Heading in to the home stretch of the Boston Marathon, along the toughest part of the course - the hills in Newton, and ultimately, Heartbreak Hill itself.
The stretch getting here was getting a tad ugly, and the road ahead was going to hold its challenges.
Good thing Heather has an army of friends who are willing to stand out there cheering to help her get across that finish line.
It started at the Newton Fire Station, where Angelo, Heather's bud from Stonehill waited patiently, sign in hand.
From there, we continued past Newton Town Hall, and paused to say thanks to the officers from NEMLEC who staff that stretch of roadway, including Dracut PD's Steve Chaput, and Pat Towle from the Bedford PD.
Thanks guys, you make a huge difference out there!
And yeah, Andrew's still striking a pose
Leave it to Andrew to find the Hamilton reference along the course, giving him yet another opportunity to take his shot.
We put the camera away for the hills, and focused on moving forward, and eventually, crested the top of Heartbreak Hill and saw Boston College in the distance.
The afternoon was pierced once again by a shrieking cheer from the sidelines as the rest of Heather's Stonehill College posse came into view.
Janine, a runner herself, ran up the hill to greet Heather first
The rest of the crew then made their way forward for hugs, support, love, and genuine friendship
Mad props to Janine, Maya, Elizabeth, Anna, and Hannah!
Seriously ladies - you have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what a turning point you provided for Heather in this race. Having just come off her lowest point on the whole course, you infused her with a shot of adrenaline that lit up her final 5 miles!
In all my years of running this historic race, I have never seen a turnaround in a runner's final push like the one that you provided Heather with your friendship.
Rock stars, all
Heading down Commonwealth Avenue, the iconic Citgo sign in Kenmore Square on our horizon, we were greeted by Nicole Hatem - she of 2015 Boston Marathon lore - and her partner Colleen
Steps before the overpass over the Mass Pike, we met the legend himself, Rick Sobey, fresh off crushing the 26.2 miles of the Paris Marathon just a week earlier. Rick is a Boston veteran whose times put me to shame. The real deal. A great guy, a great runner, and a great supporter for sticking around out there to give us that final kick to get us through Kenmore Square.
Speaking of Kenmore, Heather's Lowell High School bud Olivia Trull was waiting there and wanted to give Heather her own hug of inspiration to conquer the FINAL MILE
Still posing strong. Boston Strong, that is.
And one final shoutout to Callie O'Neil, another of Heather's Lowell High best buds, and an incredible friend to be waiting there on that final stretch along Boylston Street.
Did I say Boylston Street? You know what that means, then, right?
Yep - next up is the FINAL blog post for this year's Boston Marathon. The odyssey ends. And what a finish it's going to be. Bring tissues.
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