Boston, May 28, 2017 – By Linda Desjardins.
Four Striders got up at 4 AM or earlier to be able to toe the 7 AM starting line for the Run to Remember Half Marathon and Five Miler in Boston. It’s a large race with just under 4900 half marathon finishers and 2600 five milers. The course is wonderfully varied, has some semi-challenging hills, lots of flat straightaways, and a lot of turns in the downtown area. The race provides a scenic tour of a huge part of Boston. The support is excellent and post-race provisions are plentiful and yummy. There is a strong police presence along the route eager to high-five the participants and a large representation by firefighters and EMT’s. All three categories of first responders had many representatives running in the race itself.
Your four Striders all exceeded their own expectations. The fastest of us, (and she raced a 5K yesterday), was Mariellen Hayward who cruised to a 2:08:20 for a 9:48 pace and a 7/28 age group placement. She dashed right off to work after the race!
The next Strider in was Cheryl Welsh with a fantastic 2:12:39, beating her last year’s time. That represented a 10:08 pace and she was 26/79 in her age group, 55-59. Only Cheryl could finish that well and chide herself for the few walking steps she took on the Harvard Bridge when nausea struck! But she regained her equilibrium, sucked it up and raced it in.
Linda Desjardins came in five minutes later running a 2:17:45. She expected to run something in between 2:20 and 2:30, as did Mariellen. Both runners beat their goals; Mariellen crushed hers. Linda came in 6/14 in the 65-69 age group but in reviewing race stats, realized that she was the oldest woman in the race – no one beyond the 65-69 age group.
Maureen Kelly finished in 2:39:59, just coming in under 2:40. It’s always great to beat the full minute number. She ran a 12:13 pace and was 136/159 in her age group. There were 500 people finishing after her, so she kicked some butt, too.
After loads of post-race refreshments, it was strange but enjoyable to be heading home before it was even 11 AM! We should seriously consider adding this race to our Grand Prix Series.
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