Boston Marathon 2022 Race Report

I’ve often said, half the battle of marathons, is getting to the start line. Boston 2022 was a stark reminder of that reality!

The training…

• Go me! I did real hill training for this cycle +10 points (thanks for the company Judy)
• Not only did I buy kettle bells but I used them to get in some regular strength work +10 points (listen to your Physiotherapist, right Richelle?)
• Made sure to have fun running by going to Chicago to run Shamrock Shuffle +5 points (thanks Molly & Christopher)
• Cut my long run short the day after the Shamrock Shuffle, because I was just feeling lazy -5 point

• Realize all that good food in Chicago + pandemic, I am a full 10 lbs heavier than I was just before COVID. – 5 points
• Hard to believe I did 3 long runs on the treadmill (the weather was that bad) +10 points
• Uh-oh ran out of musicals and concerts on Youtube to motivate me when running on the treadmill, weather sucks, skip at least one long run completely -10 points
• Yikes! Sidewalks were so icy I had to walk for an entire km -10 points (+20 points to Terry and Harold for waiting for me, so I didn’t just go straight back to the car and bail on the run completely)
• Post-Chicago, managed to drop 2 lbs before race day +1 point

Getting to Boston…

• Sorry Air Canada, we are allowed to drive across the US border now +10 points and save $$$$
• Sweet! No COVID tests required if you are fully vaccinated +20 points and save $$$
• Ottawa is in a 6th wave of COVID, with a record number of COVID cases, turn into a hermit for 14 days before we leave -10 points
• Whoah, that’s a serious line! Easter weekend Boston means everyone is cross-border shopping, and the NEXUS lane isn’t open -10 points
• Why are we stopped on the highway? A truck caught fire and they had to close a lane of the highway in Vermont – 10 points for us, -100 points for the poor truck driver
• Why are we stopped again? Three more lane closures in Vermont because they are picking up litter -30 points
• What can I say, depending on my mood I pick different beverages, so yay! the New Hampshire liquor outlet gives me a chance to buy my go-to non-alcoholic gin, a four pack of canned bubbles, and some great scotch +10 points
• Despite all the delays, we made it to the expo before it closed Friday night +10 points

• Oooh! Boston marathon running tights +10 points -$50
• That’s cool, after the expo closes, the fan fair is still open and there is no line to get a free custom badge on your Boston jacket + 20 points
• Oooh they also have a really nice hoodie at the fan fair +10 points -$50
• The hotel reception has awesome “welcome runners” signage and super friendly staff, and unlike the downtown hotel rooms, our room is spacious, has a view of the water and it’s sunset +10 points
• Hotel bar has decent food +10 points
• My husband hid Easter candy in my luggage +5 points

Marathon weekend…

• Thanks to my awesome sister Judy we snag an invite to the 261 get-together, maybe we can meet Katherine Schwitzer, lots of cool, passionate women at the event, free smoothie and oooh nice bracelet, singlet and arm warmers +10 points -$75
• Fun, but no sign of Katherine Schwitzer, so can’t get our jackets signed -2 points
• Find this guy in the Boston Commons, +10 points
• We make a donation and he asks if we’d like to request a song which results in me accompanying him to Sweet Caroline +5 points
• Find Yvonne and Pat immediately afterwards and convince them to come back so we can all sing Sweet Caroline +20 points

• Desperately need new jeans and there is no Lucky jeans in Ottawa, but there is one in Boston, oooh and a nice jean jacket too, I’ve been looking for a jean jacket +10 points -$90
• Hotel is cheap but too far away to have time to go back before supper -5 points save $$$$
• Need something to do until supper. Stand in line to visit secret store hidden behind a Snapple machine (no really it’s a thing, not a very well kept secret though) +10 points for being cool enough to find this store
• Still got time before supper so visit the Christian Science library which has a 30 foot high stained glass globe of the world you can walk inside +10 points for finding new weird things to do in Boston!
• After trying a Unitarian, Baptist, and United church realize dinner is in the Italian district and there must be a Catholic church here where we can light a candle for a friend’s mom who recently passed. We did leave a prayer request for a few friends and family who are either dealing with loss or dealing with other challenges at the big church on Boylston as well (worth going inside, quite beautiful). Take a moment to appreciate being healthy. Can’t score points for that, just take a moment and appreciate it and say a little prayer for someone.
• Dinner with Run K2J members and friends, the dish that fell on the floor was not Judy’s supper, Pat has big balls, the owner has big Italian hair, and they were nice enough to do separate checks +10 points

• Amazing location for a shakeout run Sunday morning along the beach, 2.5 km of shoreline +5 points
• Stop to write Run K2J in seashells +5 points
• What the F****? Turnaround and start running back to the car, 300 meters in my upper back start to spasm causing considerable pain and preventing me from running at all -50 points
• Oh SH****! Walk all the way back to the car, and have Yvonne and Judy do the shoulder checks because I can’t turn my head without considerable pain -20 points
• Panic! Spend the next hour freaking out and asking Yvonne (who is a PT), and Christopher (who has had back spasms) what the heck I can about my back +10 points
• Fortunately I packed Advil +20 points
• Fortunately our hotel room is big enough I can lay out my yoga mat and go through a 60 minute gentle yoga class +20 points
• Fortunately the guy at the hotel bar is great company, and it’s just me there for lunch, and he tops up my wine for free, +10 points
• Stoned on Advil and free wine I feel up to going into town for the team photos at the finish line +10 points???
• Confusing my family, I spend the family zoom call from lying on my yoga mat using my yoga tune up balls to roll out everything connected to the back muscle that is messed up +10 points
• Controlling what I can, I go to bed carefully positioning pillows to be kind to my back +5 points
• Lie in bed thinking, damn I can’t return the jacket because it has a custom patch on it. If I can’t run, how far can I actually walk before they kick me off the course? How long do I have to walk to feel I earned the right to wear the jacket?

Marathon Monday…

• Well my back is no worse now than it was when I went to bed, so time to break out the stylish zebra bathrobe and head to the start with Judy and Yvonne +10 points
• Wow, dropping off bags at gear check and getting back to the buses was crazy slow -10 points
• Holy cow our bus driver is cruising, we passed at least 10 other buses +10 points
• Whoah! we are at the back of the bus and at this speed really feeling those bumps -10 points
• Bwahahaha! That last bump triggered my Garmin to say I reached my step count for today +1 point
• Yikes! they are calling Wave 3 to the start and we haven’t even got to a port-a-potty yet -5 points
• Score! I still remember where the shortest port-a-potty lines are located +20 points
• I forgot my sunscreen, and the sunscreen dispensers are all empty -10 points
• Found one dispenser with sunscreen and a huge crowd of people around it but manage to get a tiny bit for my face and Judy’s shoulders +5 points
• I guess I’ll find out soon if my back is better, hello corral 5
• Pretty happy with the name bib I made so people can say “Go Susan” +5 points
• Cross the start line, start running, every km I manage to run is one less km to walk

The race

• Wheeee I do love the downhill at the start
• Maybe I’ll start counting the uphills as a way to distract myself
• That’s one hill
• “Go Susan” – excellent, the name bib is working
• That’s two hills
• “Go Susan you’ve got this”
• That’s three hills
• Wait that’s the 5 km mat, I ran 5 km, my back is okay, I think I’m running a marathon today, woot!
• High five all the people!
• “Not far now, Susan” – dude I’ve barely started that’s cruel
• Oh how I wish I was on the other side of the road where they have a giant Will Smith carboard face for runners to slap
• “You can do this Susan!” – from a little 8 year old girl I was giving a high five, okay THAT was awesome
• I have totally lost track of the number of hills
• At this point I think the back will be okay!

• Oh wow, there was so much news about Spencer the dog that you can’t even see him so many runners stopped and surrounded him to take pictures
• “Looking good Susan” – so sweet when spectators lie and tell us that
• Santa Claus!
• Diane hi! great to see you, you are running faster than me have a great race!
• “Susan! Susan! Susan”
• Oooh there’s Karen ahead of me, she’s having a good race, I won’t catch her she’s pulling away
• Big Bird! Was Big Bird there last year? I feel like he was but I can’t remember
• 20 km mat which means must be time for yes, Wellesley college and the scream tunnel
• I miss having Jonathan on the right hand side in his CBC shirt after Wellesley cheering us on
• “Oh my god there she is we found her, Susan, Go Susan, you’ve got this Susan!!!” – from a total stranger, okay that made me laugh
• Yvonne? shouldn’t you have passed me a while ago? oh stomach issues, yikes! Go Yvonne Go! Bye Yvonne

• Hi Diane good to see you again, just in time for… ‘dramatic sound effect’ the Newton hills.
• Okay the first hill is a long one, I know this, I got this
• It really is long!
• I’m going to keep running beside Diane, hope that works for her but it’s helping me on these hills
• “Go Susan”
• Second hill, this one is nice and short, is this actually one of the Newton hills or just a bonus hill
• “Go Susan you’ve got this”
• Okay now this one is definitely a Newton hill, there are three right?
• “Susan, Go Susan!
• Well this is another hill so at that’s definitely three solid hills in Newtown, but is this heartbreak hill or is there another?
• “Woo Hoo go Susan!”
• I’m thinking all this Go Susan stuff might be getting irritating for Diane
• I Hate Newton! Seriously how many hills are there?
• Okay THIS one has a banner at the top saying heartbreak is over, so that MUST have been heartbreak
• Diane – look a photographer let’s get a pic!
• Boston College has great cheering, but having a guy in a Boston college t-shirt in front of me is causing next level screaming!
• Ha! As soon as we got past Boston College the guy in the Boston college shirt started walking

• Hey that’s a Run K2J shirt up ahead. That’s Chris!
• Who is that tapping Chris on the shoulder, it’s Vincent, Diane’s husband!
• That big downhill after heartbreak helped me a lot I’m feeling pretty good for 35 km in I’ve got enough in me to pick it up and catch Vincent
• Hi Chris! (who apparently when realizing he would not have a great race decided to get his money back by collecting extra Maurten gels at all the gel stops)
• Vincent! Diane is about 20 meters behind you
• Diane says run with Vincent, okay.
• “Go Susan” wait a sec that’s JR not just a random stranger!
• Vincent points out “all the times I’ve run this race this is only the second time I’ve noticed the Citgo sign”
• I realize this is the first time I’ve noticed the Citgo sign up close, and I would have missed it if Vincent hadn’t pointed it out
• I feel good, I’m going for it
• “Go Susan”
• I kid you not, my arm is actually getting a little sore from waving back to all the people calling my name.
• Hey there’s Karen, Hi Karen!
• One mile to go I know this stretch, follow the blue line, go, go
• Right on Hereford
• Left on Boyleston
• That Boyleston stretch is always longer than you think

Cross the finish line of the Boston marathon!

• Feel light headed, trying not to pass out -10 points
• Wow long walk to the heat sheets -5 points
• Oooh cookies in the goodie bag + 20 points
• Gyu Kaku complete with smores with my run buds to celebrate +20 points

Thanks to everyone who got me through the training and the race! 21 km into the race all I could think was I never want to run another marathon, but now that it’s over, I’m hoping my 2021 run at California International Marathon will get me a bib for 2023 (1 minute 39 seconds faster than my required BQ ). If not, I’ll be there to cheer!

If you enjoyed this post, check out my other Boston related posts and race reports