Boston Marathon Watching

Time: 61:12
Distance: ~8 miles

Meagan and I drove over to Caitlin's house this morning for a Boston Marathon viewing party. We first had to get in about an hour of running along the other side of the Sugar Creek Greenway. It's the same path that starts by my house and the city is in the process of linking the two sections. It eventually let us out near the 18 mile mark of the marathon course which we elected to run the rest of. I got to relive the Thunder Road glory and have smog induced coughs along The Plaza.

We got back to the house and I did a few strides in the parking lot. My legs are definitely tired from the 90+ I ran last week. I made sure to stretch and use the Muscletrac while we waited for the marathon coverage to begin. I didn't know what to expect from the race but I knew the conditions were right for the athletes to have brilliant runs. And, they definitely put on a show. I won't elaborate on the individual performances of Kim Smith, Desi Davila, Ryan Hall or Geoffrey Mutai. They each showed great determination throughout the race and it was too bad Kim's calf didn't hold up (turns out she tore her soleus).

I was most interested in watching the form of the various athletes in the lead packs. Desi looked amazing in comparison to the two Kenyan women she battled with the final 5k of the race. She was smooth and rhythmic while they flailed about. Ryan Hall almost looks like he is overstriding with his long loping legs. Then there was Geoffrey Mutui who looked like the man to beat from the 5k marker. I don't think I've ever seen him run before and he has an incredibly fluid motion. Over the years I've come to admire several runners' strides and I definitely have to put Mutai in my top three along with:



Former 800m WR holder Wilson Kipketer. Silky smooth.



Former Kenyan, now American Bernard Lagat.



Geoffrey Mutai recording fastest ever marathon in 2:03:02 followed closely by Moses Mosop in 2:03:06 (coached by Canova).