The Boston Marathon draws some of the best runners from all over the world to one place so that they can run gradually downhill for a really long time, then uphill for a few brutal miles, and then downhill again once their legs are completely thrashed. Boston is truly its own beast, and there's nothing quite like the journey from Hopkinton to Boyleston Street. With Spring marathons the weather can present a unique challenge...will we get 35 degrees with wind and rain, or 80 degrees of muggy sunshine? That's to say nothing about the weather during the months of Winter training leading up to the race.
Taking all these factors in stride, many of our Striders worked their butts off this year to prepare for Boston and we are proud of them! This year it was a pleasant start which developed into a warm finish. Despite this, several Striders knocked out impressive performances and even a PR on this difficult course.
On the Men's side, Andrew Madison held on after a quick start to lead the team in at 2:37:11 (good for 80th overall). Mark Buschman (2:46:34) and Conrad Orloff (2:46:46) cruised in with respectable times, especially considering the former battled injuries all season and the latter struggled with illness in the days leading up to the race. Ed Wilson (3:04:20), Conrad Fernandes (also 3:04:20), and Sean Costello (3:25:02) rounded out the Mens' performances. Great job guys!
Beth Hannon blazed the trail for the women, setting a PR in 3:09:20 (209th female)! Tiff Hevner rocked a 3:20:14, while Noel McCracken brought home a 3:23:27. Kelly Westlake (who holds a sub-3:10 PR) toughed out a 3:31:41 to bring the Striders home. Hats off to our awesome ladies!
It's wonderful that the Striders can send a strong contingent of runners to this historic race each year. Congratulations on keeping up the tradition everyone!
