I worried for most of the hours leading up to the 2022 Boston Marathon.
This year was my fifth in-person Boston, but my it was my first time starting the race without having already run a qualifier for the next year. My brain focused on not having a 2023 BQ. With only one other race on my calendar before the September signup period (Eugene 13 days later), I felt pressure. Self-inflicted pressure to run a BQ on the Boston course.
“What if I don’t qualify? What if I never get to run here again?”
My anxiety increased each moment I stood in line for the bus ride to Hopkinton and Athletes’ Village. And it was a looooong wait to get on the buses. Then I stayed stressed in the minutes before the race. Maybe I had been on my feet too much before the race. My nutrition wasn’t great race week. The weather was warming up, and I seem to only run well in the cold.
I got to my starting corral, the farthest position back I’ve ever had in Boston (determined by my qualifying time), and I felt the nervous energy of the crowd. The first Boston Marathon on actual Patriots’ Day since 2019.
National anthem and flyover. Ready or not (I felt not), the race was starting.
Then it hit me. Worst case scenario, if it was going to be my last Boston, why would I run it in fear and obsession about what could go wrong?
I crossed the start line, hit run on my Garmin, and decided I would enjoy each mile. My goal became remembering all of the special moments along the course.
Here, in no particular order, are the things I committed to memory two weeks ago on my trip from Hopkinton into Boston.
1 — Boston belongs in the spring. It was cool to be a part of the only (hopefully ever) fall Boston in October. And I would rather them put on a race late in the year than skip in-person all together like 2020. But Boston is different on Patriots’ Day in April. The Red Sox playing day games, trees flowering, and buzz around the city are just different. The 2021 Boston was unique, but 2022 felt like a return to normalcy and a gigantic celebration of running.
2 — The volunteers really make the race. Without them, Boston wouldn’t happen at all. As I got dinner after the race, I ended up talking to a runner who drove from Rhode Island to help as a volunteer in the finish line area. The volunteers put in just as many hours (and in many cases a lot more) as the runners on race day. And every single one of them has a huge smile and encouraging words. I’ve done a lot of races with great support and volunteer help, but Boston is next level.
3 — There is nothing like the Boston Marathon start. I think the biggest difference back in October was the rolling start. Instead of a mass race start, runners rolled off their buses and immediately headed for the starting line, with smaller groups heading on to the course constantly. In 2022, we got back to the usual mass start. Thousands and thousands of heads bobbing up and down over the rolling hills in the first 10K. The sight is mesmerizing, and it feels like the biggest family group run ever. I can close my eyes and hear the thundering footfalls of those first miles.
4 — Boston is about overcoming adversity. There are so many incredible and inspirational runners on the course. At mile five, right as we entered Framingham, I saw two Bowerman Track Club singlets on the right side of the road. My first thought was “that runner looks like Shalane Flanagan.” Then as I passed, I realized it was Shalane. She was running with Adrianne Haslet, who lost a leg in the 2013 Boston finish line bombing but trained and finished the race anyway. Martin Richard, who was 8, was killed in that bombing, and nine years later his brother Henry finished his first Boston. Team Hoyt members competing and pushing wheelchairs, charity runners dedicated to making the world better. Everywhere you look on the Boston Marathon course, you will see triumph and emotional narratives.
5 — The fans along the course help will runners to the finish. Heartbreak hill is the best example. Spectators will help any runner who stops to walk rally. I loved seeing Boston Marathon course staples as well. Like Spencer the dog (who was honored this year) and the Santa Claus who is always around mile 10. My favorite 2022 addition was the guy holding a GIANT Will Smith face poster and pumping out nonstop music from the Fresh Prince. And yes, he was encouraging runners to slap the poster (and we all did).
6 — The scream tunnel gets all of the publicity, but to me the Boston College section is the best part of the course. Scream tunnel (the Wellesley College girls) is loud. But it’s also at the halfway point on a long gradual downhill. It can get runners an adrenaline boost, but that can lead to running the next few miles too fast. The Boston College cheering section is just as loud, but it comes right after the Newton Hills. That’s when runners really need that boost. Other than the finish line, BC is my favorite part of the course.
7 — I love the Newton hills. They are the most challenging part of the course, but there is such a sense of community suffering that helps make Boston special. Although, the years I’ve raced Boston poorly I have hated Newton. But charging up those hills from miles 15-21 is an incredible feeling. Boston has so many fast runners that there is no point in the course without groups of people to run with. Summiting Heartbreak with runners all around is an amazing feeling.
8 — Pacing is the key to a good Boston. The two times I’ve started farthest back in the field have been my best paced races there, and my only two negative splits on that course. Going slower in the first half pays off big time in the final 10K. My first Boston back in 2017 and this year’s race felt remarkably similar in the final 5-10K. In both races, I picked up the pace and ran my best miles after the 20-mile mark. And both times I couldn’t stop smiling in the final section.
9 — Right on Hereford, left on Boylston is always life changing. No matter how many times I make those two turns and run down the home stretch, the feeling of crossing Boston’s finish line is unmatched. This year I floated the final mile. I knew I would be more than 5 minutes under my 2023 BQ time, my goal that wrecked me in the lead up to the race. Running well and accomplishing goals during the world’s most prestigious annual marathon is special.
10 — Post-race Boston is so much fun. Locals see limping runners and congratulate them (and ask about their experience). The subways are full of exhausted people wearing Boston medals to go with giant smiles. Every news station is running race highlights from the winners and top Americans to each inspirational runner crossing. And the party continues all day, with throngs still cheering on disabled runners and charity runners late into the afternoon. The entire city participates, and it feels like running’s Mecca.
11 — Boston is back. The heart and triumph of the Boston Marathon was back to full force this year. I hope we never have another stretch like 2020-21.
My 2022 Boston Marathon experience was stressful, until the race actually started. When I crossed the starting line and made up my mind to enjoy every moment, everything changed.
I’m qualified for 2023 now, but if something happens and I’m not on the starting line next April, I will know I enjoyed every single step I was able to take in 2022.