it is more than just 26.2 miles

Finally, I conquered the legendary ‘heartbreak hill’ at Boston Marathon!

The day arrived and I was in Boston on 17th April …  you can feel the enthusiasm in the air … the hotel was buzzing with Boston Marathon contestants from all over the globe.

When I heard several participants are stuck in Europe (because of the ‘global gridlock’ caused as a result of the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland), I realized how important is the grace of the almighty from all aspects.

Seeing the video of the whole course of the marathon (at the expo on 18th April) did bring up some fears in small little corner of my heart – will I be able to make it? (after it was my first ever marathon run – and i did not get chance to prepare as much as i would have loved to) … the visualization of the FINISH line (through the video) did bring some tears as well.

Woke up the next morning and the weather was just right for the run … I was feeling I was in the best possible shape for this … Walked about a mile to reach the point of pickup from where the school buses ‘transported’ about 25k+ participants to the START line … Many were finding the weather little chilly … Had to wait for some considerable time (out in the open & early in the morning) before we could get on the buses (but imagine the organization that goes behind the mammoth task) … Enjoyed the bus ride (of about 30-40 minutes) and relaxed as much as possible

On reaching the starting point (athlete’s village), I had enough time to freshen up, get in the running attire and store the things in the baggage area before the Wave 2 (in which I was supposed to start) officially begin to RUN at 10:30 am.

While waiting, borrowed a marker from someone at the last minute and wrote my name on my t-shirt and INDIA on my right shoulder — this really turned out to be a wonderful thing to do. This thing got thousands of spectators to cheer me saying ‘Go HARSH Go’ or ‘Go INDIA Go’ all throughout the course … I was really ‘touched’ (Even literally, oh so many people touched me and i touched so many people on the whole route)

How can I not mention the ‘scream tunnel’ formed by the Wellesley college girls with ‘Kiss me’ placards in their hands – did I kiss anyone? Yes and No – with FINISH line (and my wife) in my mind – I settled with flying kisses … (and later looking at the ‘timing’ that I achieved, I was glad I did not ‘indulge’ – otherwise I might have missed my personal deadline of 6 hours)

27539	Thakkar, Harsh H.		M			CANADA	INDIA
Checkpoints 5k 10k 15k 20k Half 25k 30k 35k 40k 0:27:32 0:56:54 1:28:59 2:12:06 2:20:48 2:58:41 3:57:02 4:46:31 5:35:53 Finish Pace Projected Time Official Time Overall Gender Division 0:13:32   5:54:22 22434 13022 4636

Boston people were really amazing – I was exhausted at couple of places and I do feel i might not have reached the FINISH line without there never ending support. Thank YOU – Boston, Everyone & ALMIGHTY 🙂

[If you are interested, keep watching – I plan to share more here]

Tags: boston, boston marathon, marathon