A Little Rain, And Ice, And Wind, And Freezing Temperatures Never Hurt Anyone….

“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Yes, that is the United States Postal Service’s ‘unofficial’ creed. It’ll make sense, just be patient….

Monday morning’s Boston Marathon was held in some of the most treacherous weather conditions in recent history. Torrential downpour coupled with wind gusts of 50+ m.p.h. and 30 degrees isn’t ideal running conditions. However, it was ideal for two:

Desiree Linden (Women’s Winner)  

Yuki Kawauchi (Men’s Winner)

As my parents taught me, ladies first.

Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985. Not bad for someone who nearly dropped out of the race after mile six. Tilden paced herself alongside teammate, Shalane Flanagan. Last year, Flanagan famously became the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years.

Linden finished with an unofficial time of 2:39:53, more than 4 minutes ahead of the second place finisher. Side note: The runner-up was Sarah Sellers. Sellers is not a professional runner. She’s a full-time nurse. That’s incredible.

The most astonishing part of Linden’s victory, she chose to stop while Flanagan took a :17 bathroom break halfway through the race. Oh yeah, a pee-break!! Following the race Linden explained herself:

“I told her [Flanagan] in the race, I said if there’s anything I can do to help you out, let me know because I might just drop out.

As for Yuki Kawauchi, he’s not your typical marathon champion. He’s not a professional runner. He has no sponsors. He just — runs. Kawauchi, at 31, holds the record for most sub 2:20:00 marathons (79). Over the past five years he’s run one marathon per month. CAN YOU IMAGINE RUNNING ONE MARATHON PER MONTH FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS?!?! This is hard to comprehend, as Kawauchi is an administrator at a school in Japan. He works 40 hours per week.

2:15:58. That was Kawauchi’s unofficial winning time. 2 minutes and 25 seconds faster than runner-up Geoffrey Kirui. Kawauchi also became the first Japanese runner to win the Boston Marathon since 1987 (ironically his birth year). While Kurui and other favorites faded, Kawauchi forged ahead, somehow using the nearly impassable conditions to his favor.

 

Is running a marathon on your bucket list?? Tell me in the comment section below.

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