At the Starting Line: Remembering Boston 2014, part 2

First part of this is here: http://alwaysatthestartingline.blogspot.com/2015/04/remembering-boston-2014-part-1.html

On Patriot's Day, the athletic fields behind Hopkinton High School morph into Athlete's Village. Imagine Hampton Beach on a hot July day: wall-to-wall blankets, loud music, lots of folks napping, though that blue-green in the distance is definitely not the mighty Atlantic, but rather port-a-potty heaven.

What we do for most of the morning of the race: head toward the bright light/ portable toilets.

Napping, chatting, eating, stressing -- all part of the pre-race prep.

Finally, we're called to the starting line.

We walk and walk and walk.

You see awesomeness everywhere.

And things that make you laugh.

Packed. The start line is up ahead. Somewhere.

Last-minute photo ops.

Mile three, I caught up with Larry Macon, marathon maniac to the max: over 1,000 marathons.


At mile 9.3, we get our pictures taken.

Sometimes, you reconnect with old friends. Mile 10 in Natick.

What we see right after the Route 128 overpass. Good reminder to stay strong, because the bigger hills are just down the street.

Some folks say the hills are the worst. This is the section of the course I hate the most, the 128 overpass.

Now we are all Tom Brady. This is at the Newton Fire Station, where the crowd goes wild.

Kindness everywhere on the Newton hills. The sun was brutal. This guide put together a makeshift sunbrella for his runner.

We attack the hills.

My parents always wait for me around mile 20, and always say, as I approach, "We were just about to leave! What took you so long?" Which explains so much. . .

In some ways. . .

Feats of strength. Around mile 23.This young guy qualified for Boston at an earlier marathon, then got injured a few weeks before Patriot's Day. Rather than give up, he opted to crutch the entire way, breaking one of his hands in the process.