Inspiration- John Kelley

I was able to spend the Christmas holiday in Newton, Mass. I was staying less than a mile from Commonwealth Ave so I used it as an opportunity to do some recon on the Boston marathon course. Though I have run the marathon the past two years, a race day experience is so different than a training run.

Being familiar with a race course has always been something I felt really helps. So much of marathoning, to me, is about being focused and calm. Without the jitters of an unfamiliar course, I feel my race management is that much easier.

Lance Armstrong was always on target with this approach. Say what you will about Lance and all doping craziness, but the guy knew how to train. He studied a race course to familiarize himself with the terrain. He rode coming moutain stages in the off season to really know how they felt. This was how I approached my time in Boston: get time on the course is a relaxed, yet focused manner. With this goal in mind, off to heartbreak hill I went.

Initailly I ran backwards on the marathon course. This brought me to the Newton firehouse, and the start of the hills. With just a few miles on my legs, the hills felt pretty easy. No real huffing and puffing. I tried to focus on absorbing the landscape to make if more familiar. I stayed light on my feet, tapping out a quick but silent cadence. My breath was steady as I imagined race day. My posture was helping me to keep a steady pace, versus fighting the effort of the hill. Overall, the hills were great. Total time on the course was 75 minutes which I was happy about given recent injuries.

During the run I noticed the above statue of John Kelley. Both runners in the statue are John. On the left is john at age 27, winning the Boston marathon. On the right is John finishing the race at age 84. he competed in the Boston marathon 61 times, finishing 58 times. Wow! That is a remarkable track record. Truly inspirational. To be so dedicated for so long is impressive. Makes me wonder what I will be doing at age 84, or 74 for that matter. I also wonder what he thought when he started his streak.

Many thanks to John, and his spirit, for the inspiration. I will think of him when I toe with line with Nick, Roo, and Bill this year, my third......