You know it’s a warm Boston Marathon when the first thing someone says to you along the course is: “These damn mosquitoes.” And that was BEFORE temps hit the 70s, and forced many a marathoner to downshift on their way to Boston this Patriots’ Day.
Big crowds cheered on participants from the Wellesley College entrance, where we started our viewing, through mile 14.5 near the high school (fellow residents shared shots with us from other spots along the course…thank you!). More than 29,000 took part in the race this year, representing all 50 states and more than 120 countries. Nearly 10,000 volunteers helped to keep the whole operation going smoothly.
We caught glimpses of local runners we knew as well as celebrity marathoners like ex-Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (a strong 3:31 finish for the very big guy). SpongeBob Squarepants, ballerinas, bees, and royalty all made their way through town, where plenty of signage made clear to participants exactly where they were as they approached the halfway mark of the 26.2-mile race.
Local businesses took advantage of their locations along the course, dishing out pizza and swag, and providing spin bikes as a perch for some spectators. Fans sprawled on the church, library, Town Hall, and other lawns along the route.
We were treated to amusing marathon stories, too. One spectator shared that a newcomer to the marathon years ago was amazed that another watcher knew so many people in the race, shouting out one name after another… because, uh, you know, their names were on their shirts. Another told of a close call when doing a runner drop-off at the starting line from Wellesley this morning, and realizing partway there that the runner had everything on their list—except their numbered bib …oops, back home and then back toward the start.
At the Wellesley College “Scream Tunnel,” students were in fine form, many displaying encouraging, funny, or racy signs (popular themes were related to Barbie & Ken and how runners were going faster than the MBTA), other lugging—and chugging—gallon jugs of mystery juice (“borgs”). As always, the crowd got loudest when the lead women runners zoomed by, but clumps of students stuck around and cheered on the stragglers, too, who really needed their support.
Spectators could hardly believe their eyes when the first male runner at mile 12-plus, Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma, ran through with no one else in sight. We could hardly believe our ears when we learned he never relinquished that lead (finishing in 2:06:17) and distanced himself from the runner-up by 41 seconds.
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri finished as the top woman for the second straight year, this time in 2:22:37, eight seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Wellesley’s fastest runners: Matt Taylor was tops among men with a 2:43:18 finish and Kathleen Burch was best among women at 3:15:57.
Not to be overlooked: Wellesley High’s Eli Merritt on Saturday won the boys’ scholastic mile race in Copley Square as part of Boston Marathon activities over the weekend.
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Thanks for the wonderful coverage and the memories! I lived in Wellesley ‘s dorm closest to 135 and cheered on the runners in 1959, 60, 61, and 62, such fun days!
Congrats to all the wellesley runners! I’m astonished by how quickly the race course was cleaned up. In the later afternoon it was as if nothing had come through town!