Official race shirt
Marathon Man and six other Rebel Runners took various modes of transportation to travel to the Boston area for our April 20 run.
Josh, Andy and Ray took the DSC bus, while Wes took Amtrak, Lori & Claire flew in and Andrea drove.
The 113th Boston Marathon had good conditions, with temperatures hovering in the 40’s under cloudy skies.
Bus Trip, Expo, Natick, Photos, Walk, Pasta
Saturday, April 18
It’s 8am on a sunny Saturday morning as I arrive in the parking lot at New Castle County Airport. Runners from Delaware and Southeastern PA are boarding Gregg’s chartered bus for Boston. Doug White welcomes the group and our awesome driver, Don, gets us to Boston without delay, where we head for the race expo on Boylston Street near the finish line.
We grab our bibs, chips and bright yellow shirts and wander through the crowded race expo where it seems that everyone is buying blue and yellow official gear. The bus then heads about 16 miles west to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Natick. Josh and I track down Andy and Diane and join them for dinner at Uno Chicago Grill for some good pizza.
Sunday, April 19
After a comfortable night’s sleep, Ray takes the hotel van 3 miles down route 9 for 730am Mass at St. Bridget’s Church in Framingham. The driver doesn’t speak much English, so it’s not a surprise that he fails to show up at 830 for the return trip to the hotel. Ray gets to walk the 5k back to Crowne Plaza, with the added bonus of a 100 meter sprint on the busy road where the sidewalk is closed for construction. Unfortunately, the legs will remember this little jaunt tomorrow.
The 10am bus ride back to the Expo is fairly full and Josh and I take the escalators up to grab more samples of sports drinks, energy bars, and even pears from Oregon! Runners still can’t get enough of that official BAA gear.
A walk down chilly but sunny Boylston Street brings us to the finish area of race where everyone is snapping commemorative photos. Then we wander into a mall to hang out and eat a big burrito for lunch in the pleasant food court.
Old South Church, Boylston St.
It’s then time to return to the Expo once again, where we eventually meet up with the Rebel ladies. We take the “T” subway to Boston Common for a pleasant walk down Charles St. to The Liberty Hotel, a former prison, where the girls and Wes are staying. Flyers hockey game in the room before Josh and Ray walk down Cambridge Street to the pre-race pasta dinner.
There’s no line as we stroll through the “Big Apple Circus” tent and are served our meal by smiling, laughing, dancing volunteers in their yellow jackets. Food is great, but a chilly wind blows through the open courtyards of City Hall.
Due to the very fast seating, we wander around trying to stay warm until the bus picks us up at 730pm. Then we get a bonus twilight tour of downtown since a couple is waiting to be picked up back at the Expo.
Plenty of time for the race-eve preparations. Lay out gear, pin the bib, chip the shoes, gather gels and rest. Bus departs at 730am for Hopkinton!
Josh & Andy at race expo
Ray in finish area
Josh surveys the finish line
Rebel Runners in Boston Common
Andy at start with DSC bus
Rebel men ready to race
Runners with disabilities prepare to start
DSC bus parking spot near corrals
It’s mostly cloudy on race day as our bus parks in Delaware’s fabulous spot at the gas station next to the corrals. In the hour and a half before the first wave starts at 10am, we sit in the bus for warmth, visit a couple porta-potties, and wander up to the start line to watch the “Athletes with disabilities” start their race before the elite women.
