BLT Runners and the Virtual Boston Marathon 2020

 

Earlier this year the Boston Marathon was postponed until September due to COVID-19. As that date approached, the choice was made to not hold the event live and instead do a virtual version for those who qualified. A tough choice, but being such a huge event, it was unlikely to be possible for an in person event. 

While not all runners chose to do the virtual run, some did and received a race kit by mail. Our run club, The BLT Runners,  had some members who did decide to run: Marg, Bruce, Pat, and Matt. So the rest of the club decided to step up and help them by hosting the marathon with all the support they would need.

A huge shout out first to Craig who got the ball rolling with group emails, organizing volunteers and arranging for a porta potty to be at the start line (thanks to Iain Rankin for that added support). 

 Together we arranged for a route that was a 10km out and back and a nice downhill finish of a few kilometres. This route did have road crossings and some volunteers were on hand to help the runners through. We also arranged for 2 official water stops, where racers could have their own calories and hydration set up.  While running on the "official" route wasn't mandatory, it was where the support was.

Aside from some logistic support, I opted to help out as a pacer and was willing to run up to 30 km with our faster runners. I am by no means a marathon guy but I can run long enough and this course was pretty flat. Other pacers would pop in at assigned spots for other runners. 

Race morning came, the porta potty was on site and the weather was perfect, cool with a slight breeze. I lined up with the racers as my pacing was starting from the beginning based on that mornings discussions.  I was going to be running with Matt and Pat. 

At give or take 8 am we were off and set a comfortable pace in the 4:20s per km. Bruce quickly went a different direction. 

Aid station 1 was at the 2.5 km mark (see the jackets, it was chilly), I zipped ahead and got the water and Gatorade ready for my 2 runners, had a sip of my Nuun and went off. 

By the 6 km mark we were all still smiling and happy and Marg was right on our heels. Our fans were out as well.

Aid station 2 was just a little ahead and the pattern of me zipping ahead a little to get the needed hydration / calories ready was well in hand. This also gave me a moment to stop and drink a little of my Nuun (I think this one was the caffeinated Cherry Limeaid).  Lots of cheers and support for sure.

A little past the aid station 2 was our turn around. Part of the course was paved and a little less than half was on crusher dust. While not as fast as pavement, the crusher dust areas were really shaded, which was a super bonus and mostly flat.

We would hit the same 2 aid stations a total of 8 times and while some people coudl only volunteer for a 2 hour shift, we had a lot of great club support from the same people the whole time.

Marg still wasn't that far behind us.

I don't have a lot more pictures, but I decided to stay with the crew through the aid stations at some point. They were really appreciative of the help from me zipping ahead and getting them refreshments. As well, up through 27-29 kilometres we were having great chats and keeping a good pace. After about 30 km, the guys were certainly starting to feel it. Normally a crowd would be there to spur them on. While the club support was great, it was sporadic and Matt didn't have the greatest summer training due to an injury. So I stayed with them to make sure they got through the last push.

I guess it was at that point as we hit the final aid station that I realized I was already at the 36 km mark and while the next kilometre had a bit of a climb, it was all down hill after that. So I knew at this point I may as well finish. I felt fine (yes, the legs were definitely a little heavier than the start).  

Pat's friend Jeff jumped in to make sure he was paced at this point, and I made sure Matt had the encouragement he needed to get up that final climb and get to the steepest part of the final decent. Once we hit that  I knew he was fine and I opted to run ahead and really stretch my legs a bit. I had hoped that my running a little faster would pull Matt along, as I know that in pacing if the pacer slows to the runners pace, the runner tends to slow themselves. 

The finish was on the parkrun downhill, and I love that downhill. I had one street crossing to go and it was clear and I finished at 42.3 (I went a little long just in case the GPS screwed up) and finished at 3:06:04. Oddly, my moving time was 3:04:40. So I actually spent over a minute standing still at the water stops getting things together.  

Matt would eventually pick it up, Pat came on with a strong finish. Both had great finishes right behind me. Marg would soon follow and looked fabulous, she had great pacing sup[port from Stacey for her final push. 

Bruce finished somewhere and then had to run back to his car. He had great pacing support from Wes and Jill.

It was amazing to have the BLT Runners step up and support this event. Sorry I didn't have pictures of everyone involved. While it was "only" a virtual run, it is obvious what the Boston Marathon means to people. I was happy to add the support to the guys that I did and get them through their final dark moments. Running the while thing ended up being a bonus, and feeling good afterwards was event better. 

I still don't have a huge desire to train for marathons going forward. Never say never but it certainly doesn't have a huge draw.