“What a great experience!”
Parksville real estate agent Natalie Nobert is back home from Beantown where she successfully completed the Boston Marathon.
If Nobert was sweating bullets in her Boston Marathon debut she had good reason as her and the rest of the field faced a searing race day temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.
“Better day for laying on the beach and swimming rather than running 42.2 kilometers,” Nobert joked, and made the point the runners spent most of the race well hydrated, as in soaked from head to toe.
The people of Boston, she said were “amazing in trying to keep us all safe in the heat.”
“Not only were people out there with their water hoses, they were also set up with their own water stations outside in front of their homes. They also had bags of ice, wet sponges, and many people were handing out popsicles, orange wedges and food along the way.”
Nobert said most runners she talked to added about 20 minutes or so to their qualifying time, “but I added about double that ... too much time playing in the water,” she laughed, adding, “my calves started cramping up in the second half of the run.”
The race, she said, was very well organized, including the challenging logistics of getting all those runners to the starting line.
“Once I was finally at the starting area waiting for our turn to cross the start line, I had a big lump in my throat ... I was finally in Boston, which I had waited so long for, trained hard for, and now finally here and running for a great cause, Haven Society. It was a great feeling.
“The people were amazing in Boston and the city is beautiful,” she said, adding, “I would definitely (go there) again; at least to give myself a second try at this run, hopefully in better conditions.”
For more information or to make a donation to the local Haven Society chapter go to www.runningforshelter.com.
BOSTON BITS
According to the Associated Press, the Boston Marathon has had its share of hot weather, with the thermometer hitting 97 degrees during the 1909 race that came to be known as ‘the Inferno’ and the 1976 ‘Run for the Hoses’ that started in 100 degree heat.