It’s Patriots Day in Boston today and it is strange to think that 50 years ago today I ran my first Boston Marathon, and today it will not be held because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The streets from Hopkinton to Boston will be devoid of runners, young and old, who have gotten the BQ (Boston Qualifier) and were gleefully anticipating running this esteemed race.
The race in 1970 was not the mega race it has evolved into with over 25,000 runners participating in wave starts, beginning with the elites and then on to the rest of the runners by estimated finishing times. In 1970 everyone lined up, jostling for a good position at the start. Runners and family gathered in the high school gym in Hopkinton before the race, which was especially true in 1970 with 40 degree temperatures and a light rain, You could just feel the nervous pre-race excitement in the gym as the runners anxiously awaited the start of the race..
Our friend, Barbara King, drove us Hopkinton. We were staying with her and her husband Wayne in Cambridge after driving up from Virginia a few days before. Once the race started they took off down back roads along the route to see me run by at several locations along the way. Imagine trying to do that today with the large crowds and roadblocks protecting the route for the runners. I began the race with no real expectations, just being excited to finally run BOSTON, a race that had captured my imagination when I first heard about it. I had run my first marathon only two months before in 2:52, having never run over 12 miles, so I had not idea what to expect, especially when I heard about the dreaded “Heartbreak Hill.” I had visions of a mountain at about the 20-mile mark and was very apprehensive.
Before Heartbreak Hill though, there was Wellesley College with coeds lining both sides of the road. Now they are separated from the runners by barriers and are some distance from the runners, but in 1970 there were no barriers and we ran through a narrow passage with screaming coeds on both sides. The cheers sent chills down my spine and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I arrived at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill in approximately 120th place, not knowing what to expect. I remember talking to a few other runners as we approached, me with trepidation. We trudged up the hill with children along the route offering cut up oranges for refreshment, which was the only hydration along the entire route. The hill turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be, and once we reached the top it was basically downhill to the finish on Boylston Street. I was wearing a sweat suit that was soaked with rain, but my pace picked up as we ran the last six miles to the finish, and I was very pleasantly surprised to finish in 93rd place in 2:41, which was about 10 minutes faster than my first marathon. I had tears of joy as I finished the race, soaking wet, but so happy to have completed my first Boston, and so glad Johna was there to share it with me at the finish.
That race was a harbinger of things to come, because in June we moved to Boston, and I joined the Cambridge Sports Union and had a three year period where I raced in New England against some of the best runners in the country and even won a race or two.
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of me running the race. I do have this photo of me wearing the sweat suit I wore that day.
Me in my sweat suit. Not sure what everyone finds so funny
I also have a small drawing done by Johna’s former coworker at Marshall Fields window display, Phyllis Bramson, who became a well known Chicago artist.
A medal from Phyllis just in case I didn’t win the race
Anyone who has run Boston will always remember the first one no matter where they finish. Grateful to have had the opportunity to fulfill one of my dreams on that rainy day in April 50 years ago.
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