Byline: Brian Metzler, Special to the Rocky
Like snowflakes and microbrews, no two races are the same.
Trail races, of course, offer the greatest variety, but there's still a vast difference in the courses, atmosphere and magnitude of road races. There are a lot of great races out there, but for recreational runners the Boston Marathon stands alone. Its prestigious history - it's the world's oldest continuous marathon - rigorous course and strict qualifying standards are just part of what makes it an annual goal race for many dedicated runners.
Monday will mark the 112th running of the 26.2-mile, point-to- point race from the tiny hamlet of Hopkinton to downtown Beantown. (Another unique trait is that it's always on Patriot's Day, the third Monday in April, a state holiday in Massachusetts.) And short of a downpour or a snowstorm, the entire course will be lined with thousands of people - some of them more sober than others.
New York, Chicago and other big cities' marathons boast big curbside crowds, but none has the fervor of the passionate folks in Boston. In the first half of the course, courtesy of hundreds of local residents, runners are treated to orange slices, cups of water, high-fives and updates on the Red Sox game being played simultaneously just down the road. Everyone is into the race, including a gaggle of leather-clad Harley riders gathered outside a biker bar in the suburb of Ashland.
Near the halfway point, just about the time you start to feel fatigued, you hear a chorus of cheers that crescendoes to an almost-deafening roar as you approach Wellesley College. The Wellesley girls are famous for their nonstop cheering and 'Kiss Me' and 'Marry Me' signs, each of which have been motivating runners for decades. That's a stark contrast to the beer-swilling and less coherent but still somewhat motivating Boston College students near 'Heartbreak Hill,' between miles 20 and 21.
Speaking of hills, it's not the ones that go up that doom most runners in Boston, it's the downhills. The first four miles are run on a significantly downward slope, so by the time you reach the mild uphills at miles 16, 18 and 20, your legs are shot. Then once you crest Heartbreak at mile 21, it's virtually all downhill to the finish, which is why only the superfit have enough left in their legs to motor to the finish line on Boylston Street.
But what really makes the Boston Marathon unique is that not everyone can run in it. Except for a handful of charity entrants, all runners must meet an age-graded, gender-specific qualifying time to earn a spot on the starting line. And when you train all year - or in some cases for several years - to earn a qualifying time, it makes the race a time-tested badge of honor for those who make it.
Especially those from Colorado. Of the 25,000 entrants in this year's race, only 512 are from our state.
'You hear about it your whole life. You know it's the mecca of marathons,' says Boulder's Kristie Schorer, 36, who will run in it for the first time. 'I ran my first marathon last year and qualified, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to participate in it. It's fun to participate in a marathon, but it's really fun to participate when you earn it.'
Though the standards aren't easy for any age bracket, they're especially tough for runners under 35 (3:10 for men, 3:40 for women). But it doesn't take world-class skills or a relentless training regimen to make it - it just takes a commitment to excellence, a good training plan and a few ambitious running pals.
That's precisely how Boulder's Cindy Pendleton earned her ticket. The 47-year-old single mom got more serious about running about five years ago after she and her son trained for the Bolder Boulder 10K's Middle School Challenge. When her son became a teenager and she found herself with more time on her hands, Pendleton joined a local running club even though she was worried she wouldn't be able to keep up during the weekly training runs.
Since then, with help from FastForward Sports' training programs and the 'lifelong friends' she's met at the club's group runs, she's run three marathons and numerous other races. She qualified for Monday's race - her first Boston - at last October's Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., by breaking four hours for the first time.
'I'm surprised and thrilled and honored to be running in Boston,' Pendleton says. 'When I started training more a few years ago, I was just a recreational soccer mom, and now I'm going to run in the Boston Marathon. I just can't wait to experience everything I've heard about it.'
