Jenny Runs Boston – April 19, 2004

“You qualify for Boston, you run Boston.”

Our friends Julie and Marty, marathon veterans, said this in unison when they first heard of Jenny’s finishing time at the 2003 Chicago Marathon.

As newbies to the marathon scene, neither Jenny nor I had any idea how exceptional her 3:34 time in her marathon debut had been – it still stands as the Sodergren Family record, and it’s not even close!

(Jenny still chalks it up somewhat to the “ignorance is bliss” factor, oblivious to the fact that maintaining an 8:10/mile pace for 26.2 miles at her age was supposed to be difficult!)

We were also ignorant of the fact that in order to run in the Boston Marathon, a person must run a qualifying time for their age group and gender, and that running a BQ (Boston Qualifying) time is the Holy Grail for many marathon runners.

For many, it takes multiple marathons to achieve the qualifying standard, and most will never qualify.

And Jenny had run a BQ in her FIRST marathon!

Thanks to Julie and Marty, once we were made aware of the magnitude of Jenny’s accomplishment in Chicago, we immediately made plans for her to run in the 2004 Boston Marathon.

As Jenny trained throughout the winter months for the April race, I was continuing my journey into distance running, slowly increasing my endurance to the point where I could run up to 10 miles at a time.

The sport was definitely grabbing a hold of me, and I came to relish my daily runs, even when the temperatures dipped into single digits. The changes were unmistakeable – I was sleeping better, my energy level was off the charts, and my mood and anxiety level showed drastic improvement.

It was also during this time that I became a student of the history of the marathon. What I learned is that the marathon is a running event with an official distance of 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers) and is named after the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens.

The marathon was one of the original Olympic events in 1896. The races in the first few Olympic Games were not of a set length, but were approximately 25 miles (about 40 km), roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens.

The exact length of the Olympic marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue, and the distance did not become standardized until 1921.

The marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London was originally set to measure about 25 miles (40 km). However, the Princess of Wales wanted her children to watch the start of the race, so the starting line was moved to the east lawn of Windsor Castle, increasing its length to 26 miles (42 km).

The race was to finish at the Great White City Stadium in London. However, Queen Alexandra insisted on having the best view of the finish. So, in the words of the official Olympic report, “385 yards were run on the cinder track to the finish, below the Royal Box”. The length then became 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km).

(Incidentally, I discovered an interesting way to remember something about a marathon’s distance. All I had to do was place a “1” in the middle of the last four digits of our land-line phone number at the time, 286-4295, to get the 42,195 meters that comprise a marathon!)

But back to Boston.

Jenny’s cousin Angela lived in the Boston area at the time, and she graciously offered her home during our visit to Boston, as well as being our “tour guide”.

The day before the race, Jenny and I borrowed Angela’s car and drove the entirety of the point-to-point course from the Start line in a little town called Hopkinton all the way to downtown Boston, stopping along the way to check out the landmarks and take pictures.

We were definitely feeling the excitement building for Jenny’s participation in the world’s most prestigious marathon, despite the ominous predictions of record-high temperatures for race day.

As we made our way back to Hopkinton the next morning to take Jenny to the Start Line, we unfortunately found that the predictions were accurate, as the temperatures were already soaring before the race even began.

I was in awe of the calmness that Jenny was able to maintain even though she was facing 26.2 miles in 90 degree temperatures.

After taking a few pictures before the start and watching the field take off, Angela and her kids and I drove ahead to the town of Natick, which is near the 10 Mile mark of the race. By the time we navigated our way through the numerous detours caused by the race course, parked the car, and found a spot to watch the race, it did not take long for Jenny to come cruising by.

Despite the stifling heat, she was smiling, waving, and looking great!

We then drove up near Mile 17, where the runners make the turn at the Newton Fire Station to begin a series of roughly 4 miles of uphill running, culminating with the famous Heartbreak Hill.

Due to the heat, we were hearing numerous ambulances, and saw scores of runners being taken to the medical tents due to dehydration and cramping.

(We later learned that this particular race had the highest dropout rate of any Boston Marathon to date)

Much to my relief, Jenny once again came cruising by, and she was smartly carrying a bottle of water. Though she was slowing down slightly, she still looked great and flashed her “I Got This” smile to me and gave a quick thumbs-up!

Next, Angela decided that she wanted to drive me as close to the downtown area as possible so that I could try to see Jenny finish the race. Due to the traffic and blocked roads, we were able to get about 2 miles from the Finish line, so Angela told me to jump out and she would park the car. Now it was MY turn to run!

As I made my way through the sidewalks, lined with people at least 4 deep, my sense of pride and respect for what Jenny was doing continued to grow.

It was HOT! How in the world was she doing this?

I was finally able to get to Boylston Street, where the race finishes, but the logjam of people made it impossible to get any closer than 2 blocks from the finish.

Though disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to see her actually cross the Finish line, I decided to get away from Boylston Street and make my way PAST the finish line so that I could greet her AFTER she finished.

As I made my way beyond the Finish area, I could see a crowd of people gathering around someone on the street, so I decided to investigate. It turned out that the winner of the race, Timothy Cherigat of Kenya, had fulfilled his media obligations and was simply walking down the street, surrounded by well-wishers and fans. I was able to get a couple of pictures and his autograph on the race program.

The area beyond the finish looked like a MASH unit, with hundreds of runners getting ice bags to cool down, IV’s to rehydrate, and other medical attention.

Finally, I found Jenny in the Family Reunite area, her face caked with the salt from her sweat and, for the first time all day, looking a little bit in distress.

We had to get her cooled down and hydrated!

I ran over and got her a bag of ice to hold on the back of her neck, as well as some cold drinks, and after a few minutes she perked right up.

“How did you do that?” I whispered into her ear.

“Just one step at a time,” she replied.

I had a new mantra.

And a new goal.