April in Boston, and besides the usual dose of renewed optimism that spring always brings, it's also one of the best stretches of time in New England, as it heralds the return of the vaunted Boston Marathon, a favored run of many an E Streeter.
And since it's not just the 26.2 mile course itself that makes for the weekend experience, hitting up the Marathon expo is always a favorite event. This year, the excursion felt extra special as Heather (2017 Boston Marathon Veteran) and I took along with us two up-and-coming runners, Haley and Brooke Lemay.
Both girls have been logging amazing mileage and clocking personal bests tearing up 5K road races with the Greater Lowell Road Runners.
Their love of running at so young an age is infectious, so we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to have them share the field with thousands of others runners from all over the world.
We started our visit on, of course, Boylston Street, the historic finish line of the most celebrated of marathons in the United States.
Ran into a friend and former colleague Gina Spaziani soaking up the sunlight with her fellow runners in a Boylston Street cafe.
If you're out there on Monday, keep an eye out for Multiple Marathoner Gina, running in yet another consecutive marathon. She's definitely got the bug, and likely still has many more marathons in her future. You can track her via her number, 26887.
Our timing at the finish line coincided with the memorial wreath-laying to commemorate the bombings that rocked the finish line nine years prior, so we couldn't get direct access to the finish line itself, and had to settle for pics at a distance.
They're doing it as a dry run rehearsal now, but do not be surprised if both Haley and Brooke are official entrants when they come of qualifying age in about a decade's time.
I have no doubt they'll be crossing that finish line with pride and blazing their own paths through history.
From there it was on the Hynes Convention Center. We weren't even inside the expo for two minutes when we saw another familiar race, Katie's cousin, Liv Paulo, in full-on expo mode with her mom, Anne. Watch for her and number 25555 out there on Monday.
Boston Marathoners Past, Present, and I strongly, believe, Future.
Every one who runs Boston knows - hydration is key.
Past Marathon winner Desiree Linden started her prestigious running career with her first steps early in life, and she'd be proud and honored to know she's helping to inspire the female runners of tomorrow.
Kudos also to Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run this course in 1967, helping set the stage for the thousands of women runners to follow.
Hales and Brooke needed to add their names to the start of the race in historic Hopkinton to wish the 2022 runners good luck.
And the finish as well.
These girls stood tall in Boston.
A detour on our way out let each of the girls take a run at the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.
Guesses on who landed where?
All in all, a tremendously enjoyable day in Boston, and another reminder about why this marathon weekend means so much to runners worldwide. It's also an affirmation of how important this race has become to the fabric of New England life, another passage of spring.
And this year, it meant the next generation of runners got a taste of the excitement, the history, and the spectacle of the Boston Marathon. Hopefully, a future blog post will chronicle Haley and Brooke's 26.2 mile journey. Stay tuned.....
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