On Monday, April 21, 2008, I ran the Boston Marathon. I woke up a couple hours earlier than planned on race day feeling excited, focused, and a little uncertain about the 26.2 mile task that stretched before me. The days leading up to the marathon was full of second guessing and questions like should I wear shorts instead of pants? Perhaps I should carry a jacket? Gu or pretzels? How much water is too much water? Should I carry gatorade? If I eat this today, will I feel sick tomorrow? Cookie or no cookie? I promised myself that I would do no second guessing on Marathon Monday, but the small questions still lingered. The "BIG" question, the one that taunted me most throughout my training, completely disappeared on April 21st because I knew that I would finish the Boston Marathon on that very same day.
Hillary and her dad picked me up at my apartment around 5am. It was officially game time, and I was ready. I had packed just about everything that I owned into my red B.A.A. bag: bananas, a winter coat, a lime green fleece, gloves, gatorade, water, a change of clothes, bagels, a photograph of my grandmother, my singlet, etc. We arrived at the Copley Marriott just a few minutes before it was time to embark on a mile long walk to the B.A.A. buses ("the only sure way to get to the Marathon start"). I'm so glad that I reinforced the edges of my red bag as Jan suggested because I discovered just how "prepared" I was for the Marathon by the weight of my bag. Some of the other runners poked fun at me for packing so much, but they "took it back" when I loaned them my extra fleece jacket and gloves in the nippy weather.
I stayed close to Hillary and Sarah in the bus line, and we boarded together with the same look on our faces. Oh my God! We were on the bus to Hopkinton! The driver was going to kick us off the bus and leave us to fend for ourselves in the suburbs. Our primary mission that day was to survive. Hillary and Sarah shared a seat together, and I sat next to Jim, another Dana-Farber runner. Sharing a seat with Jim was one of my fondest memories of Marathon Monday because he had the BEST attitude that one could possibly have before running 26.2 miles. It turned out that Jim was not only running the 2008 Boston Marathon, but that he was also getting married and traveling to Hawaii on his honeymoon all in the same week! I had never really talked to Jim before, but his exciting stories and plans distracted me from the hundreds of thousands of little, yellow lines on the road to Hopkinton. It wasn't until we hit "B.A.A. bus traffic" that we realized that we were STILL in the bus on the way to the 2008 Boston Marathon. When we were STILL driving about forty minutes after we piled into the bus, 26.2 miles started to feel like 29.4 miles and 29.4 miles turned into 37.1 miles. We were all about to make a 45.8 mile difference for Dana-Farber!
When we got off the bus, we walked a couple of blocks towards our designated Dana-Farber meeting area. It was a lovely, little white church located just minutes from the starting line. I found it rather perfect that our refuge was a House of God because I had a lot of praying to do that morning!
Kim Chisholm gave me the biggest hug in the world when we arrived at the church. It was such a relief to see a familiar face that morning. It was just as wonderful to bump into Kim as it was seeing my parents later on that day. The Dana-Farber Marathon & Running Program really spoiled us at the church. First, no other team had a warm area to relax before the start of the race, so it was really wonderful being indoors. The church was equipped with large bathrooms and oudoor porta potties. There were several tables of pre-race goodies including everything from bagels and jelly to Gatorade and peanut M&Ms. We had an area full of supplies to do some last minute singlet decorating. Before the race, I wrote the names of some of my loved ones on my singlet using a black marker, but many runners took advantage of the supplies. Uta Pippig gave us some last minute race advice, namely to think of the Newton "Flats" as a "piece of pancake," and Jack Fultz gave me the confidence that I needed to get to the finish line. We heard several personal stories from various runners on the team. It's must've been so hard for them to speak of their loved ones just minutes before the race, but their words brought so much more meaning to our cause.
I heard the jets fly overhead and the sound of the gun to signify the official start of the 2008 Boston Marathon. It was an amazing feeling being in Hopkinton and running the same race as the Kenyans and Lance Armstrong. Two of the DFMC runners actually bumped into Lance before the start of the race, and he sent his best wishes to the DFMC team.
Less than a half hour before the official start, we all gathered on the lawn in front of the church for one last DFMC team photo. It was incredible seeing all 550 runners there together. Our weapons consisted of sneakers, Gu, and Gatorade. We all shared a common task: to stomp out cancer with every step. The photographer stood on a ladder in the middle of the street just to get us all in the photo. After the photo, I headed over to the designated DFMC "Bag Bus" with my overstuffed bright, red bag. I felt so foolish when my bag got stuck in the bus window. Next time, I'll know not to pack so much. It took two volunteers to lift it onto the bus. There, that was done. I felt some jitters when I realized that there was nothing left to do prior to the race. In 26.2 miles, I would reunite with my red "safety blanket," but until then, there was just one thing to do: RUN!
The question: jacket or no jacket remained as I headed over to the starting line with Karla and my other co-workers from Dana-Farber. It had been so chilly earlier in the day, so I headed to the start in my black, windbreaker. It was then, that I realized that I should've gone with "no jacket." The sun was shining, and it was an absolutely perfect day to run the 2008 Boston Marathon.
When I stood "in line" to the start, I realized that I had absolutely no clue which way we would be going. I stood in a sea of people, each person facing a different direction. I heard Jack Fultz, Marathon Champion's voice over the loud speaker. The familiar voice boosted my confidence at the start. I suddenly knew that I would do it. There was no question in my mind that I would finish that race in honor of all of the loved ones that I encountered through meetings and personal stories. I would finish the race in memory of my grandma.
I heard the gun, and we were off and WALKING?!? Oh the torture! Let me free, I said to myself! I want to GO! The advice of my friends and team members, in addition to the sea of people around me, helped me to set my pace. My goal for the first six miles was to run slow and steady. Enjoy it! Take it in! After the hills leveled off, the strategy was to pick up the pace a little bit, but to run as though it was a long, slow training run. It was difficult to run slowly because I knew that I had a lot to look forward to that day, especially seeing my mom and dad at mile 10, Owen and his family at mile 22, and the DFMC cheering section at Kenmore Square. Thousands of people passed me at the start, but I was having too much fun to feel discouraged. I bumped into so many people on the DFMC team, and we were all smiling!
I was disconnected from Hillary, Sarah and Keegan at the start of the race. I knew that they were out there, but I couldn't see them. I came across several water stops and noticed that I was running a consistent 12-minute mile pace. I bumped into Hillary after a little while of running, and we stuck together during much of the race. It was fun seeing people from the office along the route, especially Amy McCallum and Katy Barrett. They popped up every few miles along the race course, armed with fuel.
One of my favorite race memories was bumping into my mom and dad at mile 10. My parents rarely visit Boston, so it was so special just to have them there. It turns out that my dad held the camera up for close to an hour because was afraid that I'd run by without giving him the opportunity to snap a photo. I told him afterwards, that my Kenyan legs had plenty of time for a visit. I was so hot during the first phase of the race, so I gave my mom my jacket and stripped down to my singlet. I gave both of my parents a huge hug and kiss and thanked them for their support before I continued the race.
Throughout the entire race, I was motivated by the crowd. The support was AMAZING! The Wellesley girls cheered for Dana-Farber like it was their job. I will never forget the man who held up his child and said "thank you Dana-Farber for saving my little girl's life." It's hard to stop running when you hear those words. I started to feel a little bit tired around mile 15, so I pulled a photo of my graham out of my pocket. She was my guardian angel during the race. I could hear her telling the story of the "Little Engine that Could." I sang the line to a song that my grandma used to sing often at one point during the race, and it turned out that Hillary was actually singing the same song.
As I approached mile 16, I was greeted by one of the volunteers. I had seen him often at several of the group runs, but we had never talked very much before. He asked me how I was doing, so I ran through "the plan" with him. I was almost to mile 16. At mile 16, I would have the opportunity to take some things out of my envelope. I had packed a green fleece, gloves, pretzels, water, etc. I only took out the pretzels. Next year, I will need to pack some Purell because my hands were beyond sticky from all of the sugar and gatorade. (NOTE TO SELF). I actually found myself sticking to the road beneath me. We really owe a HUGE thank you to all of the volunteers who came out on race day and during all of the other DFMC meetings to help out the team.
I was almost to mile 18!!! I was really looking forward to mile 18 and those Newton "Flats" because I knew them well. That's when the race would begin. Jack Fultz said that it was an 18 mile training run and an eight mile road race. Turning onto Commonwealth Ave. gave me a real boost of confidence. After all, I owned Heartbreak Hill. I ran in the grass for a little while because I knew that, that would be a little easier on the joints. I found myself behind a pack of three DFMC boys, and I follwed them for several miles. I stopped focusing on the fact that I was running up a small mountain, and I stared at their DFMC singlets. I rubbed my own singlet a few times and it gave me strength.
After surviving the hills, I saw the church. THE CHURCH. It was always so reassuring to run by that church on my training runs. It signified that there were just a few miles to go. I ran past the White Mountain Creamery and planned my future rendezvous with a banana split. The Boston College kids were entertaining and then I saw him! It was OWEN! I saw Owen and Katherine, Brian and Pete!!! They were really there at mile 22!! I stopped just long enough to give Owen a hug and continued my first Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. I blew a kiss to Donna Tyson at Cleveland Circle and I think that I saw Beth Dowd there as well. Not long after that, I was looking for my roommates at Coolidge Corner. I had a hard time finding them at first, but I eventually saw my name on a big poster board. It was such a nice surprise to see the girls!!! I gave Kay a huge hug (as if my life depended on it), and Kate jumped into the race with me! She followed me with her camera and took some really great photos! We ran through Kenmore Square and the sight of the yellow DFMC shirts brought tears to my eyes. I looked for Jasmine, but I never saw her face in the crowd. She gave me hope, nonetheless, and it was wonderful to see everyone else in the DFMC cheering section (including my Fiscal and Regulatory Management co-workers)! Seeing everyone was a real treat! A few minutes later, I turned the corner and saw the Special Events cheering section!! From there, I turned left and saw, in the distance, the FINISH LINE! I ran faster! Then I ran slower. Then I ran FASTER! Kate had to pick up the speed a little, and we chased the finish line together. WE DID IT!
We passed the finish line in five hours and thirty minutes. It was an experience that will never be forgotten. The emotions that you feel throughout the race are indescribable. In 26.2 miles, I felt fear and excitement. I cried and I laughed. The experience was tiring and energizing at the same time. I'm so glad that I ran my first marathon for Dana-Farber. I wouldn't want it any other way. I officially belonged to the family of DFMC veterans, survivors, and fighters. We did it as a team. Each person was a piece of the puzzle, and we worked together (never losing sight of the ultimate finish line: to eradicate cancer).
After crossing the finish line, I was wrapped in a mylar(sp?) blanket. Some volunteers helped me to take the chip off my sneaker and I was awarded a 2008 Boston Marathon medal and all of the bananas that I could possibly eat! A gentleman asked me if I had just finished the Boston Marathon, a question that I found a little bit strange because I was covered in all things liquid and wrapped in a piece of tinfoil, but I proudly responded, "YES I DID!" :)
Kate walked me back to the Copley Marriott, so that I could join the other members of the DFMC team. I changed into some dry clothes and swapped stories with the other members of the team. Dana-Farber generously offered us soup, sandwiches and massages. Owen met me at the hotel, and I waddled to the T station before eventually arriving back at my house. I fell asleep pretty easily that night, but woke up early the next morning, ready to do it all over again...
My 87-year-young grandmother was recently diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. On Friday, I learned that she only has four or five more days to live.
