Boston Marathon '08: The Days Before

Last Saturday was a beautiful day in New York City, and I probably ran a little too much that day; though I ran an easy pace for under an hour, I only had 48 hours to rest up before the race. And overpack. Since I was driving up to Cambridge, I could bring six running outfits based on whatever weather was about to happen. Which is ridiculous, but I’m so used to packing lightly for air travel that it felt liberating to throw a ton of stuff in the suitcase just for the hell of it.

And the drive up on Sunday was glorious. Let me tell you, if you want to get anywhere in the northeastern U.S. quickly and with little hassle, go early on a Sunday morning. Even with stops, the trip took three and a half hours. And the hills of Hotford and Angry Town looked great along the way.

Arriving at the hotel, I quickly called Speed Racer and we set up a rendezvous downtown. After some kibbles and bits and an early check-in, I made it over to the convenient T stop on Boston Commons and met up with SR. What followed was lots of walking, lots of talking, and general nervousness about the next day. We weren’t so sure, but we were ready. The whole ‘this is going to hurt’ bit got played, and we got over it, resigned to our fate.

So Claire and I hit the marathon expo, and got to walk through the finish line a couple of times along the way. Once we got in, the lines, well, there were no lines at number pickup. That’s Expo 101, and I’ve never had to wait long to get in to get the important stuff. But the technical tees left to give out came in only one size, large. So obviously when you check off ‘medium’ on the $120+ application, you’re not necessarily going to get one. Thanks, organizers, you ran out of mediums hours before the expo is over. Now I have a large, blue tent with super-long sleeves and that strange unicorn BAA logo on the front. Yeah, male runners are such big people, better order up more larges.

We get into the expo, and guess what, no men’s size medium of any of the official Adidas merchandise. Just large and small. Great. I don’t usually buy tons of overpriced stuff, but something, anything would be nice. Later we find another official merchandise stand, and I find their medium-sized jacket doesn’t fit me in the sleeve holes, my arms are too big. Yeah, I know, this is all very fascinating, but while this was going down I started to wonder: if they can’t order enough running merchandise for the expo and what they do have doesn’t fit, what’s the actual race organization going to be like?

And in this windowless, concrete-floored convention center, it’s gridlock. Somebody decided that aisles six feet wide would adequately accommodate a race of 25,000 people, plus their friends and families. It reminded me of a Filene’s Basement I hit once in downtown Boston. On Black Friday, that dreadful day after Thanksgiving. I usually don’t compare the NYC Marathon expo/convention center to anyone else’s, but at least ours has windows, wide open spaces, and carpeting.

Well, Claire and I were doing just fine, we were glad to see each other and know that we would have all this behind us in 24 hours. We fled the expo and sat and talked about everything we could get out of our heads, our antsiness from tapering had to find an outlet. And it did, and we could have sat there and chatted for days, but whoops, there’s a race tomorrow, maybe resting up is a good idea. Before I forget… as much as she says she hated doing another marathon, she was ready, and more willing than she lets on. Ms. Claire can finish this race, let me tell you, she’s no slouch. She may just show up for races, but she follows through. The funny stories are true, but she takes care of business along the way.

So we parted ways and she headed back home. And I headed back to my hotel for some meager, bland dinner (that’s not a complaint, that’s how I like it the night before a marathon). I hit the hay around 10, and set my alarm clock(s) for 5AM. Yes, clocks, plural, I saw that Seinfeld episode about the marathon, too….

Coming up: Running through sweet little towns where they ‘pahk the cah’. Yeah, I know, that’s been played out. Doesn’t mean it’s not true, though.

And by the way, if you want to read the usual patented, mirthful, slice of truth from Speedy Speed Racer, head on over here. She has the details down.

AND an interesting article from today’s New York Times about somebody putting their bib/race spot up for sale on eBay, and the fallout: Cheating Starts Before the Race Does.