Boston Marathon - thoughts
I streamed the Boston Marathon today. Anyone with an
interest in running likely had their eyes on this race. My self, the memories
of it took me back to my race. Albeit, we had a little better conditions.
What I enjoyed most was watching the 2 different racing
strategies playout.
In the women race, they let the leader go either because
they thought she was running over her head and would come back to them or
because they just felt she was going to run way faster than any of them. I too
had my doubts about her strategy. They were saying the temperatures were going
to rise, and once a runner’s set their entire book of matches on fire by
running so hard, there is no coming back from it. The “hot” early pace did
appear to have some effect on the leader, and the 2nd place runner
seemed to have a lot left in the tank. She just waited too long to use it. She cut
a lot time off during those last 3 miles but she just ran out race. That
happens. Like I said, it was interesting to watch and see who had the better
plan.
The men’s race seemed to be on the opposite end of the
spectrum. No one seem to want to really step up and “own” the race as was
evident by the large number of runners hanging around late in the race. Even
when it was down to the final mile, 3 runners were still in contention with any
of them having an opportunity to win. To see the move for the lead before Boylston
Street, I thought that he would wait a little longer before making his move. Once
on Boylston Street, there is still a long ways to run to the finish. Watching them
both of them push so hard after having run so hard for so long was amazing. He
clearly gave it his all in those final few meters. Watching the postrace ceremony, two of Boston’s finest
where helping him walk around. I could feel his pain right through my TV.
Next year, tune in to the marathon. Nothing is more
motivating than watching those runners stream over the starting and then hours
later stream over the finish.
Makes me think about doing Boston again.
The Cool Down Runner
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