::TRUMPET FANFARE::
The. Boston. Marathon. This is it. The big one. Honestly, it’s probably the apex of my running career. But that’s ok. It was a tough, occasionally hidden, road to get here. Now that it’s here, it’s pretty surreal. But before we fall into any sappy, nostalgic mumbojumbo, I’ll give you a quick preview of what’s about to happen this weekend. 
First up, the race is on Monday. Why? Because it’s Patriots’ Day, a holiday only celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine (because Massachusetts used to own Maine) to remember the battles of Lexington and Concord. So Marathon Monday is the big day, not Sunday. So we’ll have Saturday and Sunday to hit the expo (sorry, bank account, this is gonna hurt) and take it easy around Boston.
Second, and usually my favorite topic to harp on, is the weather. For Monday things look great! High of 52, Low of 43, no chance of rain, and a light breeze. Perfect for running, not super for spectating. However, since the course starts 26 miles away from Boston and runs into town, it isn’t ideal for superfans to watch the race. On a loop course, you can scurry from spot to spot as I run around. But when running in a straight line, things get difficult logistically. We’ll be planning over the weekend to see how Ev might be able to spot us along the course other than near the finish.
Based on our qualifying time, Colin and I are starting shortly after 10am EDT. However, we have to load into the bus around 6:30am to get ourselves out to the starting line, and then wait around for a couple hours. If you want to follow along, I’m number 4437 (app for iPhone, app for Android). Leave a comment below if you want to receive emails of my progress (4 emails total). As for a target finish time, there is none. Seriously. Like double seriously. Since I scrapped my sub-3 hour goal, all other times are equal. Ultimately 3:21 vs 3:44 vs 4:06 won’t make a difference; my main goal is to have fun!
And now, in just a few days, we’ll be running the 117th edition of the Boston Marathon. It’s hard to put into words the magnitude of my excitement.
I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!! I’d love to receive email updates. Hope y’all have such a blast. I’ll be rooting you and Colin on from ATX 🙂
You got it. Thanks so much Jordan!
Mike, we are all so proud. Have a fantastic time.
4:06 would make a difference to me. That won’t happen.
I knew I’d get your attention with that 🙂 Don’t worry, it won’t happen. But the point still stands. I’m predicting high 3:20s or low 3:30s.
You’ve worked so hard to get here and you’ll be absolutely fantastic! I’d love e-mail updates and am rooting from you from a distance. Enjoy it my friend.
Mike, we are all so proud. Have a fantastic time.
Got to your old blog via a Garmin blog, about your marriage proposal, then found my way here. Congratulations on finishing the Boston Marathon. Do you still do GPS art? I recently got into it and my latest work was for the City of Boston, http://www.qaptainqwerty.com/2013/04/boston-between-us.html .