Boston Marathon 2014
The start of my pre-race blog post:
Easter Sunday, before Patriot's Day, in Boston, MA. People are assembling freely, in peace, all over this crooked cradle of America. Today, in Old South for the Blessing of the Athletes, a scant block from where the first bomb went off. Tomorrow, all along route 135 and then more thickly past Wellesley on Commonwealth, and Beacon. Then finally, the monstrous crowds awaiting at the finish on Boylston, the runners coursing towards the Pru, 4 lanes wide, hours and hours of them.
The Boston Marathon is always iconic. The race was first held in 1897, the year after the modern resurrection of Phidippides' fatal mission from the plains 24 miles outside of Athens, where the local boys held off a much larger Persian force. "Give me victory or give me death!" reads II Samuel 23:8-12. William Travis offered those options to the defenders of the Alamo. Patrick Henry tired a version ("Liberty or death") as a battle cry against King George in 1775. Poor Phidippides beat the odds, and got both, collapsing after crying, "Nike!" ["Victory!"]. So deeply ingrained in our runners' minds is this story, Phillip Knight named his shoe company for it.
Ever since, through evolving routes, wars, changing sponsors, and morphing into a huge congolomerate, the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) has held the event linking the western suburbs to Boston. Among the world's distance runners, the amateurs at least, Boston is the Masters, or Wimbledon, a pilgrimage to which all aspire. Other races are larger, or faster, or even harder to get into, but Boston reigns supreme for it's consistency, persistence, and authenticity....
Read the rest if you wish at my blog:
http://bikrutz.org/triblog/?p=1429
Easter Sunday, before Patriot's Day, in Boston, MA. People are assembling freely, in peace, all over this crooked cradle of America. Today, in Old South for the Blessing of the Athletes, a scant block from where the first bomb went off. Tomorrow, all along route 135 and then more thickly past Wellesley on Commonwealth, and Beacon. Then finally, the monstrous crowds awaiting at the finish on Boylston, the runners coursing towards the Pru, 4 lanes wide, hours and hours of them.
The Boston Marathon is always iconic. The race was first held in 1897, the year after the modern resurrection of Phidippides' fatal mission from the plains 24 miles outside of Athens, where the local boys held off a much larger Persian force. "Give me victory or give me death!" reads II Samuel 23:8-12. William Travis offered those options to the defenders of the Alamo. Patrick Henry tired a version ("Liberty or death") as a battle cry against King George in 1775. Poor Phidippides beat the odds, and got both, collapsing after crying, "Nike!" ["Victory!"]. So deeply ingrained in our runners' minds is this story, Phillip Knight named his shoe company for it.
Ever since, through evolving routes, wars, changing sponsors, and morphing into a huge congolomerate, the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) has held the event linking the western suburbs to Boston. Among the world's distance runners, the amateurs at least, Boston is the Masters, or Wimbledon, a pilgrimage to which all aspire. Other races are larger, or faster, or even harder to get into, but Boston reigns supreme for it's consistency, persistence, and authenticity....
Read the rest if you wish at my blog:
http://bikrutz.org/triblog/?p=1429
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Comments
Al, that was a wonderful blog to read! I have goosebumps all over. We will be "following" you and Patrick and all the ENers who are in Boston - showing the world #bostonstrong! Have a great time and JRA!
If I don't get a chance to see you in the AM, have an awesome JRA!