Sarah completed her first Boston Marathon on April 15, 2019. We caught up with her to hear all about her experience.
First thing's first: were you happy with your race overall?
I was very happy. I look at it holistically as the entire weekend. I didn’t go into this just focused on the race — that was never my intention. It was going in and doing all the Boston stuff and seeing friends. I took it as a trip with my husband and we left the kids at home. I look at it as the mindset of the entire weekend. I couldn’t have asked for anything more in that regards.
What was the most memorable part of the race?
Oh, that’s so hard. I mean — everything. We got in on Friday, which was my birthday, and we went to the Sox game and then spent Saturday doing expo and lots of meet-ups with friends I had never met before, so I got to meet them in real life. The start was amazing. I took a charter bus with my running buddy from Buffalo, and that was just the best time ever because she and I just talked for hours. Then we started and I didn’t even wear headphones because I didn’t want to have any noise in my ears other than the crowds. The crowds were insane — unlike anything I’d ever witnessed in my life. And that finish…there’s nothing like it. I got chills. I teared up. It was just amazing. The entire weekend was amazing.
What's one thing you would change if you could?
As runners, we’re always looking back over things and thinking what we would do differently. I knew going into this race that I had 11 minutes under the qualifying time for 2020 — so fingers crossed, unless people come in super speedy, I’ll be coming back for 2020. My focus was just to enjoy the entire thing. That 26.2 was just a victory lap of all the hard work I’ve done in training. Would I do anything different though? I mean, next year I’ll stay off my feet. I won’t walk 13 miles the day before. And the next go around I’ll just train specifically for the downhills. I enjoyed it as much as I could though and it was amazing.
How would you sum up the experience of running Boston to someone who has never done it before?
It’s hard to put into words. Again, just the entire weekend and city of Boston, to come together for the race is just…it’s nothing like anything I’ve ever witnessed. You can’t comprehended it until you’re there and have lived it and gone through it. It’s just magical. It just really, really is magical. No matter what your time is or how the race went, you cross that finish line and get your medal and you’re a Boston Marathoner. It’s magic.
What's next for you? Any new running/fitness goals?
I am focused now on recovery. Then, I’m gearing up to race the New York City Marathon in November pretty hard. I will be shooting for a substantial PR there as long as I can keep healthy and the race conditions set me up for success.
Good luck, Sarah! Thanks for sharing your experience.