That little race on Monday

I will never run the Boston Marathon.  One day I would love to be able to go and see it in person.  I am interested in events that have history behind them. 
I wish I lived closer to Boston for many reasons; I'd be closer to my family, I'd be free of the heat, I love New England, I don't fit on the west coast, I'd be closer to my Blue Devils ( this one just for you EMZ) and I could be a Cheerleader for my bloggy friends who will be running this special race on Monday! 
So here's to you my speedy talented bloggy pals!

EMZ: One of a kind gal, runner with ultra powers: "YOU FREAKING GOT THIS".  Of course you do, you are The EMZ.  I hope this is a great race for you and that we will see a smiling picture on your blog for the recap!  May you "chick" (did I spell that correctly?)  A LOT of guys on April 18!

Beth at SUAR: The warrior who never gave up and is headed to the big race in a grand comeback from an injury.  I admire your tenacity and determination and I hope that you enjoy every mile regardless of the pace that your Garmin will show!  I am so happy for you that you will be at the starting line on Monday.  Cheers to you!

Dorothy:  She had her third child just 5 months ago.  Boston will be her 14th marathons!  This picture was taken last month at her 13th marathon; 4 mos and 18 days after giving birth.  This is what she wrote on her blog after the race: "Today I ran 26.2 miles on 3.26.2011 and ran my 2nd fastest marathon time ever with a finish time of 3:26:43!!!  I am one happy, tired, mommy of three!! "

 

Jim: If you follow him you know it is his DESTINY to be running Boston this year! If you don't follow well, after you are done reading my post, go follow him and read his story about how he got to the big race...this has Lifetime movie potential!!
Jim: BE GREAT MONDAY!

I had another person for this post and sadly yesterday she had to announce to her 1223 followers (popular gal) that she will not be able to run Boston on Monday.  This is how her post started:

Femoral Stress Fracture.
No Boston and no running for that matter.
I am very sad for Janae.  She trained hard.  Really hard.  This sucks big time.  But I know she will be back and she will have several Boston marathons in her future.  This is one speedy talented girl people.

So for all of you reading this who will be running the Boston Marathon, I hope you all have a fabulous experience.  If you get tired, don't pull a Rosie Riuz, just slow down or walk instead.  When you see this thing: Dig deep: You can do it!

Tell yourself that this will be coming at some point:

I hope none of you ends up like this:

It would be nice to see that guy finish first:

And if EMZ is not the first gal to cross the finish then I am routing for this one, I hear she is pretty good also:

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU AND CONGRATS FOR MAKING IT THERE!
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MY RUNNING NOW, I am sure you are all dying to know about it.
Ran 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday, it was painful, I got 2 toes who asked for a divorce.
Today 3 miles tempo, toes hurt a lot, I lost some skin on the tip of 2 of them and one nail is about to drop dead also.
Tomorrow I got speedwork, I will need to tape my toes to get through 10x400. 

A French Canadian Boston Marathon Story

So all this time I made you believe that I am a turtle and I don't run full marathons and the truth is I BQ'd last year and I am running Boston this year just that.

My uncle ran the Boston Marathon several times and I always admired him for running marathons.  I remember when I was little I would go to his house and look at his medals and I thought he was the coolest guy ever..well after my dad of course.  My dad is not a runner but he does speak 5 languages, that is pretty cool.  OK back to Boston.  So I was always interested in the Boston Marathon and the Montreal Marathon as well. 

Canada is known for knowing a thing or 2 about hockey (remember the last Olympic Games in Vancouver? 2 GOLD MEDALS) but running is not the first sport that comes to mind when thinking about famous Canadian athletes, same thing for Québec where I am from.
We have these 2 Canadian runners that are well known, one for being a disgrace to our Country and the other for being really fast, they have the Canadian nationality but they were both born in Jamaica.

Ben Johnson who was disqualified in the 1988 Olympic Games for doping.

Donovan Bailey, who once held the world record for the 100 metres race and won the gold medal  in the 1996 Olympic Games.

From Quebec we have Jacqueline Gareau. 

If you do some research about the Boston Marathon you are sure to see her name.  She won the 1980 Boston Marathon.  This was the year of the scandal at the marathon.  Remember Rosie Ruiz?

Many of you are probably way too young (some of you did not even know who Bryan Adams is!!!) to know this story.  I remember it well because in Quebec this made the headlines. Jacqueline Gareau had led the women's field for most of the race, only to find another runner, Rosie Ruiz, wearing the traditional victor's laurels when she crossed the finish line.   Ruiz had cheated.  She did not run the whole course. Her post race interviews made no sense and people got suspicious.  Several spotters at checkpoints throughout the course didn't remember seeing her in the first group of women. She also didn't appear in any pictures or video footage.  Also two Harvard students, recalled seeing Ruiz coming  out of a crowd of spectators on Commonwealth Avenue, half a mile from the finish!

Ruiz was later disqualified and Gareau was awarded the victory in a special ceremony one week later. Her official time for the 1980 marathon, 2:34:28, was recognized as a course record.  Here she is with the men's winner,  Bill Rodgers.

25 years later. Gareau served as the Grand Marshal of the 2005 Boston Marathon and was allowed to break the tape in a special ceremony.

Here are the highlights of her impressive carreer:

-Winner of nine marathons including : Montréal 1979 (2h40:56) and 1987 (2h32:50) Boston 1980 (2h34 : 28), Los Angeles 1984 (2h31:57)

-Fifth at the World Championship in 1983 (2h32:35)

-Canadian marathon record holder between 1979-1984 (2h29:27)

-1984 Member of the canadian olympic team in Los Angeles

-1991 Inducted to the canadian runners hall of fame

-1995 Inducted to the Québec Sports Hall of Fame

-2000 Was named Canadian Marathoner of the 20th century


Here she is with another GREAT marathoner: