It could have been SO much worse!What a risk we marathoners take! After months of training and preparation, and hundreds or even thousands of dollars in travel expenses, one can only hope for ideal weather conditions to fall on marathon day. We certainly hadn’t planned on the challenges we were to face on April 17, but we were well prepared. The 2007 Boston Marathon will go down in history with its dire prediction of the worst weather ever and plenty of bragging rights. The forecast even led to rumors of canceling the 111 year old event and forced many runners to contemplate withdrawal (I have to confess being one of them). The eve of marathon day found many of us staring at our television screens, studying the Doppler radar heading up the coast. We spent hours trying to figure out what to wear, not knowing what the next morning would bring.
Despite the impending Nor’ Easter, the 2007 Boston Marathon went on, and most runners stayed the course. Weather conditions, although far from ideal with fierce headwinds of up to 30 mph coming out of the Southeast and lots of puddles to trudge through, didn’t produce the monsoon-like horizontal downpours and 50-60 mph gusts originally expected. Wave one experienced a downpour while waiting in the corrals, and wave two was showered about 5 miles into the marathon. The biggest challenge was the wind, which picked up in intensity as we migrated ever closer to Boston Proper. The overall finisher rate of 99% was actually higher than normal. Every single one of our Beyond marathoners finished, most a bit slower after adjusting expectations, but all crossed the magnificent finish line on Boylston Street. You can check out the finishers at this website Ralph Meyer passed along…just type in the runner’s clock time: Boston Finish Line!
This wasn’t the first time Kalamazoo runners have overcome severe forces of Mother Nature. In 1980, the Kalamazoo Klassic was run a month after the tornado that tore through downtown Kalamazoo. In 1997, the Klassic was run the morning after a severe storm knocked out power and downed trees canceling many events, except of course the Klassic! This winter’s training, which was one of the most challenging ever, no doubt helped to prepare us mentally for the challenge. We were most thankful for the gracious hospitality of the Tracey family as they welcomed us into their home, a warm, dry refuge from the rain, wind and flooding of Athletes Village.
The Beyond Marathoners were sent off to beantown with plenty of media hype and group support. The mock 4-mile Freedom Run held by Gazelle Sports kicked off the week leading up to Boston, along with a story highlighting some of our local Boston stars. If you haven’t seen it, check out the Kalamazoo Gazette article on Jennifer Shaffer, Marty Buffenbarger, Steve Downard, Sherrie Mann and Francine Bangs.
Kalamazoo Boston Marathon Story
Even though many runners, including the elites finished 5 to 15 minutes slower than usual due to the fierce headwinds, Jennifer Shaffer and Sherrie Mann both managed to set brand new PR’s of 3:02 and 3:41. Speaking of Jennifer, her celebrity status didn’t stop with the Kalamazoo Gazette. She was interviewed by the Running Network shortly after crossing the finish line! Marty Buffenbarger managed to befriend Kevin Hanson of the Hanson’s Distance Project, and made a referral of our Beyond elite! Could KAR lose Jen to “The Project?” After starting at the back of the more than 3000 runners in the Freedom Run Jen and Bonnie Sexton unofficially won the 2.5 mile FUN run, finishing up front with fellow Michigander and world record holder (73 marathons under 2:20) Doug Kurtis. Isolated rumors were reported that they were held back only by the orange-clad officials from B.A.A. Jen and Bonnie were also 2 of the 3 scoring members of the Women’s Open Front Line Racing Team who took 7th overall. What is even more amazing, Jen broke the Boston women’s Front Line record, formerly held by Mary Beth Reader! Brenda Stoddard was one of the scoring members of the Front Line masters team, who took 3rd place overall, and its highest finish ever!
Francine Bangs finished her first Boston at age 66, and managed to re-qualify! Sherrie Mann and Brian Dobbie ran the entire 26.2 together, as did Monica Lynch and Cindy Owen. Our other Boston stars were Russell Bertch, Timothy Bredahl, Pat Johnson, Glen Kellam, Pam McBride, Ralph Meyer, Patti Montilla, Cheryl O’Neil, Bob Poznanski, and Jon Willard.
What were they thinking? The bib numbers for the baggage drop were not waterproof…..and many wore off. Jen Shaffer, Brian Dobbie, Russ Bertch, and Bonnie Sexton were among those whose bags could not be found due to eroded numbers. Russ had to climb aboard the baggage bus and have the baggage drop workers call his cell phone to locate his bag, and Bonnie’s was found in a Ryder truck, only identifiable by the extra set of hot pink Brooks peaking through the top!
Despite the unique challenges brought on by the storm, each of the Kalamazoo Beyond Boston Marathoners returned home a star, with an extra special, very unique story to tell. Congratulations to all!
Although they didn’t fight the ravages of a Nor’Easter, our Glass City Marathoners trained through the same tough winter and covered their 26.2 closer to home in Toledo. Congratulations to Michael Ryan, Beth Gross and Gordon Hare on their excellent Glass City finishes Sunday!
