Boston Final

Some really fast people won the (men’s and women’s) Boston Marathon. Here are the final results for the two guys I was following:

Bostonfinal

Congratulations, you guys.

[Update: Pete’s time is a personal record by about 6 minutes. Pete reports, “What an amazing race! The crowds … you can really feel how attached everyone is to this race.” Crowds four and five deep along the route, kids high-fiving runners and handing out refreshments. “Coming into the big city … very fun … a lifetime experience for sure.” He also says, very soberly: “I’m drained”–and Wildflower, which I spoke of in the first Boston post earlier today, is off his calendar. I call that a wise call, with another huge challenge just two months ahead.]

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Boston Again

A friend of mine from high school, Mike Koerber, took up distance running decades ago. He was always a pretty serious athlete, and we spent many, many days playing hockey (he had a pond in front of his house), softball, basketball and football. Last time I saw him was … 1977, I’m guessing. But last fall, I looked his name up in the Chicago Marathon results and saw that, yes, in the midst of a race beset by unseasonably hot temperatures (about 90, in mid-October; it was weather Mrs. O’Leary’s cow would have loved) and some logistical problems (not enough water on the course), there was Michael Koerber, finishing in something like … 3:12, if I remember correctly. I traced his past performanced and found at least one time under 3 hours. I’d guess that that puts him in the 80th to 90th percentile among runners his age (which is also my age, since we were born four days apart). So, Mike not only runs marathons, he’s pretty accomplished.

So, I look him up on the Boston Marathon site, and he’s out there today, too. Here are the early splits for both Pete and Mike (click for larger). Go, you two!

Petemike

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In Boston, Meanwhile …

I’m sitting here gathering my wits for the day (not that there are all that many to gather). In Boston, meanwhile, my friend Pete has just crossed the starting line in that marathon they have there. He’s an amazing athlete, really: In the last six months, he’s done a series of long races getting ready for this day, including a 50-miler. Yeah. Fifty miles. Running (it took something like 9 hours and 50 minutes). In the next couple of months, he’s doing a tough half-Ironman triathlon (Wildflower, here in California, next month) and a full Ironmon (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in June). And today, he’s there in Boston, running again. Here’s the first split from the online tracker:

Petemarathon

Go, Pete!

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