One fine day in April-1995

Tomorrow is Patriot's Day, and unless you live in Massachusetts you probably aren't familiar with this holiday. UNLESS you are a marathon runner. Then you know that Patriot's Day means BOSTON MARATHON day-the running of the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the United States.

Each year when this day comes around I get nostalgic and reflective because I am lucky enough to be a Boston Marathon alum. I qualified for Boston during my first marathon ever, at the tender age of 21. Old enough to appreciate the company I was in, but not old enough to really take the time to reflect and let the experience sink in.

My life at the time was at a turning point. I had some rough years under my belt, but my running really pulled me out of the muck and I was happy, my life had direction, and I felt as if I was growing into a person I could be proud of. When I ran the Columbus Marathon in November 1995, my parents joked with me and told me that if I qualified for Boston they would buy my plane ticket. Well, they were true to their word, and after a miserable winter of training I was on my way to Boston for the 100th running.

I stayed Saturday night with family in Newton. Quite a bit of family was there and my aunt cooked me an awesome pasta meal (I know it was great, but at this point I really can't remember what it was!. After dinner one of the dinner guests taught me how to pass-juggling balls that is. I was so excited about learing how to pass, I think I forgot about the marathon for a couple of hours, lol! I couldn't wait to go home and teach my new boyfriend (future husband) how to pass-

On Sunday I did the Boston tour, I saw the John Kelley statue, picked up my race stuff, the rest of that day is pretty much gone from memory at this point. That night I slept at the Boston apartment of a friend of my father's. He was sweet enough to leave me a book of the History of the Boston Marathon-

Race day I ate cereal and a banana and headed outside to catch the very early bus to Hopkinton. Boy, that was surreal. Sitting on a bus packed with nervous runners from all over the world. Once in Hopkinton we were divided into smaller camps based on our qualifying times. I had brought my juggling balls so I did a little juggling to calm my nerves and talked with my fellow runners. Someone from RunOhio interviewed me, but I never found that interview afterward.

After several restroom breaks later we finally lined up. The gun went off, but I was so far in the back that it took over 10 minutes for me to cross the starting line. This was the first race where I wore a chip. They were brand new then!

I honestly do not remember much of the race. After the first few miles I had to run off the road and crouch behind a bush to pee. I had lots of company because the portajohns were full. That is the only time I have had to do that-
I remember that the hills were torture-not Heartbreak Hill, but the hills before it. I kept thinking "if these are bad, then Heartbreak is going to be a real b*tch!" But Heartbreak really wasn't that bad, and I took an orange slice from a little kid passing them out and it was delicious. The screaming through the tunnel at Wellesly was awesome. It was a long race, and I was tired, but it was so, so awesome. There were spectators almost every foot of the way-not like Columbus which had miles of no spectators at a time. I felt elated and euphoric. When I could finally see the Citgo sign I was estatic. I was almost done!!!

After the race it was a whirlwind. My plane back to Columbus was leaving quite soon after the race and I had to hurry and find my bag (not an easy feat considering there were trailers full of bags!), find my parents, and rush to the airport. I remember running like crazy through the airport, my medal around my neck, still sweaty and in my race clothes, trying to catch that plane! We made it.

This is the first time I have written about that day. I cannot believe it has taken me 12 years to do this! I think I am a little more reflective this time because this is the first year in a long time that I really think I could make the committment to train for another marathon. Some days I think I am crazy, and some days I really long to try. Either way, I keep my marathon experiences in my heart, they are precious to me and I know that after watching the Boston Marathon coverage on the news tomorrow night I will have tears in my eyes.