There was a marathon here a few months ago...

I was thinking back, and I am fairly certain that I never wrote anything about this year's marathon. What?? If I actually did write about it and am just not remembering, let's chalk it up to the fact that I have a teething toddler and my house is ashambles, as we move in 10 days (which I don't want to talk about...and if you're truly my friend, PLEASE don't try to convince me of how cool Durham is and how much I will love it. I will resent it at this point in my life. I'm not ready. I'm leaving BOSTON for crying out loud- you are incapable of convincing me that Durham can reach that level of cool.).

We had a lot of Red Sox going on that day...It's a Boston thing.

Marathon Monday (Patriot's Day...which is a Massachusetts state holiday. Brad didn't have school that day...partly because it's a holiday and partly because the course goes right in front of BC, making it impossible for students to get to class.) was the day after Easter this year. Because of that, we chose to take the T to church the evening before, knowing that if we took our car, we wouldn't be able to find ANYWHERE to park after church. The city began shutting down the roads on Saturday, and parking spots were incredibly scarce. Because we don't have a private parking spot and are at the mercy of street parking availability, we weren't about to take a chance and find ourselves driving around for hours after church.

Waiting for the T after church...

...because of all of these.

While on the T, we actually met some marathoners from California. We had a nice chat with them about Easter services, Italian food in the North End, and the fact that they were in their mid-50's and this year would be their sixth marathon (?!? Do you know how fast you have to be to qualify for the Boston Marathon? FAST. They don't let just anyone run. They are choosy around here.). Things locals know: if other passengers on the T start up chit chat with you, they aren't from here. Also, if you aren't a runner, you are in the minority. Boston = runningest city in America. Maybe the world.

"There's magic in these streets."

On Monday morning, we made plans to meet up with friends of ours from church so that we could cheer on our friend, Pete, who was running. Our apartment building is just down from mile 21 (which is near Boston College/Heartbreak Hill). We used the online tool to track where Pete was and headed out before that to fill up on the atmosphere. The marathon is regularly charged with electric excitement but was even more so this year, on the anniversary of the bombing. Over 35,000 runners competed in the marathon this year! The streets are lined with thousands of fans, cheering on the runners (and soldiers who march in full kit- including pack!). Our timing was perfect: we literally got out there five minutes before the first of the elite women came through, which was about ten minutes before the first of the elite men came through. We saw the winner of the marathon as he flew, I mean ran, through Cleveland Circle. I even got this awesome picture of him on my phone, because I am GOOD (or just uncannily lucky):

Meb! First American to win the marathon since 1984. 

After we saw Meb run through, we headed down another mile or so to Mile 23 to wait with our friends for Pete. There were probably 15 or so of us, which was a lot of fun. Pete's fiance, Kelly, was spending her day biking from spot to spot on the race course to cheer Pete on with this sign:

Kelly, cheering for her Kiwi.

Marathon with friends. Best way to spend the day!

Pete is from New Zealand where they, apparently, are called Kiwis. So, when he ran through, we cheered him on with a rousing chorus of "Ki-wi! Ki-wi! Ki-wi!" He seemed spurred on by our enthusiasm.

The guy across the street from us was cheering runners on with this sign that said: We love you even without toenails. Boston strong.

Lovely friends.

After Pete ran through, we headed back toward home so Claire could take a nap. We knew that an acquaintance from Tennessee was also running in the race, so, on a whim, we decided to see if we could maybe just happen to spot her. We stopped for a second and I pulled up her bib number on the online tool just to see the last checkpoint she'd gone through. About 2 seconds after I said, "She should be through here any minute," we spotted her, yelled for her, and nearly scared her to death. Bless.

Walking back home. View of the crowds.

I took this shot to make a point about security this year: the city sealed all trash cans and mail boxes that lined the course so that no one could slip contraband inside. Thus, trash on top of the trash can.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon evening hanging out with friends, playing lawn games, and enjoying the sun after many weeks of little sun. Claire enjoyed reading with Pete, and Brad dominated at corn hole. I didn't do either of those things but had fun visiting with friends, anyway. 

I love the Boston Marathon. It's one of my favorite days in Boston. Which is odd, seeing how I feel like running is of the Devil. There must be something in the water around here...