WAS THAT THUNDER?
A good day to run a marathon is usually a bad day to watch a marathon. That was not the case on April 15, 2013. The day broke with a deep blue sky; a chilly wind fluttered from the west, the air was dry. An endless procession of yellow school busses departed from the Boston Common to begin the journey along the Mass Pike to the village of Hopkinton, the center of the running world on Patriot’s Day. My morning began in an unusual manner.
Preparing to run the Boston Marathon for the sixteenth time, my wife and I decided that, rather than deal with the crowds at the bus loading area, she would transport me to the athletes’ village, drive back to the train station at Riverside, and later assume her place near the finish line on Boylston Street.
At the toll plaza, busses were lined up like yellow jackets at the hive, and despite some congestion on narrow country roads, we reached the quaint “Welcome to Hopkinton, Incorporated in 1715” road sign by 7:30 a.m. In the forested area on the edge of town, placards nailed to the trees bore the warning, “No Stopping Monday.” Between the words, “Stopping,” and “Monday,” was the image of a runner breaking the finish line tape.
Within three blocks of the athletes’ village, all roads were barricaded, and as my wife and I exchanged farewells, an achy, empty feeling of loneliness enveloped me, even as I approached a small city of more than 23,000 runners. I stood, motionless, for a few moments, as her car faded to a small silver dot. On a magnificent mid-April morning, something didn’t feel quite right to me. The marathon is my favorite road race distance, and Boston is my favorite marathon. Since November of 2011, however, the
Personal Best Description:
Personal Best is Joe Muldowney’s second book about running, racing, and training. The book begins with Joe’s personal account of the events surrounding the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon, his 16th running of the iconic race. Personal Best is a recipe book for running success. Muldowney, a veteran of 38 years of running with a personal best marathon time of 2:22:54, offers his methods for becoming a successful runner at every level. Beginners will benefit from his advice on how to train for an initial 5K race.
“Muldowney Sevens” will take you from being a runner to being an award winning runner, and the chapter, 2:22:54, will offer what it takes to run a sub three hour marathon. Finally, the book tells the extraordinary stories of three inspirational runners, who have utilized their running to achieve their own personal bests. If you are a runner, or if you want to begin a running regimen, Personal Best is a must read for you.
