My Weekend in Boston Before the Race:
I arrived at Boston Logan
International after a long morning of flights. I arrived at 1pm and very
anxious to get to the hotel to drop luggage off and head to the expo. I hopped
into a cab and said “to the Westin Copley”. The cab driver was driving like a
maniac in all the traffic that afternoon, but I wasn't complaining. All the
sooner I would arrive at my final destination.
Upon arrival, I payed the driver and
went to the front desk to get my key. My room was on the 23rd floor with a
great view looking over the city. In addition to the great view, it was
connected to the Hynes Convention Center, by a skywalk. Great news since this
is where the Expo is that I would be going to later.
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| Expo Welcome Sign |
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| Inspirational Signs at Expo |
The Expo was more than what was to
be expected for sure. It is by far the largest Expo I have ever attended. Olympian
Ryan Hall was even signing books at the Aasics stand.
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| Olympian Ryan Hall |
I picked up my packet
that had my shirt and race bib in it. I stopped at the BAAA area that was
selling all the additional swag you could purchase. Of course I had to splurge
on the official race jacket.
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| A cute Marathon Necklace I bought |
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| Poland Springs sponsored a booth in which runners wrote what "Better" is. Mine says Better is: Smiling for 26.2 Miles! |
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| Me in my Official Boston Marathon Jacket |
After stopping at a few other booths, I was pretty
tired after traveling all morning, so I was done today, and knew I would come
back again tomorrow to see the rest of it. But for now it was time to go back
to the room for a nap and to get ready for the Runner's World Party that
evening.
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| Listening to the editor of Runner's World speak. Above is a pic of Shalane Flanagan on the cover of Runner's World magazine. |
I arrived at the Runner's World
Party and there were so many well known people in the Fitness Industry such as,
Amby Burfoot, Bart Yasso, Dean Karnazes, and even Olympic swimmer Summer
Sanders.
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| Me and Summer Sanders |
She was nice enough to get a picture with me and we even discussed that it was the first time running the Boston Marathon for both of us. I also got to meet Dean and he even signed a copy of his book for me. I’m looking forward to seeing him again at Big Sur.
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| Me with Dean Karnazes, who signed a copy of his book for me |
The next day, it was back to the Expo to see the remaining booths I did not see the day before. I purchased my Boston sweaty band, and a few Boston shirts. I enjoyed all the freebies and snacks that they were offering at many booths. There were so many people there and things to see that it was a bit overwhelming at times.
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| The BAA section of the Expo |
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| At Expo |
The afternoon went by fast and soon
it was time to get ready for the pasta dinner. I was to meet my friend downtown
at the City Hall Plaza. This is where the pasta party was held.
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| Site of Pasta party |
I was told that
it was outside, so I came well prepared. After a few subways stops, I arrived
at the Plaza. Luckily I arrived early enough that we just had to wait outside until
they were letting people in to get their food. We were able to find a table
inside. After loading our plates with the assorted pastas, it was time to
listen to the speakers.
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| Pasta party at City Hall |
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| Yummy Food! |
There was a huge screen set up indoors to watch the
speakers that were outside. They were previous winners of the Boston Marathon
that were giving pep talks about the Big Race Day that was soon to come! After
hearing the inspirational speeches, it was time to find my way back to the
hotel and get my checklist ready for race morning! You can read that report here: Finishing the Boston marathon
Thanks for reading. Next Race Big Sur! -L
Nice! I really want to do the Big Sur Half in Monterey, CA!!
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