2016 BOSTON MARATHON
On Patriot’s Day, April 18th, the SDTC’s Boston Group of 46
runners took off with the starting gun in the 120th version of the
famed Boston Marathon, this year celebrating “50 Years of Women at Boston”. It
was in 1966 that San Diego’s own Roberta Gibb quietly slipped into the race and
became the first woman to complete the world’s oldest continually run road
race.
As is often the case with the Boston Marathon, the most difficult
obstacle this year was not the Newton hills but the weather. Unanticipated heat
at the start in Hopkinton had runners waiting for hours in the hot sun and
pouring water over their heads before the gun went off. By the 10 mile mark, the
low humidity had salty racing singlets pasted to bodies but the thought of
cooling ocean breezes ahead gave hope of relief. It wasn’t to be however as
those on-shore winds and increasing humidity then reversed the effects and
caused chills and cramps when none had ever been experienced previously. Paces slowed, water stations became crowded
and 8.3% of all race participants (2,490) made visits to the medical tents,
including some of our SDTC runners. Even the winning, elite runner’s times were
the second worst in the last twenty five years.
In spite of the conditions, the Bostonians still managed to persevere
and if maybe not reaching their intended goals, they came close enough to call
it a “PR effort”. Still, about half of the group finished with a time that
re-qualified them for the 2017 Boston Marathon and a fourth of them ran a
legitimate PR. The top 4 men were led again this year by Fasil Tadesse with his
PR 2:51 followed closely by Rashaad Forehand at 2:56:06, Pat McBride with a PR
2:56:38 and Jeremy Crossley with a 2:56:51. Only 45 seconds separated these
three in a race with 30,000 runners! The women were led by Erica Schoeller with
a 3:07, followed closely by Sarah Jerotz with a 3:08 and Lisa Ryan with her
3:10, all with a re-qualifying effort. The “Special Category” award goes to
Natasha Bliss who, at 26 weeks into her pregnancy, ran the 26 miles in a 4:24,
losing a close one to her “baby bump”. In the Team Divisions, the SDTC scored 8th
in the Women’s Masters out of 59 teams, 10th of 74 teams in the
Men’s Masters, 11th of 59 teams in the Women’s Open and 40th
of 68 teams in the Men’s Open. These were all great showings in the first year
the SDTC entered the team competitions. Watch out for next year!
As is always the case with Boston, performances are only a part of the
total Boston “experience”, a sentiment expressed by all who look forward to
making a return trip. Next Tuesday at the track, Paul will take some time to
acknowledge these runners and have them share their experiences with all of you
so plan on being there and catching the Boston fever that might spur you on to
your own BQ.
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