Boston 2019
On Patriots Day 2019, I finally had reached the Mecca of marathon running: Boston. It turned out to be a day I would never forget: It included my most challenging and painful hours as a runner. But it also included crossing the coveted finish line on Boylston Street after a wild ride through the elements on Massachusetts roads. And doing so on one leg....
Training and race prep
No two ways about it. Training for Boston went extremely well. I was cruising through all workouts, which mostly took place along the Nymphenburg Canal, Olympic Park and along Lake Starnberg. In all modesty, I was in great shape. But in mid-March things started falling part: I overdid things with several hard workouts back to back, plus long-haul travel. And my left shin started hurting. An MRI didn't reveal any issues, resting helped the situation a bit. But the leg wasn't right. And deciding to do one last long run one week before the race probably put the nail in the proverbial coffin. Heading to Boston, my leg felt iffy. I was limping on the shakeout run. Things would get worse the next day.
The course
Boston is a very, very challenging course. No doubt. With the race taking place in April, there is also a very good chance that runners will need to master the course in crazy weather. The heat of 2017. The perfect storm of 2018 (the year I ran, 2019, offered a pre-start thunderstorm, followed by jungle-type humidity and heat and wind and rain to close things out). Weather aside, the course starts in Hopkinton, the weaves through several New England towns. It includes the infamous Scream Tunnel at Wellesley College and of course the FOUR daunting Newton Hills, starting at around mile 16. The ultimate reward awaits when runners turn "right on Hereford and left on Bolyston" to finish the race. The course is quite hilly (though net downhill on the first half), with good crowd support in most places. The trick is to start out conservatively and preserve your quads before you reach the Newton Hills. Going out too fast easily leads to disaster on this course.
My race
After almost 5 1/2 hours, when I crossed the finish line limping, I couldn't take one more step. The pain was excrutiating. Later, back in Germany, I would learn that I had suffered a stress fracture in my left tibia, stemming from the earlier shin problems. In Boston, my problems started early and my first trip to the medical tent happened at the foot of the Newton Hills. They patched me up with electrolytes (as I was dehydrated). But the bigger issue was the leg, which was deteriorating quickly. I essentially limped the last 16 kilometers on one leg. Up the hills, past Boston College, and down to Boston. I would later be wheelchaired back to my hotel - and headed to the hospital from there. I very much regret that Boston 2019 will always be this painful experience, but I am still very proud to have finished the race.
And Boston is unfinished business for me: I will be back one day. Healthy and ready to crush it.