Boston Marathon - runthelongroad.com

(brief) thoughts on Boston

April 16, 2013 by Kristy 6 Comments

Normally I would remain silent and not blog about such a horrific event. But it’s Boston and I feel the need to say something. Although I can’t eloquently string the right words together to convey what I’m feeling.

Anger. Rage. Disgust. Sadness. Heartbroken.

My heart breaks for the 3 people that were killed, especially the 8-year-old boy cheering for his Dad. Reports are saying that his sister (6 years old) lost her leg. I pray that the death toll doesn’t rise as 17 are still listed as critically injured.

I can’t wrap my head around the scene at the finish line.

(source)

My heart breaks for the runners that didn’t get a chance to cross the finish line…stopped around Mile 25.

(source)

Running Boston last year was a dream come true – something that can still bring tears of joy to my eyes. I know a handful of runners that ran their first Boston yesterday and it disgusts me that their experience is lessened due to yesterday’s events. As my sister-in-law said…an incredibly joyous event is now marred.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Boston Marathon

Thank you, Runner’s World!

March 6, 2013 by Kristy 21 Comments

Grab your April issue of Runner’s World and turn to page 40.

It’s me!

I am so absolutely thrilled to finally see this in print! I answered this question back in June 2012 and have been in contact regularly with the editor about when it would appear. It was definitely worth the wait.

Appearing in Runner’s World – in any capacity – was definitely something on my bucket list.

It almost happened last April during the Boston Marathon. Prior to Boston, RW was looking for so-called “Boston squeakers”, or people who barely got into Boston. I am the very definition of a squeaker – my BQ time was 3:43:46 and the cut-off for my age and gender was 3:43:46. Yep, you don’t squeak by any less than that. I received an email from Tish Hamilton (yes, Tish Hamilton!) asking if I would be available for a photo shoot at the Boston Marathon finish line the day before the race. RW was gathering “Boston squeakers” and was planning on doing a story about them. Umm, YES! Sidenote: if you know me in real life, you know that the prospect of a photo shoot makes me way more happy than it should.

I was literally on the edge of my seat with excitement. Not only was I running my first Boston, I was going to appear in Runner’s World. Does it get any better than that?!

Then the weather forecast got worse and worse (or hotter and hotter) and Tish sent an email saying the angle of the story had changed and instead RW was going to focus on the heat, not the squeakers. Photo shoot cancelled. Total bummer. I missed my shot as a RW model. BUT, I was still running Boston!

Then came an email from a RW editor in June asking if I would answer a question for their “Ask The Experts” section. Holy crap – this was even better than a photo shoot. I was appearing in RW because of coaching. I never expected this!

Thank you RW. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and would love (love, love!) to work with you again in the future.

To those of you reading Run The Long Road for the first time – welcome! I hope you like what you see and stick around for awhile.

To those of you interested in coaching, my services are listed here. You can contact me at runthelongroad (at) gmail.com with any questions. Go ahead and check out my PR page to see how “fast” I am – I don’t mind. What I lack in speed I make up for in knowledge Smile

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Boston Marathon, coaching, runners world

Boston Marathon Tips

February 5, 2013 by Kristy 12 Comments

So I only ran one Boston Marathon and I’m by no means an expert on all things Boston. Although…some do find my BM jacket (sizing) post to be very helpful.

This post won’t be about the obvious stuff (down go out too fast, train for up hills and down hills) because, unless you live under a rock, you should know that.

the tank top – an essential layer
The expo is crowded and there are hardly any dressing rooms. You will get a chance to try on your race shirt so it helps if you wear something light and form fitting underneath. I also tried on a ton of other gear. You are literally stripping down, trying something on, putting your clothes back on, moving to another vendor, repeat. See where the tank top helps out?

if you want to celebrate, make reservations
Marathon Monday is huge in Boston. If you have a lot of people with you and want to meet up for dinner after the race, you need reservations. I had to call a number of places and practically begged them to take my reservation.

there seems to be a lot of Miller Lites near me

make time for R&R
We drove up to Boston on Saturday morning and spent an inordinate amount of time at the expo on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning we “visited” the finish line for pictures and then I spent the rest of the day off my feet…even though I was missing out on sightseeing (err, bar hopping) with my family and friends. It was so worth it. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and spend way too much time on your feet. Make sure you schedule in some downtime.

the athletes’ village is huge
When you enter you see 1 large field. There is actually another field on the other side. The porta potty lines were pretty ridiculous where I was (the first field) and I think a lot of people stay in the first field because they don’t know another field exists? So if you really gotta go, check out the next field.

run boston for fun
Here’s where you may disagree. Hear me out. Initially I was not running Boston for “fun”. I was going to race my heart out. Then it was 90 degrees and I was forced to slow down and enjoy myself. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy myself if I raced it (it is Boston!) but you know what I mean. When you run a marathon for fun you take in more and experience more.

I’m not sure if I will ever race Boston. It might always be a fun run for me. I can’t imagine finishing on Boylston Street with an ounce of disappointment because I didn’t reach my A goal. It would just take away from the experience too much.

show off that jacket
I wear mine all the time Smile