On the Trail to Marathoning's Holy Grail

It's on to Boston today. From a fans' point of view, this one is special. Americans Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher have legitimate chances of winning, even though the Kenyans, Ethiopians, Russians and others are stoked. For history buffs, the last Americans to win in Boston were Grey Meyer in 1983 and Lisa Weidenbach in 1985. As for mere mortals such as myself, I'll start way back in the second pack and likely finish way back in the second pack, but for me, it's the experience and highly charged atmosphere that make Boston so much fun. The race itself is an intriguing run with plenty to think about along the way as you navigate downhills and uphills, hoping to keep some reserve in your tank for the finish. I really look forward to every mile of this race, which I haven't done since 2004. I'm going to take it all in this time and try to finish with a smile on my face. Just in case you live on another planet, the race is being shown live on universalsports.com, starting at 8:30 CDT Monday morning. I'll start at 9:30 CDT, surrounded by all of my fellow 19,000 bib wearers. I'll be pulling for my age-group "rival" Bill Rodgers on Monday. The four-time Boston winner (Bib 79) is running after recovering from prostate cancer. Bill is one of the reasons I got into road racing back in the '70s. He's one of my heroes to say the least. Well, I'll try to report from Boston. We'll see how it goes. Good luck to everyone racing and running locally this weekend.