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Wanderers Prevail at Boston Marathon
by
Chris Moore
The forecast for the 111th running of the Boston Marathon was
grim, at best. A Nor'Easter of epic proportions was underway as
rank and file began to assemble in Boston. Sunday's weather proved
to bear that forecast out. Cold, driving horizontal rain, and Gusts
of winds over 50mph.
Walking with an umberlla was futile, as they
were immediately turned inside out. Several Wanderers each with
their own difficulties getting to Boston found each other in the
downpour late Sunday as the expo was winding down.
A nervous race
sponsored pasta dinner was attended by several Wanderers including
superfan Phil,
who clearly didn't know what he was getting into. Most talk that
night though was of the weather, how bad was it going to be, how
to dress, what sort of performances were going to be possible?
Some forecasts had the rain ending around the start of the race,
but forecast were changing hourly. An early exit followed as the
Wanderers retreated, hoping to get dry, warm, key weather channel
updates and some shut-eye before the early bus ride to Hopkinton.
Awaking
in the dark, with rain still falling, they all
descended upon Boston Common. With daybreak came
a lull in the rain and moderate temps. Perhaps that was
it? No, just a tease, as the busses left
the city limits, the rain and wind picked up again. One
of the biggest fears from the night before was how to stay
warm and dry sitting in the athletes village (read soccer field),
and then another break, because of the inclement weather, they opened
up the school gymnasium. Sure sitting on concrete, packed
like sardines with 2999 other runners on a basketball
court wasn't ideal, but it sure beat Runners 3001+ who, because
of Occupant Loads, were left to sit outside under any eave, alcove
or shelter they could find. Rains continued.
Wanderers
were now in full force, splayed at all angles trying to maximize
horizontal time and retain as many sq. ft. of floor space possible.
Bottles of gatorade and ClifBars (cheap plug!) were nibbled
on as final clothing selections were made. Trips to the bathroom
were delayed as long as possible to maintain floor space and risk
not getting back inside.
Finally, 9:00 rolled around and the Wanderer
contingency began to head out into the weather and the long walk
to the starting line. Last
minute adjustments, mass removal of trash bag ponchos, 20,000+
runners and a handful of Wanderes shuffled into crowded corrals,
the race was about to start. Current weather conditions: light
rain, slight breeze with cool (but not cold) temps. The
gun went off promptly at 10.
Photos and Personal race-Reports:
The following are personal accounts by some of the Wanderers
who
participated in the Boston Marathon and links to the photos:
2007 Race Reports and Phtotos:
Old reports:
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