The World’s Oldest Marathon

There’s no shortage of words to describe the world’s oldest marathon. Iconic. Pinnacle. Energy. Resilience. The common person’s Olympics. For 127 years, the race has stood as a symbol of perseverance and dreams made real.

The events of 2013, horrible and tragic to say the least, further galvanized the running community into its commitment to the event and the spirit of the Boston Marathon. Resilience took on a new form. Des Linden put it best in her now famous advice to “keep showing up.”

True to tradition, the athletes approached the line in Hopkinton on the third Monday of April. Nearly 30,000 runners, 14 of them clad in the neon orange jerseys of CNW, left Hopkinton for the 26.2 mile journey to the city they left mere hours ago. The Club runners included Malia Cali, Turner Wiley, Susan Ashlock, Summer Wu, Nitin Bhardwaj, Mollie O’Leary, Matt Weissenger, Rachel Morris, Josie Gray, Erin Wagner, Bridget Keaton, Adam Schroeder, and Danielle Henty. Mark Bloudek was there on his bike, supporting the Club's runners throughout the race.

Marathon Weekend

From the upper left corner of the country, 14 of Club Northwest’s athletes made the journey to participate in the world’s most historic footrace. For many, it would be their first. For others, it was another chance to pursue their goals.

The buildup to the event was palpable. Boston was abuzz with marathon festivities, an influx of athletes and their families, and much excitement as the annual tradition arrived yet again, complete with the world’s fastest marathoner joining in the journey. There was much to be excited about.

Little remained before the big day. A shakeout run as a team on Sunday (shout out to Mark Bloudek for organizing), some more sleep, and all the preparation was completed.

Marathon Monday Arrives

Patriot’s Day dawned cool and wet in New England. The Pacific Northwest climate seemed to have followed our athletes to Massachusetts. Early Monday morning, scores of runners made the usual trip to the Boston Common, loaded onto the buses, and made the deceptively long ride to Hopkinton.

The bus ride and pre-race wait in the Athlete’s Village afforded new connections with runners from across the world. Susan would become acquainted with an ultrarunner from Tennessee who had completed a 300 mile endurance race sometime previously. Additionally, she’d meet some runners from her hometown while in the Village. Summer would get to know a man who had completed a marathon eight days prior, another a month prior to that, and this was to be his last in completing all the Marathon Majors. Additionally, he was planning to do another in Antarctica in the coming months.

The Village was damp, and maintaining dry feet became a priority. Then came the waiting, the walk to the start line, the national anthem, and the final warm up. During this time, Turner would warm up alongside Eliud Kipchoge and the other deep field of professionals assembled. Finally, the start. With that, 14 of our own took off into the rain and wind on the journey from Hopkinton to the finish on Boylston.

The Race

Turner kicked it into high gear early, coming through the first 5k in 14 minutes and 40 seconds, a mere 21 seconds behind the man who would go on to win the race, Evans Chebet. Turner would go on to finish in eighteenth place in a time of 2:13:58 as the day's 7th top American performance.

Fan Zhou was next finishing just after the 2:30 mark.

Shortly after the 2:40 mark, a pack of the men’s team arrived, led by Matt Weissenger, followed closelyby teammate Adam Schroeder, who had aided teammate Erin in pacing the first half of her race, Richard Waters in a new personal best, and Steve Purugganan.

Leading the charge on the womens’ team were Erin and Bridget. Bridget ran a steady pace through much of the day and finished mere seconds past the 2:58 mark.

Josie Gray 3:06:05, first Boston Marathon

Erin had set a blistering clip early with Adam’s pacing assistance, coming through the halfway mark in 1:21. She and Bridget would finish nearly together.

Shortly after the three hour mark, three more CNW runners would finish in a pack. Malia and Josie both approached the day with the goal of enjoying the experience in light of their injuries, and both managed to exceed their anticipated capabilities. Nitin would successfully complete his second Boston in a time nearly surpassing his personal best. It should be noted here that prior to this, Nitin had trained consistently for 12 years to qualify for his first Boston Marathon which he ran last year. All three finished right around the 3:06 mark.

Malia Cali 3:05:57, first Boston Marathon

Rachel finished shortly after 3:10. After a solid training build, she encountered a side stitch in the first mile that persisted through to the end of the race. Undaunted, she executed her race plan, finished in a new personal best, and even got a few laughs along the way as a giant chicken-costumed runner offered her gels on the Newton Hills.

Next was Elizabeth Earle in a new personal best of 3:10.

Shortly thereafter, Danielle Henty, despite months battling a foot injury, managed a new personal best in a time of 3:13. Through some ingenuity on the part of Danielle’s coach (Erin Wagner), she had managed to maintain fitness with some creative means that involved much less running than usual with investment in other avenues of training. Additionally, as anyone who knows her well enough can attest to, she has an unending positivity that would carry her past the doubt. “That morning, I woke up and my heart told me that anything at all is possible.”

Shortly thereafter, Chris Maske finished as well in 3:14.

Mollie finished shortly after the 3:20 mark. Ten minutes later, Summer Wu would finish her second Boston Marathon after battling a knee injury for weeks. She entered the day looking to have a good time and to enjoy the experience. “I really enjoyed it more than the first time.”

The final CNW finisher for the day was Susan Ashlock. In the same fashion as three of her other teammates, she managed to complete the race despite a foot injury. Moreover, it was her first Boston Marathon in a town that had been her home as a child. “When I was a kid, Boston was THE marathon.”

Congrats to all of our Boston Marathon finishers. We’re beyond proud of your achievement and your commitment to demonstrating what it means to be Boston Strong.

Club Northwest Boston Marathon Results

Turner Wiley: 2:13:58

Fan Zhou: 2:30:22

Matt Weissinger: 2:41:42

Richard Waters: 2:44:24

Steve Purugannan: 2:45:20

Adam Schroeder: 2:46:39

Bridget Keaton: 2:58:07

Erin Wagner: 2:58:20

Nitin Bhardwaj: 3:05:51

Malia Cali: 3:05:57

Josie Gray: 3:06:05

Elizabeth Earle: 3:10:03

Rachel Morris: 3:10:28

Danielle Henty: 3:13:19

Chris Maske: 3:14:39

Mollie O’Leary: 3:20:49

Summer Wu: 3:30:14

Susan Ashlock: 3:37:42

Many thanks to Coach Mark Bloudek for supporting the athletes in Boston along the course and in their final preparations.

Boston in their own words

“Growing up in Boston, it was THE marathon. I didn’t know there were any other ones.” -Susan Ashlock

“Boston is one of the best race experiences ever.” -Nitin Bhardwaj

“It’s a course that requires running up and downhill. Downhill in particular. You have to prepare for undulating hills and a steady downhill at the beginning.” -Mark Bloudek

“If you have the chance to do it, I think you should. The energy is a unique part. From the runner’s around you. From the crowd. From the finish. It’s something I’d never experienced before.” -Malia Cali

“There’s so much energy, culture, and history. It’s not just the runner. It’s Boston. It’s the spectators. It’s the energy.” -Josie Gray

“The Boston Marathon is more than a feeling. It's the pinnacle event for a huge percentage of runners worldwide, and it's also a massive party for the greater Boston area. There aren't many cities that would let 35,000+ runners take over their roads on a Monday, but Boston does so with open arms. Getting to the start line is a gift, and being able to pin a Boston bib to my Club Northwest singlet is an honor that brought me so much gratitude that morning.” -Danielle Henty

“To me, the Boston Marathon symbolizes resilience and the attitude of "keep showing up" (to borrow from Des Linden). Whether it's the resilience to qualify for a BQ in the first place, for the Boston Marathon running community to persevere after the 2013 bombings, or to race through all the curveballs that the course and weather conditions can throw at you.” -Rachel Morris

“I have a lot of reverence for the Boston Marathon. It actually took me five years of running before I could run a qualifying time. For the longest time, it was the big goal. I think it’s the same for a lot of runners. I really appreciate how the town transforms and so many people wear their jackets from prior years. It’s a real celebration of running.” -Adam Schroeder

“One of the ones (memories) that stands out is getting to warm up and race with Eliud. Another really amazing thing was the level of crowd support. Boston was, by far, the most electric marathon I have ever seen or been a part of. The amount of support from the fans was absolutely amazing.” -Turner Wiley

“It’s everything I’ve been striving for in distance running. The pinnacle.” -Summer Wu

-By Steve Harris