Boston’s Run to Remember Race Report

I don’t even know where to begin – it was a really good day…hard but good!

(Shirt– front and back)

The night before the race I got a nice surprise when my hubs J revealed that he had t-shirts made up for all the family members coming out to cheer me on! He had also taken care of all of the logistics to have family strategically stationed at key points along the route — gotta love that man!

Race morning I was up by 5:15, followed my usual routine and with my brother and mom set to take care of the boys and bring them to the race later, J and I headed in. On the way in, I read tweets, texts and re-read comments to my Race Goals post — you all rock! The support is greatly appreciated!

There was of course no traffic at that hour so we flew into town and found parking without a problem. I had plenty of time to make one last pit stop and take a quick warm-up run. We spotted a couple of friends, chatted with them and took a couple of pictures before they started calling for runners to line up. I decided to line up at the front of the 11 min group, still totally unsure of what my knee would tolerate. It was already crazy humid, and the race announcer was urging people to be careful and to take water at all the stops — at least there was cloud coverage to start!

Race ready!

The race started and finished at the Seaport World Trade Center which sits out on BostonΒ  Harbor – so at the beginning we had to cross a bridge to head into the city. Coming up to the top of that bridge and seeing all those runners, I was overwhelmed with the thought “you’re really going to do this!” There was a little bumping and jostling in the first mile, but all-in-all not too bad given Boston’s narrow streets and the number of runners. For the first few miles I was feeling good – kept an eye on my Garmin to make sure my pace was steady…so far so good. I spotted my dad and step-mom just where I expected them to find them just after the 4 mile marker. Then just before the turn-around, I found my brother, mom and the boys waving the cheer banner! One of the great things about this out-and-back course meant I was going to see them all a second time after the turn-around — I cannot even describe what a lift it was to see them all cheering! J had made it over on the subway by the second time I passed my dad and step-mom again and joined in the cheering. I was still feeling really good but as I charged up the bridge my left leg announced that it was not happy and would no longer be cooperating! Fine be that way – I took a short walk break just before the 9 mile marker, hoping to shake it off, but as I started again I knew my pace was slipping. I ran and chatted with a woman who had stopped to walk when I did. It was getting hotter and people were starting to drop along the course. The medics were busy as we crossed 10 miles — pretty scary!

I fell in with a couple of other women as we started encouraging each other that there was only a 5k to go. We ran the next mile and a half together, chatting off and on – it was good to have the distraction. My left leg was yelling at me pretty good by now, and shortly after I passed my family one more time (yes they were everywhere and I loved it!) I took another walk break…this one longer…the heat was really draining. I knew I was close to the 12 mile water station so I told my leg to shut up cause it was time to finish this thing! The crowds were getting bigger as we made the final turn and headed back over the last bridge. Once again the sight from the top of the bridge was awesome! Finishing strong was one of my goals, so I dug in figuring I could endure whatever my leg could throw at me, and actually managed to pick a few people off on my way to the finish. I crossed the line with a big smile on my face – time 2:35:15!

Attitude Cheer Squad!

Overall, I thought this was a great race — good crowd support, great group of runners and fairly well-organized…though I do think they should consider adding more water stops given how crazy hot it can be in Boston on Memorial Day weekend. The police along the course were great, many cheering the runners on and the volunteers were really enthusiastic. I have to give a big shout out to State Trooper Riley, who I ended up chatting with a bit post-race after he loaned me his cell phone so I could track down my family.

And to my family…there are just no words…your support along the course meant everything to me!

I learned a lot during this race, but I’ll save that for another post! For now I’m happy to say, I’m a Half -Marathoner!

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Comments

  1. Yay!!!!!! I knew you could do it! Way to go!!! How sweet it was for your husband to make up shirts!! What a great guy!!! Be proud of yourself! You did it!!!

  2. YAY!!!!!!!!
    I am so so so happy for you through it all you have prevailed and you ran a great race! That race was very tough but you stuck it out and did so well!

    You family is freaking awesome and amazing coming out there and cheering you along the way!!!! How very lucky you are πŸ™‚

    Great job Michelle I am so proud of you miss half marathoner!!!!!

  3. Congratulations on your great race! So glad your knee held out!

  4. Way to go Michelle! Sounds like a great race, and love the fact that you told your knee to shut up and kept on moving. Had to do the same thing in my last race. Pretty great cheering section you’ve got there.

  5. That is awesome, Michelle! I am so happy for you!!! You are right…family support means everything!

  6. Congrats! I love the strong finish – there’s nothing better than picking people off at the end of a race! You should be so psyched about your performance!

  7. Congrats! I love the recap! Your family seems so supportive, and I love their tshirts.

    Also, do you have a permit for those guns? Seriously πŸ™‚

  8. Nice job! The support from the police, other runners was great on this course. I don’t know if I would do it again….to hot in the city, but it was fun! Congrats!!!

  9. Congratulations on a great half-marathon! Your family seems amazing! πŸ™‚
    I am so incredibly happy for you, and way to go on the strong finish!!

  10. Congratulations!! What a great day. I love the t-shirts, awesome family you have.

  11. High Five Michelle. You are awesome!
    Great race recap, I had tears in my eyes… I know how important family is and you have an amazing one…

    Congrats!!!!

  12. Woohoo!!! I was waiting for your report so excited for you. Congratulations glad overall it was a good experience and the husband definitely gets brownie points for organizing your cheering section so well. Love the shirts. πŸ™‚

  13. Way to go Miss Michelle. I’m so very happy for you that you set and met your goal “with attitude”!

  14. Congrats! All your hard work paid off! That’s awesome of your husband – cool shirts for everyone. Soak it up, you earned it!

  15. Congrats! That’s quite an accomplishment!

  16. Congrats!! It’s been awesome to follow your progress this spring. Can’t wait to see how the summer goes for you.

  17. Yay! Congratulations. Such a huge accomplishment and you look so great. Way to work through the pain.

    And I LOVE your family. What an awesome and supportive bunch. Kudos to your hubby for being so on top of it. Really awesome.

  18. PS: How come my arms don’t look like that?! πŸ™‚

  19. YAY! So excited for you! LOVE the pics … oh, and your husband rocks for the shirts!

    Kudos!

    Winks & Smiles,
    Wifey

  20. Whoo Hoo!!! Congrats!! I love the shirts your hubs had made up, and I hope that leg is feeling better! I hate it when I see medics at a race : (

    I know I’ve said it before, but I want your arms!!!!!

  21. Coming back to say Congrats again and to tell you that I was sharing some blog awards on my blog today and am giving one to you. Stop by when you can.

  22. You did it girl! I’m so proud of you! Best cheer squad ever! Major kudos to your hubs for coordinating the cool shirts. Way to finish strong on such a hot day! Congrats!

  23. I just found your blog today and I wanted to say hi! I love the tshirts! Your husband did such an awesome job!! Way to go with the race! Congrats!! I hadn’t heard of this race before, but I just made it a goal to run the 1/2 next year!! Thanks for inspiring me πŸ™‚

  24. Thanks for finding my blog and following. i am following you now as well! Great job on the race. I would have been one of those dropping I don’t do well in the heat!

Trackbacks

  1. […] Boston’s Run to Remember — My first half marathon! Without a doubt, this will go down as one of my all time favorite race experiences! My whole family turned out in force all along the course to support me, and my husband surprised me by ordering matching shirts for everyone. Best cheer squad ever. I smiled the whole race!Β (Recap HERE) […]

  2. […] my favorite half marathons and I’m already registered. It was my first (you can read about it here) and I can wait to run it […]

  3. […] My favorite medal is this one from Boston’s Run to Remember – it was my first half marathon (you can read the full recap here). […]

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