Bring back the Innocence: Boston Marathon 2013

It has now been a week since the 2013 Boston Marathon. Too much has gone on since 2:49 p.m. on that Monday afternoon. Like others I have been glued to the internet and the television for the past week trying to make sense of such a depraved act. Within minutes of hearing of the bombings at the end of my day teaching school, my initial thoughts and online message was, "Thoughts are with my friends and all the runners and fans at the Boston Marathon finish line. This is a simple sport and certainly is not a place for violence." My thinking has not changed one iota since that moment. While my sentiments have not changed during the past week, my mind has had to suffer the questions of who could do this? my eyes have seen photos and videos I would never care to see, and my heart has been ripped by the hurt and pain caused to so many people, my race, and the people of Boston.

The Boston Marathon is dear to my heart. It has woven itself through my life for decades starting in 1968 while as a third grader I decided I wanted to run that race in Boston. The night before this year's race, I started rereading Joe Falls 1977 edition of the book, The Boston Marathon. As I was reading, I was reminded how simple and innocent it was to be a runner back then. Here is a quote from the first chapter, "The runners is Boston seem special. Maybe it's because they are all God's children. They seem to understand charity and they seem to understand discipline. How many times in the course of 80 years has one runner paused to aid another runner. That's charity. And who will ever know of all the discipline that they put into their lives in order to prepare themselves to run in this race, this arduous test of one's self." How could someone decide to wreak havoc on such a race and onto such people?

As the violence of the bombing became known, I felt for the runners who nearing the finish of such a monumental goal, were stopped. Many were so close to fulfilling months of training and years of dreaming. As I learned more of the circumstances and those most injured or killed by the bomb, I realized most of the victims were spectators.  One of the biggest thrills of running Boston is the hundreds of thousands of fans along the route that cheer on all runners or their own friends and family members. Those who run Boston know how important the fans are to the event. Yet it seems that most of the injured were these fans who came to cheer on the runners. They are such good people to do that!

I can also say, that throughout the news of the event, I often thought of the volunteers and staff of the B.A.A. Marathon. I often thought of race director Dave McGillivray who so kindly let me run the whole "Midnight Shift" of the 2000 Boston Marathon with him (video). I know how thorough and prepared he is with the race each year and just knew that this must tear at his gut. I know many people that volunteer at the finish line or work as race announcers and I was wondering what was happening and if they were O.K. So much planning and hard work by runners and volunteers and staff at the Marathon and those are all good and noble things and I can't comprehend the savage need to attempt to destroy all of that.

In the week prior to the Boston Marathon, I was wishing I had rewritten my review of Bill Rodgers new autobiography Marathon Man. I felt like I had missed my favorite part of the book, not that it was anything insightful  but it is because of what I admire about Bill Rodgers and what I really think that running (at least for me) is all about in the end. Bill Rodgers just loved to run and the passages of him as a kid and an adult portrays his childlike enthusiasm and enjoyment with the physical act of running and being out in nature. We learn about him running through the woods with abandon all the while looking around at the birds and the woods. Running to me is all about getting back to the element of just freely running around like a kid and enjoying every second of it. I have seen Bill like this in a race and it still amuses me. I remember a 5 mile race in 2006 run before a major rainstorm that Bill Rodgers was at. After finishing, I went back to cheer other finisher on. It finished on a road over a dam. Everyone looked determined and miserable due to the race conditions until Bill Rodgers came into view. I watched with complete amusement as Bill headed right for all the puddles on the side of the road so that he could splash through the puddles as he ran. To me that is pure Bill Rodgers and after all the racing and miles that he has put in, I was so happy that to see that splashing in puddles still made running fun!

That is the running innocence that I don't want to lose. I still don't cut my hair short, because there is something about running and feeling it flop around behind you like Billy's hair or Pre's hair or any runner's hair from the 1970s. The other reason is it is one of the few things I can think of that cost money to have something taken from you! The innocence of youthful running,, legs stretching out, jumping over obstacles and cornering around trees, no care in the world, good stuff to hang a lifetime on; running. As I implore my failing legs to restore their carefree youthful moves and looseness, I so want running to return to those days. And maybe not just for my body.

Back when I started running in 9th grade at Falmouth High School, we were given an anthology of short stories to read. One of the stories was called "See How they Run" by George Harmon Cox (written in 1941). You can now find the story in The Runner's Literary Companion: Great Stories and Poems About Running. In this story based on the Boston Marathon a young collegiate miler decides to run the The Boston Marathon because his father is dying and can't. This would make the 20th consecutive race for his father. I remember reading this story multiple times to get a "feel" for the race. It seemed so simple and innocent in those days (I assume it was somewhat factual) with the competitors meeting together before the race at a barn and the camaraderie of the older participants. I guess newer marathoners would also consider it quaint that I remember running Boston in the early 1980s and hanging out in the school on Ash Street on the Village Green in Hopkington. You could just wander in like in many smaller road races today and sit in the hallways and stretch. The young Johnny Burke is somewhat cocky at the start, but in the end he learns about the race and himself and gets the girl. What more could someone want from a race. That was extra motivation for myself to get out their and run Boston someday. I ran my first marathon in Dallas in 1977 and it took 8 more attempts before I beat the 2:50 qualifying time in 1981 so that I could finally run Boston in 1982. That is over 200 miles of marathon running just to get a shot to run Boston. Qualifying was always in my mind and Boston was firmly entrenched in my blood. I remember thinking I would be one of the runners that ran it every year, but my interests changed after having a streak of two races (I ran in 1983 as a bandit in 3:07, but was given a medal despite my protest that I had no number. I was told that I was fast enough to get the medal by a volunteer. This was the first year that Boston gave out medals.) At that 1983 race, I heard about the Cape Cod Endurance Triathlon and I went from being a marathoner to a triathlete. Injuries, life, and other circumstances have meant I have only done about 8 Boston Marathons. I have lost count and will have to research my results someday to find out how many I have actually done, but I found 7 medals (plus 1981) so that makes 8, or 7 if you disallow banditting in 1983.If I don't run Boston however, I am always at the marathon expo and watching the race and being thrilled by the whole day each and every year.

Jon Sinclair and Kim Jones.

Strangely enough this year was the most low key, I have been about the race. I didn't do a big production like I usually do at school, although my class watched the finishes with me! I went to the expo and met and had nice conversations with both with Kim Jones and her husband Jon Sinclair as well as Steve Jones (no relation, but the former world record holder in the marathon). I was laughing as I read Joe Falls 1977 book that night on the Boston Marathon In the foreword to the book, he wrote, " The amazing thing is that no one named "Jones" has ever won the the Boston Marathon. You'd think they have four or five Joneses by now. They have had a Smith, and a Brown and a Hill and an Anderson, There have been two Kelley's, Johnny The Elder and Johnny the Younger. But there was also a Yun Bok Suh, an Eiino Oksanen, an Edouard Fabre, and an Aurele Vandendriessche." I don't think that the author in 1977 anticipated the deluge of African runners who would go on to win Boston. Heck we have even had two different Robert Cheruiyots win the race. Still, no Jones has triumphed, as I laughed that I met two Joneses that tried. Kim Jones (ha, I looked at Kim's wikipedia page and then remembered that the person talking to Kim before I did took a picture on his Ipad and said it would be on Wikipedia soon and there it was!) twice finished second at Boston (read her excellent book) and Steve Jones also was a second place finisher in 1987.

It is hard to recapture the race memories before hearing of the bombing. The winners will never get their due and I haven't even yet read over the race stories or find out how all my friends did (if I didn't hear their times before the bomb). I do know that all my friends are safe, but I also know that one para at the school I work at was hit with debris from the bomb and still has shrapnel in her head and body. She will be OK. I also have heard that Jeff Bauman, the spectator in that horrible photograph taken of him with missing legs in the bomb's aftermath works at a Costco in my city of Nashua.

In retrospect, I would like to reflect on that Joe Falls' quote from 1977,  "The runners is Boston seem special. Maybe it's because they are all God's children. They seem to understand charity and they seem to understand discipline." Lets remember that and not lose the innocence and fun and the work of running The Boston Marathon. I know it is a big business now, but every runners personal achievement is not about business, but rather about finding ways to enjoy and benefit from living a happy and childlike life that is full of wonder and perseverance  If that is missing, then maybe you missed out on the point of running.

Thing to reflect on:

1) Do not lose the innocence of running. Run with childlike abandon.Splash through puddles.
2) Learn to understand the hate and violence. Do not resort to hate or violence in your life.
3) Pray for and do whatever you can for those affected my the marathon violence.
4) Thank the fans and volunteers. They create the experience that us runners enjoy.
5) Get my body working, so that I can qualify and run Boston in 2014. We cannot let evil and hatred win. This is our race and our sport!

There was a race on Monday. Here are the highlights.

10 Best Running Books of 2012

This is my list of the top 10 running related books that I read this year. The links will take you to my more extensive reviews.

1) Dandelion Growing Wild by Kim Jones This was the most unexpectedly wonderful book that I read this year and it has stuck with me more-so than other books. Reading about world class marathoner Kim Jones' life and triumphs over the many adversities placed in her pathway from her childhood to her retirement from competitive running. The details read like fiction at first, but she deals with life's challenges from a humane and understanding perspective. You better get the Kindle version. A new copy of the paperback version is now selling for over $400 on Amazon! A newly edited paperback version will should be back on at Amazon next week according to Kim.


2) The Purple Runner by Paul Christman Not a new book, but a reissue of a classic running book that was hard to find, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. This is one of the best fiction books you will find about running.





3) Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn I would certainly like to do what Finn did! He journeys to Kenya's Rift Valley  to live and train with the Kenyans to see if it would improve his running and to shine a light into the world of the Kenyan distance runners and their hopes and dreams.




4) Running for my Life by Lopez Lomong A wonderful story of survival with Lopez Lomong's journey from war torn Sudan, to a being a lost boy in a refuge camp in Kenya, to journeying to the United States where he becomes a high school runner and eventually a two-time Olympian for the USA. What a life!




5) 14 Minutes by Alberto Salazar The great American marathoner, Alberto Salazar, and his 14 minute brush with death to a heart attack. The book details the career of this great American runner and coach.





6) The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton This book is not really about running, but it makes you wonder if the same drug culture is/was as prevalent in running. This book was certainly one of the final nails in Lance Armstrong's coffin. If you want an honest look at how the cycling superstars kept their pedals in the game and their feet on the top of the winner's podium, then you should read this book.



7) Move Without Pain by Martha Peterson This is the only "exercise" book on my list although I have checked into many others. I use this as a go to book when I want to do Somatic movement exercises. It is a well thought out and presented book and the movements work!




8) Because I Can by Janet Oberholtzer Never give up! Janet is nearly killed in an horrific automobile accident and is told she may never walk again. Janet details the recovery process and the changes it made on her body and in her soul. Yes, Janet returns to running. This is an inspiring read!




9) I'm Here To Win: A World Champion's Advice for Peak Performance by Chris McCormack I didn't review this book, but Chris tells the story of how he became one of the greatest triathletes in the world and his eventual wins in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Chris details the mental aspects of the game. He had to think like Mohammed Ali and plan out his triumphant race strategy in advance and get other triathletes in on his plan even when though they did not realize this.. Here is Chris McCormack on his 2010 Ironman Championship win.




10 A Life Without Limits: A World Champion's Journey by Chrissie Wellington I did not review this book on probably one of the greatest female triathletes of all time. Chrissie wrote more of a "gee-whiz look what I just did" account of her triathlon successes. I liked the thinking, training, and facing bits in Chris's book better as she does not go into the nitty gritty of what it takes to be a sports superstar. However, you do get a glimpse into her "well-lived" life and her many interests and accomplishments outside of triathlon racing. Here is Chrissie winning her fourth and final Hawaii Ironman World Championship, including her Blazeman roll. She said she has retired from triathlon just last month.



Some of the other running related  books I have read this year:

Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by William Davis. I read half of this and was convinced to try going gluten-free. It seems to be working quite well for me one month later. The book was heavy on the science and you can find most of the gluten-free  information you would want online. The bread of today is not the bread that people ate for ages!

Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention by Jay Dichary I think this is one of the best and most up to date books I have read on injuries and injury prevention. You can learn to be your own physical therapist!

Tread Lightly: Form, Footwear, and the Quest for Injury-Free Running By Bill Katovsky and Peter Larson of the highly regarded Runblogger blog.

Natural Running: The Simple Path to Stronger, Healthier Running by Danny Abshire and Brian Metzler Another book on how to run post "Born to Run" I was told that this post would be sent to Danny Abshire, but I never got a response. I got my questions and feet problems answered through Muscle Activation Technique (M.A.T.) and no longer wear orthotics and my feet and big toe are landing on the ground much better now!

Movement by Gray Cook It was much cheaper to buy the Kindle edition. It is not worth reading on a Kindle. I haven't read much of it, due to that fact. I would want to browse and leaf through this book to find what I want, not push Kindle buttons.

Corrective Exercise Solutions to Common Shoulder and Hip Dysfunction by Evan Osar Here is another book that I should have bought a hard copy version of instead of the much cheaper Kindle version. It is not easy to find what you want on a Kindle.

Marathon Crasher: The Life and Times of Merry Lepper, the First American Woman to Run a Marathon by David Davis This is a short 48 page book on a little known American woman and her achievement that has widely been overlooked.

Happy running and reading to everyone in 2013! I will gladly take recommendations of other books to read, as I am always looking for a good book!

Here are two books I am looking forward to reading in 2013.

Kings of the Road: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom by Cameron Stracher. I know that this book has been in the works for a couple of years and that the Falmouth Road Race plays an important part in it! Due out in April.

For fans of The Perfect Mile and Born to Run, a riveting, three-pronged narrative about the golden era of running in America—the 1970s—as seen through running greats, Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar

In 1972 American distance runner Frank Shorter won Olympic gold in the marathon, a history-making accomplishment that launched a seminal decade in the sport.
Kings of the Road tells the story of running during that golden period from 1972 to 1981 when Shorter, then Bill Rodgers, and then Alberto Salazar captured the imagination of a disillusioned American public, as they passed their figurative baton from one to another. These three menwere American running during those years, and though all three toed the line together only a few times—at the legendary Falmouth Road Race—they gave their sport real conflict and drama for the first time. Each man built on what the other achieved, and their successes, in turn, fueled a nation of couch potatoes to put down the remote and lace up their sneakers.
As America now experiences a similar running boom, Kings of the Road delivers a stirring narrative of three men pushing themselves toward greatness and taking their country along for the ride.

Marathon Man: My 26.2-Mile Journey from Unknown Grad Student to the Top of the Running World by Bill Rodgers and Matthew Shepatin This one is also due out in April. Bill Rodgers will be signing lots of books at the Boston Marathon this year. I have his first biography from 1982  and it will be fun to read a new one!

The legendary long-distance runner details his historic victory in the 1975 Boston Marathon that launched the modern running boom

Within a span of two hours and nine minutes, Bill Rodgers went from obscurity to legend, from Bill Rodgers to "Boston Billy." In doing so, he instantly became the people’s champ and the poster boy for the soulful 1970s distance runner. Having won the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon four times each, he remains the only marathoner to have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice. Winning the Holy Grail of marathons in an unthinkable record time changed Bill’s life forever.
But his dramatic breakthrough in Boston also changed the lives of countless others, instilling in other American runners the belief that they could follow in his footsteps, and inspiring thousands of regular people to lace up their shoes and chase down their own dreams. In the year before Rodger’s victory at the 1975 Boston Marathon, 20,000 people had completed a marathon in the United States. By 2009, participants reached nearly half a million.
Thirty-seven years later Bill Rodgers still possesses the same warm, endearing, and whimsical spirit that turned him into one of America's most beloved athletes. In Marathon Man he details for the first time this historic race and the events that led him there.

Kim Jones: Dandelion Growing Wild

Kim was a Reebok runner for two years
because of Alberto Salazar.

Kim Jones ranks as one of America's most accomplished marathon runners. She could be found at the front of many prestigious marathons in the 1990s including second place finishes at both the Boston and New York City Marathons. I recall hearing about her asthma problems and that she had two daughter when she was quite young before becoming a marathon star. Other than that all I knew was  that she was that blond pigtailed runner consistently rated as a top marathoner, but who never made it to the Olympics. When I saw she had an autobiography out, I decided to read it to find out more about this American runner.

Dandelion Growing Wild: A triumphant journey over astounding odds by American marathon champion Kim Jones is a wonderful and heartbreaking story about overcoming adversity . It is not really a running story, as that is not the most remarkable thing about it. Kim grew up knowing poverty and pain. She would eat whatever she could find, even cow feed, due to her hunger and lack of food at times. Her family is a picture of family dysfunction, with more mental illness, suicides, and tragedies than you would think possible. The first third of the story deals with her family and upbringing. It is a horrible glimpse into the lives of people who try to cope with adversity, poverty, and struggling to overcome poor choices and genetics that lead to many family members struggling with schizophrenia and other diseases of the mind.

It is hard to put down the book as you read about Kim's family life, but you know that eventually she will find out that she has a gift for running and that everything will turn out all right in the end. Of course, you would be wrong if you believed that! Kim does discover she is a tremendously talented runner despite having a crooked toe that gets in the way of her running stride. You also realize, through her writing, that Kim is blessed with an empathetic personality that is gracious towards those in her life who can't quite get it together. She does find that she is a great runner in high school, only to end up pregnant as a 16 year old. Kim's life is full of these moments that she must overcome. I noticed three things in the book that were just glossed over, but that could have added to the tragedies in her life. While living as a successful runner in Spokane, she had chillingly close encounters with a serial rapist, a serial killer, and a stalker who followed her on runs and knew all sorts of information on her. While still a child, she avoided an encounter with a child-molesting grandfather. Those are the things that didn't happen, wait until you read and find out the many terrible things that did happen.

Kim eventually rises above her upbringing and makes her way towards being a successful marathon runner. The second third of the book deals with her running career and it serves as a great reminder to the steadiness of her career, how close she kept getting to winning Boston or New York, and how bad things seemed to hit her right at all the important moments like the Olympic Trials races.

The final third (much shorter) of the book seems almost like a fairy book ending and starts after an accident before a race crushed her foot and led her to retire from racing. It almost started to feel Disney-esque in its happiness and outcomes. Kim's new boyfriend, Jon Sinclair who was one of America's top road runners for years, just happened to be the guy that she saw on television years earlier and inspired her as she decided to run her first race. Her two daughters had grown up and were doing fine. Then, one final and immense tragedy befalls Kim. You have to wonder how much she can take. You also see how she has grown beyond the family troubles that have left siblings and family members in mental institutions and prisons.

I really enjoyed reading Kim's book and getting a personal glimpse into the triumphs and tragedies of her life. She is a very much a wonderful story teller. I appreciated how well she connected elements from her childhood to events in her adult life. This is not a book just for runners. It is an true American story of pulling oneself up from the bottom rungs of society  to reach the top with her many achievements. On a lighter note here are three things I learned about Kim (1) she likes to eat - a lot! (2) she likes to watch classic television - a lot and (3) she likes to clean - a lot! The most important thing about Kim, though,  is how she loves and brings up her two daughters.

Here is a recent Runner's World interview with Kim Jones that informed me about the book.