First and foremost, I have to thank Adam for believing in me when I was sitting rock bottom just a few weeks ago. He never questioned whether or not I could do it and never tried to talk me out of it. He was quietly confident I'd get it done and it's really all I needed to believe in myself.
Also, I'd be remiss to not thank Megan and Frank who are living angels on earth. I couldn't do it without their help. Their sacrifice to spend their time helping us out multiple times a year is unreal. I'll never be able to thank them enough.
Woof, now I'm all emotional again thinking about it!
I sprained my ankle horribly while attempting a Georgia Loop 3 weeks prior to race day. Alfonso and I were about 21 miles into the run when I landed on it sideways and immediately fell to the ground in excruciating pain. We were 6 miles from the nearest trailhead so I crutched my way out with my trekking poles and expletives flying.
It swelled and bruised and was very painful from the onset. I could bear weight, but my range of motion was limited. I limped around for a week and then went to the doctor. It wasn't broken, but it was severely sprained. After meekishly asking how dumb it would be to run a marathon on it, she gave me a plan. I'd wear a boot up until Wednesday before the race and then use the next few days to regain some normalcy, if possible.
It didn't feel great when I took the boot off. It still was sore and I was limping quite a bit, scared to land the wrong way on it.
You might ask why in the world I'd want to go run a marathon on a sprained ankle and risk long-term damage? Well, runners aren't always very smart to begin with. Our hobby involves causing pain to our bodies for hours on end.
That aside, my Boston streak is really important to me (but me only, I'll add!). If I lose it, I no longer have the advantage of running “just” a qualifying time. If you complete 10 or more consecutive Bostons, you can sign up a week early and don't have to worry about the time cutoff. I have a BQ for 2027 so it was just a matter of finishing 2026.
I first qualified in 2013 so this is a 13 year journey with a lot of time, money, and consistent effort put into it. So I was determined to at least go try. The doctor thought I was nuts, but she didn't try to talk me out of it so I felt some solace in that.
I arrived Friday after having a great flight seated in aisle with another runner, Rebecca. I gave away 2 of my bracelets right away!
After walking through airports, the expo, and up and down Boylston, my feet and legs were achy and sore. My ankle was barking. Ugh.
Saturday, I did a 1.5 mile run very, very slowly before spectating the 5k. Garmin has jokes.
Ankle status: ugh. I was stepping so gingerly that it made my gait all funky and I just felt uncomfortable. But I was able to run, so this gave me hope. My mom, Jay, and I went to the JFK museum that morning which was really well-done. However, it was a lot of walking and I was looking forward to putting my feet up after lunch.
I napped in the hotel a bit and then met them again for dinner at an Italian restaurant in the North End. It was very tasty and I was glad I had them to share the weekend with.
Sunday morning, I went for a 2 mile run and this one felt much better by the end. I started to trust myself a little more and decided that I'd just use KT tape instead of a fabric ankle brace for the race.
I met my mom and Jay for a bus tour of the course. They had no context of what it looked like so it was fun to point out my favorite parts. Also, I never get to see all the things around the start line so it was cool that they let us off the bus to walk around and take pictures.
Back in Boston, we had lunch at a place that was near my hotel. Kaci Licktieg, a super talented ultrarunner was sitting at the table next to ours! I talked to her for a few minutes and then explained to mom and Jay all her accolades. Ron and Darrell met me at the same restaurant a short while after I finished lunch and so I hung out with them and their wives/friends.
I managed to kill a good portion of the day which was good. I just needed to get my race kit ready and figure out my race morning plan since there were 6 waves this year. I ordered a pizza for dinner and read for a bit before going to sleep around 10pm.
My bus time was 8am and they won't let you on any earlier so there's no point in getting there super early. My hotel was a 5 minute walk to bus pickup and I wasn't dropping a bag so even leaving at 7:30 felt early. But I did just in case.
I had a muffin and coffee in the hotel room and packed a banana, a bottle of Skratch, a Snickers, and a couple of Precision chews. If anything, I was well-fueled!
While waiting for the buses, I started talking with Melyssa and we hit it off so we stayed together until we got to our starting corrals. This year, they had runners stand in individual boxes while lining up for the buses and then sent them to the next bus. It caused quite a backlog and I was glad we were towards the front.
We made a quick porta potty stop at the Village, but never had time to sit. It was straight to the corrals! I stripped off my Tyvek suit in the corral and talked with a guy standing next to me until the gun went off.
I only felt a little nervous which is weird given how much could go wrong. But maybe it was just the fact that I truly did not care about how fast it was, just that I finished.
I placed myself on the far right of the corral and planted myself on that side for nearly the entirety of the race. It was mostly to stay out of the way in the beginning miles, knowing I was starting at a much slower pace than my seed time.
I was in corral 7 (of 8) in wave 4 and the gun went off at 10:41 am for our race. I was happy to be pretty far back in the wave so I wouldn't feel as much pressure to move with the crowd. The early miles have always felt quite crowded, but either because of how far back I was or the new spread of waves made it better this year.
I started my watch at 10:44 at the start line and went off into a new unknown. My ankle felt okay walking around in the morning, but I immediately felt the difference when I started the run. It wasn't sharp pain, just a dull reminder it was there.
I got warm quickly and pocketed my gloves and rolled down my arm sleeves. I thought about tossing my gloves, but was worried that if I needed to walk, I might feel cold.
As I ran past mile marker 2, I thought about how this was now the longest run I'd had in 3 weeks. Cardio-wise, I realized I was working a bit harder than I should and started backing off the pace a bit to where it felt more comfortable. I never looked at my watch until Boylston as I really just wanted to not worry about it.
Once I settled in, things started to feel okay for a while. I focused on the next tasks throughout the race. I had a gel to take every 4 miles. I decided to drink water every 3 stops and Gatorade at the 4th, then repeat. I thought about getting to Kathleen (mile 15.1), to Linnea (mile 24.1), and then to my mom & Jay (Boylston).
Around the 4 mile mark, a sharp, shooting pain went through my ankle and I slowed a few steps to ease off of it. A surge of panic went through me, what if I couldn't do this? What if I can't even walk fast enough to finish?
It eased up just as quickly as it started and I spent the next mile going a bit slower. I found another groove and focused on my next tasks. I high-fived so many kids, trying to make sure that I kept it fun. I pointed at people screaming my name and smiled for at least half the race, trying to will myself into believing I could do it.
I saw a sign that said Adam Strong, a Boston Terrier, and a woman wearing a Run for MS jacket. I took all of these as good omens.
The flattish sections in Ashland and Framingham were relatively uneventful. I had no idea how fast or slow I was going. It did actually feel relatively comfortable in the single digits, aside from my ankle barking.
I tried to remember the things I saw on the tour the day prior, but knew only the “regular” things would stand out as the race wore on. The lake by Natick, the Wellesley girls, the screaming downhill at mile 15, every last Newton hill, etc.
By mile 10, I could feel the lack of moving for 3 weeks catch up. I'd literally walked 1,000 steps a day the last 3 weeks trying to baby my ankle. My quads were hurting and I don't ever recall this being the case so early in the race. From there on out, I knew I was in for a grind.
I high-fived a bunch of Wellesley girls, but I was terrified of stopping in that I might do something detrimental getting started again. So it was at that point that I made a deal with myself to try to stay running, even if it was really slow.
As I neared mile 15, I started scanning the crowds for Kathleen. Even if you know where someone is spectating, it's easy to miss them through the crowds and noise. Luckily, I was able to find her easily and got high fives from her crew.
I went wheee down the mile 15 hill, resigning that my quads were toast anyway. Because I wasn't aiming for time, I just tried to keep some semblance of a run up the Newton hills. I'm sure there were times I might have been able to power hike them faster, but I didn't want to lose the run momentum.
I was smiling a lot because despite all the pain, I really was so happy to be there. When I thought about the moment I fell to the ground in the woods a few weeks prior to somehow (stupidly) maybe pulling this off, it was a pretty powerful motivator to see it through.
By the time I got to Heartbreak Hill, I felt absolutely destroyed. My whole body hurt. Every little muscle was aching. I had been eating and drinking really well, but it still felt like the biggest bonk. Somehow I kept trudging forward though, making the most of the (still pretty great) hand I'd been dealt.
By the time I crested Heartbreak, I knew I had to just survive 5.2 more miles. Doing some quick runner math, I knew I could walk pretty slow and still finish so it started to feel real at that point. Boston College breathed new life into me for a mile. It's my favorite section on the course. All the drunk college kids yelling in your face and a downhill to boot.
Into Brookline I fought like hell to push at any point my body would let me. But then I'd have to pull back and regroup because I really felt like I was riding the edge of my limits.
I was ticking off the miles to taking a gel at 23, Linnea at 24, Citgo sign at 25. Funny how a mile 3 mile goes by so much faster than a mile 23 mile. My brain was kind of fuzzy and I hoped I had remembered where Linnea was going to be. But then like a lighthouse beacon, I saw her poster and then her screaming and it was the swift kick in the ass I needed to make it to the Citgo sign.
The hill under and up Hereford was actual leg murder. I wondered how in the world I would typically bound up this section.
My mom and Jay were standing exactly where I told them to on Boylston, but unfortunately I didn't see them in the crowds despite slowing down. I was looking for a waving blue scarf and not their signs, boo! But they saw me so at least it wasn't a complete loss.
Once I saw the clock on Boylston I then checked my own watch for the first time and saw 3:45:xx. Part of me was sad for a microsecond that I was only going to be a couple minutes from a BQ.
But then I snapped out of it and was just so elated to be finishing the darn thing. I gave it what little I had in those last few hundred meters. All the emotions flooded me as I neared the final mat. I did it. I really did it. 3:47:11!
Post race, I hobbled through the finish area with the biggest grin on my face.
It was the slowest meander back to my hotel motivated only by a hot shower and getting off my feet.
Eventually, once I talked with Adam, drank a celebratory beer, and got halfway presentable for public consumption, I met my mom and Jay at a pub for a burger. They had an earlier flight so we parted ways after dinner.
I still wanted to celebrate so I went to my hotel bar and befriended some other runners, crashed their dinner, and stayed out until 2am. I slept like hell, but my running (and extrovert!) cup was properly full.
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