boston at 10am, Strava was already pinging me with Top 3 personal performances in the first 5 miles. Whoops! I crossed through the first 5k in 19:45, and in the first 10k in 39:30, well ahead of a casual pace (casual for me is 3:05-3:10+ marathon pace, and this was closer to a 2:45 marathon). But as we approached Natick and Wellesley (mile 10), I was dumping water on my head and grabbed every Otter Pop I could find (thanks, kids!). The heat beast was ready to rumble.

(Matching floral outfit was the wise choice today)

(BGID)

(Santa was there once again, and we got our 13th consecutive photo!)

(Check your form!)

As the Scream Tunnel of Wellesley approached (mile 12), some ladies holding up a sign quoting the movie Magic Mike (“the law says you can’t kiss…but I see a lot of lawbreakers out there”) made me a rebel in every sense of the word. If my face wasn’t hot red already, it certainly was now! I downshifted my pace to 7:30 min/miles to try and get my testosterone-infused core temp back into a reasonable range.

(Scream tunnel! The sign quotes Magic Mike - "the law says you cannot kiss...but I see a lot of lawbreakers out there")

(Boston College means beer time)

(Classic!)

We had a slight tailwind, but that just meant the air was hot and stagnant until we crested a hill or changed directions in the Newton hills (mile 16). There was a collective sigh with each breeze, and from chains of runners hitting the firehoses and haz-mat tents along the way. Heartbreak Hill had its fair share of walkers this year, but the crowds got everyone moving with their encouragement.

(Locals more than happy to beer me!)

I grabbed a beer from some good folks at Boston College (mile 21), which put a huge smile on my face to brave the final slog. I held out my hand and counted 261 hand slaps (go K.V. Switzer!), just enough to bring the Citgo sign into range (mile 24).

(Citgo sign, there you are!)

(Ben Beach completes his 50th consecutive Boston, a new record)

Boylston lifted my spirits with its deafening roar, and I slowed to embrace every breath, every step, and the angelic hum of thousands of people screaming their lungs out. Soon enough I crossed the finish line in 3:07:47 (2,419th place), feeling good, but glad to be done. Boston #13 was in the books! I fell into the arms of a volunteer massage therapist, who pushed twitching dehydrated cramps out of my calves and sent me on my way with a smile.

(Finished!)

(2:27 marathoners Michael Wardian and Matt Flaherty celebrate at the finish)

(With Jean Pommier at the finish)

(70-year-old Katherine Switzer with an impressive 4:44)

Although I thought the conditions were tough, I ran into a lot of runners who defied the heat to clock spectacular performances. Jean Pommier (2:44) finished 2nd in his age group, while Michael Wardian (2:27), Jorge Maravilla (2:24 for 30th!), Matt Flaherty (2:27), and Jon Kuehler (2:39) all crushed it. Alex Varner (2:34), Mario Fraoli (2:47), Erin Beck (4:34), Paige Alam and Kristin Armstrong (4:34) also did well in adverse conditions. At the professional level, the Kenyans swept with Geoffrey Kirui (2:09:37) and Edna Kiplagat (2:21:52) taking the wins, and American runners turning in incredible results with Galen Rupp (2:09:58) taking second and Jordan Hasay (2:23:00) taking third in her first marathon, and the men taking 6 of the top 10 spots.

(Nice!)

My Mom braved the crowds of Boylston to see the pros finish, citing it as one of the grandest experiences she has ever witnessed (and sacrificing a toenail from all the walking, which seems a perfect marathon spectating result). We joined up at the Beantown Pub for dinner where she actively engaged with marathon finishers about stories of the finish and the history she knew. I was so proud! We all cheered as Katherine Switzer crossed the finish on the TV, looking as fresh as she did 50 years ago. Last stop was the Carrie Nation speakeasy for a nightcap before going facedown on our hotel beds a few hours later, exhausted and fulfilled from a truly American experience.

My thanks to the directors and volunteers of BAA for yet another great race, and a big congrats to all the runners who got through the heat to find that finish line. If you haven’t done this race, you should…and we will see you there! To my Mom, a huge hug and thanks for a perfect weekend, and making this annual pilgrimage more iconic than ever!

 See you on the trails… Scott