The race represented me coming full circle from the last time I competed in 2012. At that time I was suffering from a torn labrum in my left hip and a degenerative condition in both hips. When I finished that time, I was in tremendous pain, and I thought that I was running my last marathon. Shortly thereafter I had surgery on my left hip.

I started running again in early 2015 basically because I was tired of swimming laps. A friend was running in the race that year, and I wanted to pace her through the Newton hills. Running that day with her inspired me and planted the seed that maybe, one day, I would be able to run the race again.

First, I had to make peace with my physical limitations and the fact that I'm not getting any younger. I ran the Baystate Marathon in the fall of 2015, qualifying for Boston, but this was the first opportunity for me to run it.

I trained hard to get ready for Boston, but the one thing that you can't control in your race preparation is the weather. It was a beautiful day for spectators, but too warm to run a marathon (at least for me). My sweet spot tends to be in the high 40's to low 50's. Above that, hydration and cramping tend to be problematic for me when I race.

When faced with less than ideal circumstances all you can do as a runner is to accept what the reality is and adjust your game plan. While I had aspired to break three hours, it became clear that wasn't in the offing. I finished in 3:15:42, and that was a hard earned result. While I didn't attain the time I wanted, I know that I gave it my all and left nothing on course that day.

The energy from the moment your enter the expo until the moment the you cross the finish line is off the charts. There is a reason why everyone works so hard to get to this race. Everyone running Boston has a compelling story as to their “Why” (they are running the race). What’s your why? 🙂