Dreaming of Boston

Tennis players dream of Wimbledon, golfers dream of the Masters and softball players dream of the World Series.  But runners dream of the Boston Marathon.  No matter what your ability is, if you run 5ks or marathons, at some point you picture yourself crossing the finish line at Boston.   Like many runners, on Monday when the Boston Marathon was happening I was checking in online throughout the day to see who was winning and see how the Americans were doing.  And this year as an added bonus, I was checking the progress of my son’s teacher who was running her first Boston. 

It was great to see Ryan Hall set the record for an American even if it was for a fourth place overall finish.  He certainly ran a unorthodox race by jumping into the lead at the start and fighting to stay there for much of the race but as he said in his post-race interview, he loves to run and he had decided to run his own race.  And hearing him announce afterwards that he is donating his $25,000 prize to his Hall’s Steps Foundation was also a great gesture.

And my son’s teacher, Mary McGlinchey, 35, finished with a strong 3:42.  To me that is every bit as impressive as Hall’s 2:08.  The elite runners are exciting to watch but the real winners are the average runners that train on their own, without a coach, while balancing a real job, family and everyday life.

I may never qualify for Boston but then again I might.  And that’s what makes it a dream, it just might come true…