Boston Marathon Day 3: Sunday

On Sunday morning I again woke up around 7am and went for a quick run along the Charles River.  Sunday's temperature was to be much warmer than the day before; it would ultimately reach into the 80's.

Another trip to Starbucks for a chai, then on to the finish line on Boylston Street.  At 8:30am, there were already hundreds of runners milling about, taking pictures.  And a dog.

I then walked the few blocks to the expo at 9am, right when it opened, so I wouldn't have to wait in crazy long security lines.  I was one of the first people into the expo that morning and practically had the place to myself.  I didn't buy anything, but did pick up my free poster.  I also enjoyed talking to some of the vendors.  Sam Adams was there giving away free beer, but not until noon.

After the expo, I headed back to the Runner's World pop up store yet again to see Shalane Flanagan speak.  She's a four time Olympian, (most recently competing in the marathon at last summer's Rio Games), and for the past few years she's been trying to win Boston. She's one of my favorite elite runners due to her badass attitude; her fearlessness and her take-no-prisoners approach to competition.  Unfortunately she had to drop out of this year's race due to an injury, but was hired as one of the commentators.

Runner's World editor David Willey interviewed her for close to an hour about her career, her injury, the recent doping scandals in the elite running world, her new cookbook, and future plans.  It was a great conversation.  Afterwards they let audience members ask her questions, and I got to ask about the doping.  My question went something like this: cheating at the elite level, in the form of doping, and at the amateur level, in the form of course cutting and using bib mules, seems to be more prevalent than ever. At the elite level, do you think the deterrents currently in place are enough to thwart cheating, or do you think the rewards for cheating will always outweigh the risks?  She responded that not just the runners should be held accountable, but their entire entourage, because there is no way the coaches aren't in on it as well.  She also said repercussions right now are a mere slap on the wrist, and need to be more severe.

After Shalane's talk, I wanted to get her autograph and a picture, but I wasted too much time getting in line and they closed the line by the time I got to it.  So I went to a nearby bar to have a lobster roll and fries for lunch.  #whatbostonqualifierseat

Imagine my surprise, then, when I came out of the bar an hour later and Shalane walked right by me on the street.  Before I knew what I was doing, I had turned around to call her name excitedly and catch up with her.  I blurted out, "I'm the guy that asked you a question after your talk, I'm sorry - the line was so long - do you mind if I get a selfie with you?"  It was only then that I noticed she was on her phone and seemed to be in a hurry.  She seemed a little annoyed (I don't blame her), but graciously posed for a selfie with me.  An hour later, while scrolling through photos on my phone, I noticed the selfie with Shalane was not there.  In my bumbling state I managed to botch it and not take a photo at all.  So that happened.  I met Shalane Flanagan on the streets of Boston and have absolutely no proof.  #foreverawkward

I went back to the Runner's World pop up store to see Dave McGillivray, director of the Boston Marathon give a presentation about his life in running.  It was by far the most entertaining talk of the weekend.

For lack of a better idea, I then just wandered around Boston for a little bit.  I had wanted to tour the Sam Adams Brewery, but they were closed Sunday due to Easter.  I thought about doing a Duck Tour, but every tour for the rest of the day was sold out.  Normally I would have just continued wandering around the city, maybe taken in a museum of some kind, but it was 85 degrees and sunny and I had a marathon to run the next day, so I headed back to my Airbnb to get off my feet and out of the heat and sun for awhile.

After several episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," it was time to head over to City Hall for the official pre-race dinner.  I left my Airbnb around 5pm and had a nice stroll along Boston Common, past the Cheers bar and into downtown.  I didn't go to this when I did Boston two years ago, so I had no idea what to expect.  I figured I would encounter another long line since my ticket was for 7pm when the event started at 4, as long lines seemed to be the one theme of the weekend.  But I had no idea the line would be nearly a mile long, wrapping all the way around City Hall.  I considered bailing and just finding a nearby restaurant, but decided to get in line anyway just to see how fast it moved.  25 minutes later, I was entering the food line.  Not bad, BAA, not bad at all.

Food was red and white pasta, cold macaroni salad, regular salad, Italian sausage and meatballs.  Drinks were various types of water, juices, and the ubiquitous Sam Adams beer, which I did not drink.  Normally before a marathon I try to go for a few weeks, even up to 2 months without drinking any alcohol.  For this year's Boston I managed to not drink any beer all day Sunday.  Paragon of self-restraint, this one.

After dinner I strolled back through Boston Common to my Airbnb for another early night.

I laid out my clothes for the morning and made sure my bag was packed for Athletes' Village, then turned in around 9pm.

All told, Sunday was pretty laid back, but just what I needed considering it was the day before a marathon. 

Boston Marathon Day 2: Saturday

I woke up on Saturday around 7am, and went for a quick run along the Charles River.  It was a picture-perfect, sunny, chilly spring morning in Boston.  Perfect running weather.

After running, I showered and got dressed, loaded up a few things in a backpack, then headed out into the city.  First stop: Starbucks for a chai.  I then walked the 2.5 miles across the Charles River to Cambridge to visit an old friend, which ended up being a lovely walk. The Boston skyline loomed over my right shoulder, runners packed both sides of the bridge, the sun blazed brightly over everything... Just a stunning morning all around.

Martina and I met 21 years ago when I took part in a summer exchange in her hometown of Oberstdorf, Germany, and we've managed to stay in contact over the years thanks to Facebook.  If you read about my experience at the 2015 Boston Marathon, you may recall that she graciously let me stay with her for a night that weekend.  Since I was staying at an Airbnb this time, we settled on breakfast Saturday morning.

Her husband and son joined us in the backyard as we caught up, in German, over a breakfast of tea, fruit and croissants, after which we hung out on one of the side streets as her son tore around on his bike with some of the neighborhood kids.  Norman Rockwell, eat your heart out.

At 11 o'clock, I had to say my goodbyes and make my way back to the city.

Back across the Charles River, back to Boylston Street where I planned to go into the expo, but the security lines to get in were roughly 3 miles long, so I bagged that idea.  Just as I was figuring out what to do instead of the expo, I looked to my right and happened to see Scott Jurek standing there (famed ultra marathoner and all around swell guy whom I wrote about a few years ago).  He was meeting fans and signing autographs, so I jumped in line and got to spend a minute or so talking to him.  Super tall and super nice.

I then headed back to the Runner's World pop up store because I had signed up for a session called Yoga for Runners at 12:30.  I'm not normally into yoga (I'm about as flexible as Republicans on immigration), but I felt like trying to step outside of my comfort zone, so I showed up and went with the flow.  I was one of two guys in the room, and I had to modify a few poses due to the aforementioned inflexibility, but overall I found I really enjoyed it.  It helped that it was led by a woman who had run Boston herself, and a lot of the session was geared towards preparing for the big race, both mentally and physically.  Everyone in the room was preparing to either run or spectate the race, so we all had a common bond.

Directly after yoga, the room was taken over by a meetup from an online crew called #WeRunSocial, which is basically a group of selfie/social media obsessed runners.  I got to talking to Dani who invited me to stay and have a beer with everyone.  Bart Yasso also showed up, and they were giving away Boston themed Compression socks.

After hanging out with the #WeRunSocial crew, I came out into the main room to see the director of the Boston Marathon himself, Dave McGillivray, up on stage with Bart Yasso and others.  I attended Dave's talk the following day, perhaps one of my favorite talks out of all the events I attended.

I had some time to kill before the Red Sox game, so after leaving the Runner's World pop up store, I popped into a bar on Boylston to try the Sam Adams 26.2 beer that they brew every year in limited batches just for the marathon.  It's a gose style ale that "contains light cereal notes from malted and unmalted wheat with a touch of peppery spice.  Soft wheat and citrus character are contrasted with hints of salt and coriander and it finishes clean with soft fruit and crisp citrus notes."   Luckily for you I can confirm that it is indeed delicious.

I slowly made my way to Fenway Park (just a mile from the finish area), had a burrito at Qdoba for dinner, then went to the park to see the Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays.

I'm a casual baseball fan, having played it growing up and gone to my share of Phillies games over the years.  I've always wanted to go to a game at Fenway, one of the most historic parks in baseball, so it was great to be able to finally do so.  The Sox ended up winning the game 2-1.

After the game I walked back to my Airbnb.  I had wanted to go to the premiere of "Boston: An American Running Story" (first feature-length documentary about the Boston Marathon), but I hadn't gotten tickets in time, so I just called it an early night again.  Watched a few episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and was in bed by 10pm.

Stay tuned for Day 3: Shalane Flanagan, the expo, and the pre-race dinner.

Boston Marathon Day 1: Friday

I'm back from my trip to Boston, and I can already say it was, without a doubt, one of the best weekends of my life.  It was so incredible, so amazing, so uplifting, so rejuvenating, and so many other positive adjectives that don't begin to do it justice.  I want to remember every moment of this weekend for as long as I live, so bear with me while I break it down into separate posts by day.  Let's go back to the beginning and start with day 1: Friday April 14, 2017.

My school was already on spring break so I was able to come up to Beantown on Friday this year.  My dad picked me up at 7am and we drove into Philly together where he dropped me off at 30th Street Station for my 8:30am train.  I was there super early but I was so excited for the trip that I didn't mind waiting.

The train had wifi so I was able to get some work done on the ride up (a teacher's work is never done; in this case I had thousands of grades to enter for the third marking period).  I spent the five and a half hour ride alternately working on grades and watching the scenery roll by outside my window.  I really love taking trains.

I arrived around 1:30 in the heart of the city and walked with all of my gear straight to Boylston Street and immediately found the finish line.

I then went to the expo, still with all of my stuff, and picked up my bib.  There was no pint glass this year but I did score a sweet bottle opener in addition to the traditional tech shirt. Also took a picture of one of the most famous turns in sports:

I wanted to explore the expo but I had places to be, so I kept moving, walking three blocks from Boylston to Beacon Street where my Airbnb was.  That's right, I managed to find a place just three blocks from the finish area.  This made all the difference in how amazing the weekend was.  I was within walking distance from everything and never once set foot on the T because I just didn't need to.

My Airbnb was tiny, but it was clean and quiet and the bed was comfortable, so I really couldn't have asked for more.

I dumped my stuff and immediately headed back out again, this time to Post 390, a restaurant on Stuart Street.  Earlier in the week I had seen something on Twitter about an event with Jared Ward (U.S. Marathoner and 6th place finisher in the Olympic Marathon last summer), and I entered my name, knowing it was a lottery and so I wasn't guaranteed to be selected. But the very next day I got an e-mail confirming my name was on the list.

The event was on the second floor in a private section of the restaurant with its own bar, and only about thirty people made the cut for this event.  The first hour, from 4 - 5,  was a cocktail hour where waiters and waitresses circulated with trays of wine and hors d'oeuvres, and a table off to the side held still more food.  They handed out copies of his senior thesis to everyone, and I sat at one of the tables stuffing my face with red wine and crab cakes while trying to make sense of what I was reading.

Math was involved.  Lots and lots of math.

As I tell my students, there's a reason I didn't become a math teacher.

At five o'clock we were all invited into the next room where a stage was set up.  We first watched an intro video (super amusing to watch Jared Ward standing there watching Jared Ward).

Then a very energetic woman from Saucony interviewed Jared, and finally Jared gave what I can only assume was a very simplified presentation of his thesis on marathon pacing strategy.

In addition to being an incredible marathoner, Jared Ward is also an excellent public speaker. He managed to make complex statistical analysis fun and engaging to an audience of runners, not fellow statisticians.  Bravo to him.

As soon as he finished his talk, I legged it down Boylston Street to a Runner's World event. For the first time at the Boston Marathon, Runner's World rented their own space on Boylston and turned it into a pop up store to host their own series of free events throughout race weekend.  I was headed to the shake out run with Bart Yasso, the Mayor of Running, and Ali Nolan and Hannah McGoldrick, the ladies behind the web series Super Secret Mystery Meeting.

A group of us headed out for 3 miles along the Charles River, then returned to the pop up shop for pictures, beer, and the largest slice of pizza I've ever seen in my life.

Around 8pm I finally walked the few blocks back to my Airbnb.  If this were any other weekend, I probably would have found my way to a bar somewhere and tried to connect with other runners, but because I had a marathon to run in two days, and because I'd already had plenty of beer and wine that night, I decided to make it an early night.  I ended up passing out by about 9pm anyway, so I guess I needed the sleep.

Stay tuned to read about day 2: Yoga, Red Sox and German friends!

Your spelling homework

You would hate being in one of my German classes.  Not only do I embrace the role of surrogate parent and try to embarrass my students at every opportunity, not only do I force them to listen to more German rap than is healthy, not only do I actually expect them to speak German in my classes, but on top of all of the German, I also correct their English.

"Can me and Julie go to the office real quick?"

"Sorry?"

"Can me and Julie go to the office?"

"I didn't catch that."

"CAN ME AND JULIE - "

"Excuse me?"

"Oh... Can Julie and I go to the office?"

"And now in German!"

"Ugh..."

Yes, I am that teacher.

The truth is mistakes in spelling and grammar make me a little guano.  I could tell you that being a language teacher makes me hypersensitive to all languages, but in fact I've always been this way.  Grow up with parents who insist you speak the King's English, and you might turn out similarly.

When outside of the classroom, I try not to say anything because I realize doing so would make me sound like a colossal douche.  Likewise, when reading something online, I try to give most people a break.  Blogs, Facebook posts, tweets, etc usually get a pass because they are mostly written by every day folk who don't share my neurosis for perfect spelling and grammar.

But professional publications and/or major brands should probably know better, in my humble opinion.

Which brings us to tonight's running-themed spelling homework.  Can you spot the spelling mistakes in the following examples?

First up is Zelle, the Runner's World offshoot for women:

Next up, Spartan Race shows us again how "your" vs. "you're" can be quite the conundrum:

And on to Runner's World.  Even the biggest publication of them all lets a few errors slip through once in awhile:

RunHaven reminds us that the rule's for apostrophe's can be very tricky.

And last but not least, not even my beloved Haddonfield Running Company can escape my wrath:

This post probably won't win me any friends, but at least I was able to get all of this off my chest.

Seen any mistakes lately?  Let me know!

Runner's World debut

I love to write.  Four and a half years of writing a blog that only a handful of people read can attest to that.  But it has long been a goal of mine to break out of blogging and into something more substantial.  Why not dream big, then, and go for the goal of publishing a piece in Runner's World, right?

Imagine my surprise when this month's edition of Runner's World arrived in the mail and I sat down to read it tonight.  In a section about chafing, they had included readers' own tips about preventing it.  I saw the words "duct tape" and thought, hey this guy uses it too.  Hey, this guy's name is Scott too.

Wait a minute...

Runner's World must have asked a question on Facebook ages ago and I added my two cents, never thinking it would end up in the magazine.

Leave it to me to have the first time my name appears in Runner's World be about my nipples.

Runner's World Half Marathon: Race Report

I woke up at 6am this morning and immediately took a shower.  I usually shower before a full or half marathon, not to get clean necessarily, but to loosen myself up and wake up a little.

I had no idea what the parking situation would be like, so I arrived around 7am and found parking easily about halfway between the start and finish lines.  I spent the next hour huddled with the masses inside the ArtsQuest building to avoid the cold.  It was 48 degrees this morning, and somehow I didn't think it necessary to bring a long-sleeved shirt.  I had no choice but to run in just a short-sleeved shirt.

The starting line was about a half mile from the finish line where everyone was gathered, so about 15 minutes before the start we all walked over together.  David Willey, Runner's World's editor-in-chief, addressed the crowd, we heard an amazing rendition of the National Anthem on the violin, and we were off.

I started the race right by Mark Remy and thought I might try to run with him for a bit, but before long I decided to speed up a little and he ended up finishing a few minutes behind me.

This was probably the toughest half marathon I've ever done due to all of the hills (and the biting cold and wind didn't help either).  I knew the hills were coming after reading race reports from previous years, not to mention the biking I did yesterday, but I told myself I would be ok because I train a lot on hills.  But training on a few hills once or twice a week does not compare to the rollercoaster that was the course today.

The course took us down Bethlehem's main street, out by a golf course and beautiful houses where we were cheered on by marching bands and cheerleaders in addition to the random spectators.  For a small-town race, the spectators were amazing.

The hills calmed down a bit in the latter miles, and when we crossed the bridge and I could see the steel stacks in the distance, I started my kick with a few miles still to go.  Just beyond mile 12, the course came within a hundred yards of the finish line, only to veer away for the last mile.  This was a bit of a tease.  I pushed hard and headed into the homestretch with the usual feeling of euphoria I can only experience through physical exertion.

My time was six minutes off of my PR, but I was happy with it due to the tough course. Around this time last year I ran a 1:30 half, and last June I ran a 1:33, and now a 1:35.  It's tough to think about just how easy it is to lose fitness after painstakingly building it up.

But it was a gorgeous day, and Bethlehem really is a beautiful town, and the spectators were amazing, and the aid stations plentiful.  At the end of the day, Runner's World puts on a hell of a festival and race, and I'm happy I finally got to come out and participate this year.  I'm sure I'll be back next year.

Runner's World Half Marathon Festival: Day 1

I'm in Bethlehem, PA for the weekend to geek out on running at Runner's World's Half Marathon Festival.  Located in the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem was once home to an enormous steel plant, the second largest producer of steel in America at one point.  In 2011 part of the industrial complex was renovated into a modern convention hall, and the decaying blast furnaces now serve as a backdrop to various concerts and festivals.  This is precisely where Runner's World hosts its annual running festival.

I made the trip north this morning, checked into my hotel, and headed over to the convention center.  Saturday is given over to a 5k and a 10k in the morning, then seminars all afternoon, and a pasta dinner at night.

I spent an hour with Mark Remy of Remy's World and learned that he is even funnier in person than he is in his column.

Then I spent an hour with Bart Yasso and was reminded just how badass he is for all of the traveling and amazing races he's done over the years.

I read his book, My Life on the Run a few years ago, but figured now was as good a time as any to buy it and have him autograph it.  And get a picture for good measure.

I also brought my bike and spent time riding around Bethlehem today (and God help me tomorrow because it is ridiculously hilly here), then returned at night to watch the comedic stylings of Liz Miele.  And now I'm sitting in my hotel room, ready to turn in.

The race starts at 8am tomorrow morning.

Runner's World Cover Contest

Runner's World is running a contest to find one male and one female cover model for their December issue.

I've often thought that if teaching didn't work out, I could fall back on a modeling career.  So I decided to take the time to enter.

All entrants are required to answer, in 100 words or fewer, the following questions:

1. How did you start running?
2. What is the personal running accomplishment you are most proud of?
3. Why is running important to you?

I obviously enjoy writing and consequently enjoyed the challenge of trying to summarize my thoughts on these three questions.

I know the whole thing is a longshot, but it can't hurt to try.  The winners will be determined mostly by a panel of Runner's World editors, but the general public can also peruse the candidates and vote for their favorite.  There are some pretty cool stories from inspiring and athletic people.

If you'd like to vote for me, click here.   Voting ends August 15th, and you can vote every day until then.  Unfortunately it seems you need to be hooked into the Matrix have an account on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook in order to vote.

If you're a runner and want to enter yourself, click here.

Happy running, friends, and thanks for reading/voting!

Do PR's expire?

One of my favorite running writers is Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and frequent contributor to Runner's World.  One of my favorite pieces of his is an article that appeared two years ago detailing his attempt, at the age of 46, to run a marathon PR.

He achieved that PR with a 3:09, and the resulting piece is a wonderful meditation on the inevitability of aging and the hard work required to reach one's goals.  

"The stars continue to wheel overhead, not caring much whether or not a 46-year-old man managed to run a marathon faster than he ever had before. But the only story we get to tell is our own, and my narrative will say: He was a runner, and as he got older, he got faster. He learned something about running, and about himself, and what was within his capabilities, and what wasn't; and about what was inevitable, and about what was not. In the end, I set my PR not because I trained this way or that, or drank soy milk rather than sports drink, but because I chose to do it.

You can, too."

It also helps that his goal race was the Philadelphia Marathon, a race that has grown near and dear to my heart since the first time I ran it in 2005.  I can see the curves in the roads he describes, those spectators, that art museum, and even my own future.  14 years from now I will also be a 46-year-old, short, stocky runner, probably running the Philly Marathon, probably chasing increasingly elusive PR's.

In subsequent bylines, Sagal was described as a 3:09 marathoner.  Until recently.  If you check his byline in more recent issues of Runner's World, it seems he has been downgraded to a 3:20 marathoner.  Did he downgrade himself, or was that Runner's World's doing?

Meanwhile, try to find any piece of writing that doesn't mention Amby Burfoot and his 1968 win at the Boston Marathon in the same breath.  It won't happen.  It could be an article on foot fungus or an obscure marathon in the Gobi Desert or a new type of sports drink, and if a soundbite from Burfoot appears, "winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon," or some variation thereof, is automatically appended to his name.

For the record, I have nothing against this.  Winning a major marathon, even before East African dominance, is something to be proud of.  Burfoot has definitely won bragging rights for life in my opinion, and certainly seems to exercise those rights.

But what about Sagal?  What about me?  What about every Joe Schmo who will never win a marathon but who busts his ass to achieve his own equivalent of Burfoot's Boston win?  Have we not also won bragging rights for life?

Mark Remy, author of the Runner's Rulebook, would have us believe that PR's do indeed expire, or at the very least require an asterisk.

"A PR has a shelf life of two years.  After that, it's still a PR - just with an asterisk.  That asterisk means adding a disclaimer, such as 'My PR is 3:05, but that was at Yonkers in 1980' or '... I ran that at Big Sur in 2003.'  Two years is an arbitrary cutoff, obviously, but the larger point remains: It's disingenuous to imply that you're still capable of running that PR, or something close to it, if you are clearly not."

I disagree.  My PR is a 3:03:05 from 7 months ago in Philly, but if I ran a marathon tomorrow, I wouldn't come close to that time.  Perhaps with 6 months of hard training I could surpass that mark, or I might never come close to it again.  Does that matter?  Is it really such a running faux pas if I fall into conversation with someone at a race or at my local running store and mention my PR, and he is the one to assume I could do so again?  Why should it matter whether my PR was 20 days ago or 20 years?  Who cares if I can never run a 3:03 again?  The point remains that I once ran a 3:03, and can therefore speak knowledgeably on the subject.

Like Burfoot, I worked hard for my marathon PR and should be able to mention it at will without regard for some ninny who may get confused as to my true current abilities.  Like Burfoot, Sagal should be able to slap that 3:09 on just about everything he owns, including his own articles.

Runner's World gets it right

When I was a senior in college, I lived in a suite with three women.  Women are generally cleaner and smell nicer than men, and together with the fact that I can't stand video games and fart jokes, I found that I loved living with them.

Our common room coffee table was often festooned with various back issues of Cosmopolitan, and I'm not ashamed to admit I read my fair share.  As a friend of my dad's once put it, it's like reading the other team's playbook.

I recall this anecdote to give credence to my theory that Cosmopolitan and Runner's World are more similar than you think.  Both are mainstream, popular magazines published monthly. Both contain a slew of vapid articles with overly-recycled titles like "50 sex tips to drive him wild!" or "Top 10 training tips to prevent injury!"  Both tend to contain at least one "serious" article per issue.

And the covers. Both have incredibly repetitive and unoriginal covers month after month. Google image Cosmo covers and you come up with this:

Google image Runner's World covers and you come up with this:

And I bring all of this up to juxtapose Runner's World's previous issues with its current Boston-centric issue.  It was such a pleasant surprise to see that Runner's World finally got it right:

Not only is the cover a simple and poignant tribute to the race that means so much to its readers, but nearly the entire issue is dedicated to the events of that April day.  I've read a lot of articles from newspapers and magazines alike, but nothing but a running magazine could have truly captured the tragedy of that day.

My favorite article from the issue is Amby Burfoot's article, titled "Just Imagine," asserting that next year's Boston will be the best ever. Already there has been a surge in interest from people who wish to run next year in tribute to the events of this year.  Mr. Burfoot claims the amount of love for Boston next year will be unbelievable.

"Some of us will raise our eyes, hearts and hands skyward.  Others will sink to a knee.  Some may choose silence; others will sing hosannas.  Many of us will cry.

But we will all stop.  And only then - after we have paused to reflect and remember - will we move forward to walk slowly across the finish line.  The line that shut down at 4:09:43 on 4/15/13.

This April's Boston Marathon was the most tragic day in the history of running.  Next year's Boston, on 4/21/14, will be the most glorious.

Just imagine it."

There is a uniting quality in Mr. Burfoot's words that oddly instill in me a sense of pride to be a runner, never a Boston Marathoner, but still a Boston hopeful.  The best way I can think of supporting Boston is to run its marathon, and someday I will.