Race Day The 114th Boston Marathon

SCROLL DOWN!!! NEW UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY!!!

5:06 a.m. At 9 p.m. last night, I remarked about the quiet in the hotel hallways. At 5 a.m. this morning, it is much different. There is a buzz of activity as people awaken and prepare to depart. I slept pretty well for the night before a race. The nervous energy and fluid consumption result in some extra waking moments during the night. WBZ-TV in Boston is displaying a temperature of 39 degrees right now. The Weather Channel website shows no rain on the radar, with the temperature predicted to be 49 degrees to start the race at 10 a.m. and increase to 57 degrees around the time I expect to finish.

5:42 a.m. I'm showered, dressed, all packed up and ready to head out. The sky is just beginning to brighten, which lets me see downtown Boston from across the Harbor. WBZ-TV is reporting there are approximately 1,000 runners from Europe who have been unable to travel is planned due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. The temperature has "warmed" to 40 degrees, and the forecast predicts winds from 10 to 20 mph from the northwest, which is supposed to be a crosswind...a bit better than last year's headwind...but I'd welcome the wind to shift just enough to be at our back.

5:50 a.m. I'm headed out. I'll catch the hotel shuttle to the subway, the blue train to the Government Center stop and switch to the green train for the trip to Boston Commons.


5:57 a.m. Change in Transportation plans. I'm in a water taxi to head across the Boston Harbor to downtown. The shuttle bus had just left, so it turned out this option was a bit quicker (and more interesting).

6:30 a.m. It was about a mile walk from the water taxi dock to the Boston Commons area, which is the departure point for busses to Hopkinton. I shared the journey from the hotel with Drew and Kerry from st. Louis.

7:15 a.m. Finally...on the bus...picture is the back of my yellow bus...Auburn fans are apparently everywhere. (It says "Auburn" in the bottom left corner).

8:30 a.m. The bus made it to hopkinton. The sun is out. It's windy and still cool. Time to find a port a john!
9:49 a.m. I'm just sitting and waiting. First wave begins at 10 am. Just had a flyover of two F-15 fighter jets. Pit o. Sunscreen. It's warming up but still windy.

10:04 a.m. Port-a-John, Trip #2:

10:24 a.m. Hamburgers and Fries on my mind....

10:32 a.m. Starting corral waiting for the starters gun

10:36 a.m.:

Finished Radical Experiment reading while waiting for the race to start.

Mr. Mendlebaum just yelled ,"it's go time."

Goal this year is to start slow and finish fast.

10:40 a.m.-Still Waiting....
10:43 a.m. It's Go Time!!


10:55 a.m. Somewhere in Mile 1...A leprechaun passed Greg and then proceeded to take off his leprecahaun suit. No word yet on if the leprechaun is now naked or just looks like a regular runner. (Note: Just got word, there were shorts underneath. Would have made for a good picture).

Very Unofficial Times:

Mile 1: 9:40

Mile 2: 9:00

Mile 3: 8:55

Mile 4: 8:56

Mile 5: 9:12

Mile 6: 9:16

Mile 7: IDK ("I don't know" in text lingo)

Mile 8: 9:17

Mile 9: 8:55

Somewhere along the way...12:19 p.m.: An Elvis Sighting!

Breaking News: Just got word that Greg did not win the Boston Marathon.

12:42 p.m. "I'm a Rock Star"

12:47 p.m. "Oh Oh, we are half way there. Oh, Oh, livin' on a prayer..." 2:03:07

Mile 16: 2:33:00

Mile 20: 3:16:00: Starting up Heartbreak Hill.

2:09 p.m. Heartbreak Hill suddendly seems insignificant...See picture!

2:13 p.m. Boston College/I made it up Heartbreak Hill!

2:24 p.m.: Just hit the 22 mile mark!

3:03 p.m.: So close, yet so far away... Fenway, Approx. 1 mile to go!

3:22 p.m.: Greg has finished! Approximate time: 4 Hours, 35 minutes. Official results soon!

Official Results:23849
Sankey, Gregory A.
Official Time: 4:35:52
Pace: 10:32
Overall Finish: 19890
Gender Finish: 11785
Age Division: 2226

Click Here to follow Greg throughout the day with more "official" times.

Thanks to everyone who followed Greg's journey today! Check back soon for more blog updates from the runner himself!

The Night Before Boston

If you are interested in following my progress through the day, but have not signed up for the AT&T Athlete Alert (see the earlier posts), you can visit http://www.baa.org/ and enter bib number 23849...or...the plan is to provide some posts for blog readers during the day on Monday.

When runners fill the rooms the night prior to a marathon, what is likely a busy hotel becomes incredibly quiet around 9 p.m. Such is the case this evening. It's shortly after 9 and the primary sound is from buckets of ice being filled at the ice machine near the end of the hall.

Registration at the Expo early in the morning, church at Reunion Christian Church, spaghetti lunch at an Italian restaurant in Boston's North End, a visit to Whole Foods for supplies, and a subway ride back to the hotel...that was my day prior to Patriot's Day in Massachusetts.

Based on my chronology from 2009, I'll wake up around 5:30 Monday morning. All my gear is packed, so the plan is to shower, brush my teeth and head out for the day. I expect to cross the start line at around 10:45 a.m., with a goal of finishing around four hours later.

Boston is the oldest marathon run in the United States. I am privileged to be joining in the 114th edition, and it is my hope to run well.

How Running the Marathon Affects the Body

For those wanting to see how sign up and follow my run in Boston, see the April 14 post (click the link or look below).

During the days leading up to a big marathon, the local media often provides some great information via feature articles on running, runners and the marathon culture.

This week, the Boston Globe is nicely filling the information void with some interesting articles on numerous marathon-related topics.

• Boston.com includes an article entitled, "Tales from the tail of the marathon,"which means something to me as my bib number is 23849 in a marathon of about 25,000 people. The article begins by telling the story of a man who participates in the marathon while pulling a wagon with oxygen bottles. I actually recall passing this runner in 2009, so it's nice for me to understand his story.
• "Evolution of the Boston Marathon Course" provides some perspective on the current Marathon course.
• You can also access an interactive map of the entire Boston Marathon course, which includes a description and information on elevation changes. Make sure to check out the Heartbreak Hill description at mile 21.

And, what I have found to be the most fascinating feature is a series of graphics and information on how running a marathon affects the body.

• Feet, heart, lungs, brain, leg and muscles are all described in a feature labeled How Running the Marathon Affects the Body. I have not yet had time to read each section, but the information on the feet and hearts appears interesting enough to suggest it's worth reading.

Follow Me in Boston

Below you will find instructions on how you can follow me via text messages or email during Monday's Boston Marathon.

The key piece of information you will need is my bib number, which will be 23849.

Also, on Monday I will begin updating my blog between 5 and 6 in the morning. I did this last year, and ended up with a pretty interesting (at least for me) journal of my day preparing for, participating in, and celebrating completion of the Boston Marathon. If you visit WatchGregRun on Monday, you will end up reading about my journey to the start line, what I do to keep myself warm and occupied while waiting in the Runner's Village, some pictures beginning in Hopkinton and finishing on Boylson Street in Boston, and notes on what is happening through the day.

Back to signing up for the text and/or email updates...

There are three different ways to sign up for the AT&T Athlete Alert program and the instructions are below:

TEXT - Simply text the word RUNNER to 31901 using your US mobile phone. You will then receive an sms text response with instructions on how to submit a runner’s bib number. (Message and data rates may apply. You will be opted in to receive four messages during the race. Send STOP to quit. Available on participating carriers AT&T, Alltel, Boost, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, and Virgin.)

EMAIL - Continue to the registration page for the AT&T Athlete Alert program on the race website. Sign-up using your mobile phone number for SMS text message updates, or by entering an email address for email updates.

I took the shortcut and just copied and pasted most of what is presented on the Boston Athletic Association's website. To register via email, you can go directly from Watch Greg Run to the AT&T Athlete Alert page on the Boston Athletic Association's website below for all the needed information.

If you register a mobile phone online, you will receive a message asking you to confirm your intention to receive updates from the 2010 Boston Marathon AT&T Athlete Alert Program. Once you’ve completed registration for AT&T Athlete Alert, you will receive text updates courtesy of AT&T and the Boston Marathon when your runner has crossed the following points on the course:

Starting line
10K
Half-Marathon
30K
Finish

Registration through the BAA website will close on race day, April 19th, at 6:00am. However, AT&T is pleased to announce that registration via mobile phone text messaging (for US mobile phones only) will remain open during the marathon.

And Now, Back To The Blog...

It's been a while.

I expect I've lost my dedicated 18 followers and assorted others who deny the guilty pleasure of reading Watch Greg Run.

But, just in case anyone is still interested, I'm still running.

For 15 consecutive months, since December 2008, I ran at least one marathon each month. There were 16 marathons in all during that time. My finishing time ranged from 3 hours and 55 minutes to just a smidge over 5 hours (it was actually 10 minutes over 5 hours). The total distance covered in races was just over 419 miles. The training distance during those 15 months was something greather than 2,000 miles, but less than 3,000 miles.

So, you might imagine I had pretty much run and written myself out. Now, however, it's time to move forward.

I have completed one marathon since my last post. The Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama (home of the international offices for Watch Greg Run) is held in mid-February. It's a marathon I have finished five times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010). My best time in the Mercedes was 4 hours, 1 minute, which I consider to be the worst possible time for a marathon. A little over a minute quicker in that one and I'd have broken the magical four hour mark.

2010 was special as my time was a personal record (in Birmingham) of 3 hours, 59 minutes and 14 seconds, a time I achieved without the benefit of a watch. As happens to me every so often, I pushed the wrong button on my watch around mile 8, which I failed to discover for about a mile.

Oh, and the really great thing about running a marathon close to home is that the entire staff from the Watch Greg Run home office show up for the post race picture.

Daisy and Me

During the last few days, I have enjoyed reading various running blogs detailing trail runs through the mud, interval training that leaves one feeling the nausea, and long runs completed in preparation from a spring marathon event.

On my blog, you get a picture of me and Daisy Duck.

As I continue to catch up on my Disney Marathon experience, I'm sure you can appreciate the merchandising aspect attached to the event. Which means I could buy this photo for only $19.99. And, unlike my iPhone pictures in earlier posts, me and Daisy enjoyed a pro who used a real camera to create this memory.

Sadly, once the picture was taken, Daisy and her helpers had enjoyed their fill of my presence so I was quickly ushered off for a picture with Lilo and Stitch. I opted out of the second photo opportunity, so I hope you enjoy me and Daisy.

I'll publish some chronology of a leg burning, lung searing long training run in the near future. For now, this is the best I can do.

Finishing Goofy's Challenge

It has taken me two weeks to thaw following my run at Disney World! Seriously, it was that cold.

Should you ever choose to run the Walt Disney World Marathon, let me offer a few advisory opinions:

1. Pay the extra money and purchase your entry to the "Race Retreat." The Race Retreat is a tent, with tables, chairs, food, drink, televisions and...most importantly...Daisy Duck. On marathon day, it was windy and the temperatures were in the 20s. I had purchased the Race Retreat, which helped me stay reasonably comfortable prior to the race. I did not bring enough gear to wait outside, which made the Race Retreat well worth the cost.

2. If you run the Goofy's Challenge, you will be fully aware of the physical challenge of running 39.3 miles in two days. I missed the reality of sleep deprivation, since the early race start means the wake up call is made to your room at 3 a.m. Eastern.

3. Don't enter these races with the idea you are going to set a personal record. I suppose it can happen, but you should plan to enjoy running through the parks. Because the course is flat, if you are in one of the front starting corrals, I am certain you can move right along with great speed. But my advice is to slow down, take a picture or two with a character (or three characters), and enjoy the experience!

The picture shows me with my new friends The Country Bears in Frontierland of the Magic Kingdom.

4. Wear your medals around all day, including to the airport after the race...everyone else does!

With that advice, let me say right up front the hardest part of my Sunday marathon came on Saturday evening. At the end of Saturday's half marathon, I was wet inside and out, my socks, shoes, hat, gloves and pretty much everything was wet. What started as sleet finished as rain which, combined with the wind and cold, gave me a chill that would not go away. Combined with the loss of my running tights, still freezing weather, wind, overcast and just a general non-enjoyable climate, when it was time for dinner on Saturday evening, I told Cathy (my wife), "I know what it takes mentally to run a marathon and I'm not in any frame of mind to do this tomorrow."

She gets credit for pushing the proper motivational button by asking, "You've never quit a marathon, have you?" The answer, mile 20 in Nashville 2006. I'd had enough, was schedule to run two weeks later in Denver, it was hot, and I've regretted it ever since.

So, the 3 a.m. wake up call happened again on Sunday, just like on Saturday. I got myself going, out the door, on the bus and in the Race Retreat tent where I found a bean bag chair near a TV showing the movie, "Up!," which took my mind off the weather reality outside.

For the start of the race, the temperature was 28 degrees, with a wind chill estimated at 17. Did I mention I was at Disney World?!

The cold caused me to ignore Rule #1 of marathoning, which is "Never do something for the race you have not done during a training run." I had a pair of nylon sweat pants, which I decided at the very last minute to wear for the first few miles of the race. The first few miles became 26.2 miles which, combined with four layers of shirts up top, two sets of gloves and two sets of hand warmers, kept my temperature relatively tolerable.

The early start time means I ran the first nine miles in the dark. But, the great part of the marathon's first few miles is you wind through Epcot's International Showcase, which is all lit up for great viewing. The iPhone did not take a good picture until we entered the Magic Kingdom for the run down Main Street U.S.A. If you look at my Main Street picture from Saturday's run, you will see the Christmas Tree all lit up in the dark. Add a few more miles and the sun is up for Sunday's run through the Magic Kingdom!

At any age, I think it would be fun to run through the Disney Parks. I have walked through Cinderella's Castle on many occasions, but I've never taken a picture in the Castle until I was running through its passageway. If you look closely, you can see all the runners in their cold weather gear as the head through the Castle.

But, when you leave each of the Parks the run in between is not all that exciting. I give the Disney folks credit for trying to add interesting sights, signs and people as you run the flat roads that take you from the Magic Kingdom to the Animal Kingdom, but the run takes you by the waste water treatment plant. There's only so much you can do to make the waste water treatment plant interesting.

The reward for tolerating the boring roads is entry in to the Animal Kingdom. I'm the guy in the cold weather outfit between Rafiki and the safari staff. The Animal Kingdom is at mile 17 of the run, which is a good time to take your mind off the run. During my run through the Animal Kingdom I used the iPhone to call Cathy with a request for her map analysis skills to be put to use. Meaning, I wanted her to tell me the mile marker when I left Animal Kingdom (mile 18) and then the mile marker when I would enter what used to be known as MGM Studios (now Disney Hollywood Studios), which would happen at mile 22. That information served as helpful motivation, rather than leaving me to wonder when I would make it to the next park.

So far, none of the parks had been fully open to the public as we ran through. That changed when we ran through Disney's Hollywood Studios and the added crowd made it a bit more fun. However, the best character picture of the day occurred midway through Hollywood Studios. If you have seen the movie, "The Incredibles," you may remember Frozone, whom I met at mile 23. Frozone felt right at home today in Orlando.

The race leaves the Studios Park, without a ride on the Tower of Terror or the Rock 'n Roller Coaster, to head toward the Boardwalk area, where Cathy was waiting just before mile marker 25.

After a quick wave and visit, the race enters the "back entrance" of Epcot, which offered a great opportunity for a picture. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the bright sunshine and blue sky paint a multi-word picture of a warm Florida day. As nice as it looks, I think the temperature was still in the upper 30s at this point. It was, however, a much nicer way to finish a race than the rain, cold, gray, wind of Saturday.

And, I did it! 39.3 miles, two races, three different medals, and my 14th consecutive month of running a marathon.

For February, it's back to Birmingham for the Mercedes Marathon!!