30,000 runners will make the 26.2 mile
journey from Hopkinton to Boylston Street this Monday morning for the 119th
running of the Boston Marathon.
It’s a pretty special year for the city of Boston. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty. Meb comes in as the defending champ wearing bib #1 after an incredibly inspiring
and emotional race in 2014. Shalane is back
and hungrier than ever. Desi is very fit giving the American women
two great opportunities to bring home a victory for the first time since 1985.
On a personal level, my boss is running this year for
Spaulding's Run for Rehab Team and it’s
been fun watching him progress through his training.
It’s been a brutal winter to run outdoors but
he’s been sticking to his training plan and took a few of my spin classes for
cross training!
Go Joe!
My friend Stacey (
@capecodrunner) is running
her first Boston and second marathon.
Another
friend Chris will be running his first marathon.
Also, my FRR little sister Kelly is running
with her mom… wait whaaaat?
Kelly is
running a marathon?!
I’m so proud!
Are you running on Monday?! I’d
love to follow and track you!
Back to the race. I
said this last year and I’m saying it again…
There
is nothing more motivating and powerful than watching a marathon. From the elites to the back of the pack
joggers, everyone has a story to tell about their journey and months of
training.
Universal Sports Network will be
broadcasting the event. They will air a
preview show on Sunday at 4:00pm (that will re-air multiple times throughout
the weekend if you miss it) interviewing some of the athletes and setting the
scene for this year’s race. Live
coverage begins Monday morning at 8:30am.
The wheelchair start is at 9:17am. The women’s elite start is at
9:32am; the men start at 10:00am. The
BAA is also live streaming the event at WatchLive.BAA.org.
The Boston Marathon is one of the World
Marathon Majors along with New York, Chicago, London, Tokyo, and Berlin. To those that don’t follow the sport,
Monday's race a big deal. Boston is
similar to the Super Bowl of football.
Or the Kentucky Derby of horse racing.
Shalane Flanagan has said in multiple interviews that she would rather
be crowned Boston Marathon champion over Olympic champion.
Let's take a look at this year's elite
field and who to root for...
Women
The Americans: Shalane Flanagan, Desi Linen, Amy (Hastings)
Cragg
Shalane – She was very open about her disappointment in 2014
even after running a marathon personal best.
She’s the local favorite, Boston is her love and I am hoping for big
things to happen for her. (2:21:14 PR)
Desi - Desi had her best Boston finish in 2011 when she
placed second. She has said in numerous
interviews that she feels she is in the same place with her fitness and
training and could be a major force this year. (2:22:38 PR)
Amy – A 2012 Olympian
at 10,000m, Amy will be running her first Boston. (2:27:03 PR)
The American women will have a lot of work to do if they
want to break the American win drought.
The 2015 women’s elite field is the fastest field in the history of the
event. Ten women have marathon personal
bests under 2:23. One woman that WON’T
be in Boston is 3-time champ (2006, 2013 & 2014) Rita Jeptoo who is
currently facing a 2 year ban from doping. What a disappointment when I heard the news.
Sharon Cherop – 2012 champion and placed third in both 2011
and 2013 (2:22:28 PR)
Caroline Kilel – 2011 champion (2:22:34 PR)
Mare Dibaba – 3rd in 2014, holds the fasted PR in the field from a race
in China in January (2:19:52 PR)
Buzunesh Deba – 2014
runner-up, 2-time runner-up in NYC (2:19:59 PR)
Aberu Kebede – 2 time Berlin Marathon champ (2:20:30 PR)
Men
The Americans: Meb Keflezighi, Dathan Ritzenhein, Nick
Arciniaga, Matt Tegenkamp, Jeffrey Eggleston
Meb is fit and healthy so you never know what will happen
this year. He is the defending champ and
has already said he achieved all his goals so another win would just be “icing
on the cake.” He has less pressure on
himself and running with passion. I have
always been on Team Meb cheering for him all the way.
This is Dathan’s first time in Boston. He hasn’t run a marathon since October 2013
but he holds
the fastest PR of all the Americans (2:07:47 PR).
Matt has been quiet on the roads in recent months. Nick & Jeffrey were second and third
Americans in 2014.
The Americans will be facing a strong international
field.
Patrick Makau - Former world record holder and 2x Berlin
Marathon champ holds the fastest PR of all the men in the race (2:03:38 PR)
Lelisa Desisa – The 2013 champion and 2013 World
Championship Marathon silver medalist. (2:04:45 PR)
Wilson Chebet – 2014 runner-up (2:05:27 PR), he said after
the race that he thought Meb was a pacesetter so it will be exciting to see
what he can do this year.
Welsey Korir – 2012 champion, the year of the heat! (2:06:13
PR)
Gebre Gebremariam – 2 time Olympian, 2010 NYC champion and
former Falmouth Road Race winner! Finished third at Boston in both 2012 and
2013 (2:04:53 PR)
Abel Kirui – 2 time WORLD champion (2:05:04 PR)
If you will be in
Boston this weekend, check out these other exciting events:
John Hancock Sport & Fitness Expo and Boston Marathon
Bib Number Pick-Up
Did you know that the
marathon expo is open to the public?
You don’t have to be a registered runner to
attend.
It will be held race weekend at
the John B. Hynes Convention Center featuring many great sponsors, brands, and
companies with a passion for running, health and fitness.
Many give away samples and free advice.
BAA Invitational Mile
On Saturday April 18th is the
BAA Invitational Mile.
The men’s race is at 11:20am, the women at
11:30am.
Some of the best middle
distance runners race every year two days before the marathon.
It’s a 3-lap course beginning on Boylston
Street and finishing at the Marathon finish line.
Meb Keflezighi at the Harvard Book Store
In honor of Meb’s new book “Meb for Mortals”released on
April 7th (
you can buy it on Amazon), he will be speaking at the Harvard Book
Store on Friday April 17th at 7pm.
You
must
purchase a ticket for the event ($25) but it includes a copy of the
book!
The first 100 tickets sold also
included a free pair of Sketches shoes! I've had the opportunity to hear Meb talk many times and I highly recommend going if you have the chance. So inspiring!
Boston Marathon RunBase
adidas, the BAA and Marathon Sports teamed up this year to
open the
Boston Marathon RunBase at the finish line on Boylston Street.
It should be really cool and I can’t wait to
check it out.
Qualifying:
Did you know?:
The first Boston Marathon race was held in 1897 and was only
24.5 miles. It wasn’t until 1924 that it
became the standard 26.2 mile distance.
Crazy right?!
