Professor Boz: 2012 Twin Cities Marathon

An introduction

If you have been following my blog, you know by now that I am kind of obsessed with spectating running events. If I could find a way to make a living being a professional marathon spectator, I just may consider it.

It all started back in 2003 when I ran the Twin Cities marathon, my first ever 26.2 mile experience. Although I trained hard for the race, I wasn’t prepared for the mental and physical challenge of pulling my then 235 pound body around the course for five hours and twelve minutes In fact, I lost to half of the women over the age of 70 that day – only two entered, but one beat me, and quite soundly I should add.

What sticks with me about that day is that I was amazed by the energy and inspiration that the spectators provided. Although many had left the course before I finished (and who could blame them), I really appreciated those that stayed out and cheered me on.

In 2004, I ran the last ten miles of the marathon with my friend Trent. I ran the marathon again in 2005 and 2006. Despite being in considerably better shape than I was in 2003, temperatures in the 80’s slowed me down and caused me to still finish over 5 hours. It was discouraging that time after time I would run, but never really improve. Especially in 2006, all I wanted to do was quit, but the energy of the crowd kept me going.

In 2007, Trent and his wife Tracy ran the Twin Cities 10 mile race, which always precedes the marathon, and I joined them for the final few miles. After the race, we found a patch of grass on Summit Avenue and took our turn cheering on the full marathon runners.

Two things happened that day that stuck in my mind. First, runners frequently celebrate the completion of a race by hoisting a glass of beer. Thus, we enjoyed a couple of cold ones as we sat in the grass and cheered on the marathoners. Periodically a runner would smile at us and we would yell back, “Just a couple more miles and this will be you.” But then, a runner asked me if he could have my beer. I was a bit surprised but certainly in no position to deny him, so I handed him my can. He took a big gulp, handed it back to me, and went on his way. A bit unsure of what to do with my beer, I just kind of held onto it. When another runner came by and asked for a drink, I handed him the can, he took a swing, and went on his way. I guess these marathoners were Catholic and just looking at the beer can as their shared communion cup.

The second thing I distinctly recall from that day was that so many runners thanked us for being out there supporting them. When probably 90% of the runners had passed us by, we decided to pack up and leave. But then another runner trotted past and said, “Thanks so much for still being out here, it means so much.” A comment like that made us stick around for another few minutes. Just when we were about to leave again, another runner said something similar. We knew we were stuck, and stayed until the course officials came through at the six hour mark, signifying the end of the race.

I took a break from spectating in 2008 as I ran the marathon one final time. Every year since, I have signed up for the 10 mile race and then gone back to sit in that same grassy spot, mile 23.9, and watch the marathon. We always stay until the race is over, and each year we try to enhance the runners’ experience even more. We bring some beer specifically for runners, so they don’t ask us for any of ours. We bring jolly ranchers and tootsie rolls, two popular treats. This year, cheese sticks and my wife’s monster cookies were also a big hit. Runners love music, so in 2009 and 2010 we brought a “boom-box” with tunes – since that time we have upgraded to one of the loudest PA systems on the course (as the lady in the house across the street pointed out), And this year, my friend Jimmy came out and took nearly 500 pictures.

It is without question one of my favorite days of the year.

The 2012 race

While the accompanying slide show and pictures tell most of the story, here are a few other highlights:

- I had to pull out of the ten mile race this year due to a hip flexor injury. I gave away my entry to the sold out race to my brother’s co-worker Zach. When I awoke a bit before nine o’clock on race morning, I was greeted by the following text from an unfamiliar phone number: “I think I got a good time for ya!” Sure enough, Zach finished the race in a pace of 7 minutes and 12 seconds per mile. But as he was racing under my number, it will go down in the books as a personal best for yours truly.

- I arrived at mile 23.9 and setup all the equipment, only to find out that I had left my rented generator at home. Fortunately, my brother was in route and able to make a detour to pick it up. That didn’t stop me from standing and talking into a dead microphone, periodically asking other spectators if the noise was too loud. People would look at me kind of oddly and one guy even said, “I don’t think it is working.”

- The winner came flying by around 10AM in a pace of 5 minute miles. In my prime, I could have stuck with him for about 500 yards.

- One of my former students came by in tenth place. The lack of a functioning PA system did not stop me from loudly announcing to anyone within earshot that I knew him and taught him everything he knows.

- Shortly after the lead runners began striding by, my brother showed up with the generator, and we cranked up the tunes. Within five minutes, the lady who lived across the street came over and said, “You know, people actually live here, could you turn it down?” I guess she doesn’t like AC DC. I angled the speakers away from her home and turned the sound down a bit - the music was now only audible for a couple blocks, as opposed to a couple miles. She gave the thumbs up, and the party was on.

- Near the very end, an athlete came into sight wearing full army gear and flying a very large American flag. He was walking and appeared completely spent, but when we blasted Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”, he began jogging again.

Shortly after arriving, Jimmy’s girlfriend said, “Boz, why are we here?” Before the day was over, I think she understood why. Enjoy the pictures and slide show, and perhaps we will see you on the course next year!

The fun stuff

I believe you would not regret spending 5 minutes of your life watching this video. And if you like the Black Eyed Peas, all the better.

Running a marathon in a costume is NOT on my bucket list, but these folks sure do make it more entertaining for everyone else.

This man’s child will never walk. But that will not stop his child from crossing the finish line of a marathon.

Interaction from runners is what makes it all worthwhile.

It was a fairly chilly day with temperatures in the low 30’s at the beginning, so some folks went to unusual measures to stay warm.

A couple members of our group had a longer than necessary discussion on how much time this guy loses due to the drag of his hair.

The runner holding the balloons in the middle of this pack is leading what is called a “pace group.” He likely has completed many marathons at a much faster pace, but today is basically telling people to stick by his side if they want to finish in 3 hours and 45 minutes. The only time I ran in a pace group was when I ran the San Francisco marathon in 2008. The runner leading that group was an ultra-marathoner, meaning that he runs races of 50 miles or longer. I remember him telling us that day that after he got us to the finish line, he was going to turn around and run the course backwards.

As Tracy and her dad provide refreshments to the runners, you can see me in the background talking with Forrest Gump. It turned out that Forrest was one of my former accounting students at Saint John’s - he graduated a year ago. Run, Andre, run!

“Boz told me he would bring two microphones this year but if he never shuts up I will never get a chance to talk.”

You see a lot of marathoners wearing their names on their shirts. When someone yells, “Go Noelle!” every few seconds, it really inspires you to continue. Especially if your name is Noelle.

I did not see any Obama or Romney t-shirts among the 10,000 runners, but some folks did make their feelings known on a very contentious political issue.

That is my brother holding up a monster cookie while two runners look to see what else we have to offer.

Last spring, one of my students and his friend Mike took me for a run on campus and they both ran the marathon. I missed seeing my student but was delighted to see Mike. I didn’t care if he was all sweaty, I was going to hug him anyway.

The first hour was fairly quiet as the runners barely paid any attention to us or our refreshments. As time wore on and the runners became less serious, that all started to change.

Jared Allen went for a run before his 3 o’clock tilt against the Tennessee Titans. Despite running 26.2 miles as a pre-game warm-up, Jared notched yet another sack in the Vikings 30-7 victory.

I don’t fully understand why they have multiple names on their shirts, but I am guessing they are related to each other.

This lady started busting a move to the Pit Bull. Trust me when I say that at least one other runner must have wanted to punch her for having so much energy this late in the race.