Boston 2009

The 2009 Boston Marathon is in the can, mi agmigos y amigas. Marathoners trained through a winter with 20 inches more snow than normal (but around here what's "normal"?) and were rewarded with a day with good air save for the fact that it was moving too rapidly in the wrong direction for too much of the race.

I watched the start from the press room, then ran to the Kenmore stop and caught the Green Line out to Woodland at the 17-mile mark. (That used to be so easy; now everybody does it and the cars are jammed. What's more, everyone's tracking "their" marathoner on i-phones all the way out and all the way back in.) Got to see some folks, missed a few others when the numbers on the road thickened. Great fun, so it was.

This is not a complete rendering of GLRR finsihers by any means, but a quick "Ho-way" and congratulations to:

Mark Reeder -- 2:43:25, 4th-place in the men's 45-49 age group. Mark never seems to run a bad race here, no matter what the conditions; he runs tough and he runs smart, as befits a mathematician (the "smarts" part at least). BC didn't make him a full professor for nothing.

Dave Oliver -- 2:48:53, 7th-place Senior division. The co-GLRR male Runner of the Year (with Bill Dixon) also belongs on the 'consistently good Boston' list. Whirlaway's Ephraim Ezekiel sneaked up on Dave in the Boylston Street stretch, passed him, and Dave battled back to take the "top New England Senior male" title.

Adam Sherer -- 3:16:12. Well done . . . You'll be recovered in time for the Bedford 12K, right Adam?

Gerard Ottaviano -- 3:31:14. Gerard isn't technically on the racing team list, but he is among that rarefied group who have run consecutive Bostons for more than a quater-century, 27 years and counting to be exact. And Gerard isn't satisfied with "just finishing" -- he trains hard, is always looking for that extra edge, and gets out there and races -- like a true athlete. Plus he's the guy who organized the very FIRST-ever club bus to the start many moons ago.

Patty Foltz -- 3:39:08. The #7 Veter-woman overall and the fastest from New England. Fabulous! She's probably on the golf course as we speak.

Tom Foltz -- 3:39:57. That last mile after Kenmore must have been fun, Tom. ("I can see Patty, but I can't quite catch her . . . !")

I'm sure there are others, but this is what I know off the top. Congratulations to all, and to all who had a hand in arranging the GLRR bus, pre-and post-race massage, hotel rooms, etc. Y'all done good.

NEXT USATF-NE GRAND PRIX RACE: THE BEFORD (NH) ROTARY 12K, SATURDAY MAY 16 AT 9:00 AM. CONSIDER THIS THE FIRST CALL FOR ENTRIES, AND LET US PUT A LOT OF FULL TEAMS ON THE LINE!