735 Days
Two weeks after the 2015 Boston Marathon, I am finally finished with my thoughts about the entire experience. Those of you who know me are aware of the emotional challenge these last two years have been. They, of course, pale…
Category 2014
The Sound of Music meets a scene from the Terminator
I don’t even know where to start! Boston 2014 was quite possibly the most amazing display of humanity ever. Boston pumped love, perseverance, support, and empathy; every second, all weekend. I have never in my life experienced this type of…
260 Thank You’s
It has always been a dream of mine to run the Boston Marathon, but as a five-hour runner, I knew I would never make the BAA’s qualifying standards. So I decided in 2013 to raise funds for Boston Children’s Hospital…
My legs were boycotting and there really wasn’t anything I could do about it
No one likes to write a race report about a race that didn’t go well. I questioned putting these thoughts out there, but I know eventually I’ll be glad I did. It will be good to look back on it…
Joy in the Journey Back to Normalcy
Boston strong? Absolutely. Boston loud? Hell, yeah. On a day when the finish line at the Boston Marathon was reclaimed, normalcy made a triumphant return during the 26.2-mile journey from Hopkinton to Boston… It was evident as we pulled into…
Proud to Accept the Invitation
At 2:49 p.m. on April 15, 2013, I was recording video from the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street, ten yards away from where the first bomb went off. I was trying to get a lot of those first-time…
The idea of the Boston Marathon is almost as powerful as the race itself
I ran Boston for the first time in 2011, and I didn’t have a strong desire to ever run it again. I had wanted to do it once in my life, and I was very grateful and satisfied to have…
Spectators felt as strongly as the runners about reclaiming the race
I last ran Boston (my second time) in 2009, and had no plans to return any time soon. But when the bombs went off in 2013, so did something inside just about anybody who cares about running and the Boston…
A Fast Marathon Needs More than Fitness
How do you run a fast marathon? It’s one of the most interesting questions I can think of as a runner, training geek, and coach. It’s also incredibly complex. With a race as long as the marathon, there are more…
Running through the Center of the World
For over a year I dreamed about what it would feel like to run in the 118th edition of the Boston Marathon. Like many others, I felt compelled to be there no matter what it took. I was inspired to…
We were Unstoppable
The headline of the Boston Globe on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 read “UNSTOPPABLE.” That sentiment could not have been more true. Meb Keflezighi, the American winner, was unstoppable; Shalane Flanagan, the Boston native women’s favorite who despite coming in seventh broke…
Hearing “wicked ‘stache, bro!” a thousand times
I must have heard “wicked ‘stache, bro!” a thousand times, or “killer ‘stache,” “love your ‘stache, “Go Pre!” etc. Which is, as my good friend Eric Senseman confirmed, “The Dream.” Well, the dream for anyone who loves mustaches. I grew…