(With Dawn Huddlestone)
Main photo: (clockwise from top left) Chris Watson, Troy Cox, Rebecca Francis, Lowell Greib, Katherine Ahokas, Tina Steele, Lia Kutzscher, Mark Sinnige, Roger Penney, Dave Johnstone and (in centre) Jennifer Nicholson. Missing: Jeramie Carbonaro, Tony Marra, Mark Wilding. (Supplied photo)
Some local runners can now call themselves 2017 Boston Marathon finishers.
Fourteen members of Muskoka Algonquin Runners (MARS) – Katherine Ahokas, Jeramie Carbonaro, Troy Cox, Rebecca Francis, Lowell Greib, Dave Johnstone, Lia Kutzscher, Tony Marra, Jen Nicholson, Roger Penney, Mark Sinnige, Tina Steele, Chris Watson, and Mark Wilding – participated in the 121st annual Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17, Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts. Some had been there before, others were there for the first time. For all, it was a grueling 26.2 mile (42.2km) run in the sun.
Preparation for the marathon begins at least a year in advance. It’s one of the few recreational races that requires qualification, so runners that want to attend need to prepare well in advance. “For many of the Muskoka Algonquin Runners, we received our qualification at the Ottawa Marathon in May of 2016,” said Lowell Grieb, who has run the Boston Marathon before. Qualifying is followed by intense training right through the winter to be ready for race day.
First time Boston Marathoner Rebecca Francis was grateful to have the other MARS runners to train with. “I made sure I was at the club workouts and engaging with the team aspect of it,” she said. “The club provides a great foundation that we can personalize from there. I did a few things differently with my diet, and strength- trained more.”
The lure of the Boston Marathon is part history, part camaraderie, said Francis. “It’s the oldest annual marathon in the world. The history of the event definitely has something to do with it. And part of the appeal is the spirit of running that is so well embodied by the people who live in Boston and volunteer and help make it a special experience for the runners.”
That experience begins from the moment the runners arrive in Boston. “I think what really stood out to me was the people of Boston,” said Francis. “In the days before, even when we were out grocery shopping, they were saying, ‘welcome to Boston’, ‘thank you for coming’. They take a lot of pride in hosting the race. We don’t always see that.”
Residents in the towns along the route even line the streets to cheer on the runners. But first, those runners need to get to the start line, an experience in itself.
“The Boston Marathon is like no other,” said Katherine Ahokas, a veteran Boston Marathoner who qualified at the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon. “The process just to get to the start line is like a marathon in itself while you wait…and wait…and wait. Nerves are high, so frequent trips to the porta-potties are likely. About three hours later, you are herded about two kilometres to the official start line of the race. You are separated into your corrals with a thousand other runners of your pace/ability and the nerves and excitement continue to build. Finally, the gun goes off to start the race! Having a group of runners and friends to get to the start line with is invaluable. You laugh, tell stories and find any way possible to keep calm and pass the time.”
It started out as a perfect race day – sunny and warm but with a cooling breeze – and with excitement in the air.
“It is really easy to get amped for the Boston Marathon,” said Grieb. “The day starts at 5:30 a.m. with breakfast and preparations of fuel that will be taken on course. By 6:30 a.m., you are sitting on a school bus with your teammates in downtown Boston, at Boston Commons, starting to chat race strategy. This continues over the course of the trip to Hopkinton which is about a 45-minute drive. Athletes’ village is massive! It is staged in a high school field with large circus-sized canopy tents, music, jumbotrons, and the media. Quite the frenzy when you consider approximately 30,000 people are bussed into a single location. About an hour out from the official start, we started our walk to the start line – about one kilometre away. This is when my adrenaline started to kick in.”
Just the week before, the MARS runners had been training in toques and mitts, making the heat in Boston even more of a challenge, said Francis, particularly as the more pleasant early-morning temperatures rose to unseasonably warm levels by the afternoon. “That slowed the times for everyone I think.”
“The air temperature was warmer than we had anticipated and there was almost no breeze,” said Griebe. “The heat kicked in at 15 kilometres and my pace started to drop. Trying to keep a high level of physical effort was challenging as I felt myself starting to over-heat. By the half, I knew I was in deep trouble. Sweating was starting to stop (which is a really bad sign) and my leg turnover was slowing even further. This was going to be a mental grind to finish the last 21 kilometres. The push to the finish from this point ended up being 80 per cent mental and 20 per cent physical. It was about survival and stretching every last little bit of ability out of my body.”
The crowds helped the runners get to the end of the course, said Ahokas. “Thousands of spectators lined the course yelling and cheering as loud as they could – it’s tough to stop when you have that kind of support… I was looking for other distraction techniques. When I spotted a woman on the side of the course had a large bucket of ice cubes, I grabbed a handful. A couple of them went down my sports bra, and then one down my shorts – definitely a new strategy for me. The freezing sensation of the ice cubes was another great distraction from the pain… I don’t think I’ve ever pushed as hard as I did that day.”
Congratulations to all of the MARS runners who participated in the Boston Marathon. Their finishing times were:
Katherine Ahokas, 3:02:14
Jeramie Carbonaro, 2:55:57
Troy Cox, 3:03:06
Rebecca Francis, 3:33:27
Lowell Greib, 3:15:00
Dave Johnstone, 3:47:28
Lia Kutzscher, 3:50:13
Tony Marra, 3:48:45
Jen Nicholson, 3:22:12
Roger Penney, 3:17:54
Mark Sinnige, 3:15:12
Tina Steele, 3:44:10
Chris Watson, 2:57:53
Mark Wilding, unknown
Sports fan? Click here to see more Huntsville sports and leisure stories!
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free, twice-weekly newsletter here.
Congratulations to the MARS runners! For the information of anyone who is not familiar with marathon running, the finishing times of this group are excellent, especially for Boston. Many hours of training went into their achievement. Well done!