Boston Marathon

[phesina]

I ran the Boston Marathon in 1984!

I wasn't one of the official, qualifying runners.. I was one of the many who joined in at the end of the pack who hadn't qualified but just wanted to do it for whatever reason. I wanted to see if I could do it.

It took me 4 1/2 hours, but I made it! I remember getting to Wellesley (halfway point) and it suddenly dawned on me: Someone has already won this by now! And as I found out afterward, someone had indeed.

A friend of mine who had done this a couple of years before had talked me into trying it and gave me a training schedule which I had followed for the three or four months previous. As I came into Wellesley center, I suddenly heard "Pat! Pat!", and there she was cheering me on! And then when I got to Beacon St. at Harvard St. in Brookline, there she was again cheering for me.

Boy, were my legs ever sore for several days following!

In 1985 I did another one, the Harrow Charity Marathon in suburban London. Another 4 1/2 hours, but again I finished. This one was about six months after I'd had a mastectomy, so I guess it was my way of saying I'm doing just fine.

That was the last time I did something like that! I kept on running for years and years, but since last year I've had a lot of soreness in my hips and groin and upper legs and sometimes it's painful to walk. I'd love to get back to running again, but I don't know if that's going to be possible.