1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,520 You're listening to episode 255 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,200 In this episode, we're going to talk about the Boston Marathon 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:13,280 Handbook. This is the Marathon Running 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:16,480 podcast and Letty Runs YouTube channel with Letty and Ryan. 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,960 And yes, we're officially now on all channels. 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:22,760 Join us for weekly content on all things running and let us 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,440 take you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. 8 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,120 Hey, runners, and welcome to our podcast. 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,520 My name is Larry. My name is Ryan and this is 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,960 Lexi. And this is Lexi, our dog, and 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,000 Ryan is saying that because we have made some changes, our 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,320 podcast is now available also as a video podcast on YouTube. 13 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:48,840 I know it's not super convenience for a lot of people 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,600 that run, so don't worry about it. 15 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,640 I just wanted to let you guys know that if you do want to see 16 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,400 it on YouTube now we also are on YouTube. 17 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,200 Lexi won't let me stop petting her, so that's why I introduced 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,200 her because she's going to be here sitting on my lap the whole 19 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,240 time probably. You'll see her in all future 20 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,880 episodes probably. So the Boston Marathon Handbook. 21 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:11,120 Yes, The Boston Marathon Handbook is the book that we are 22 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,960 gonna interview the author about today in this episode. 23 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:18,000 And we are doing that because guess what? 24 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:20,800 What? Boston Marathon is right around 25 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:22,760 the corner. The Boston Marathon takes place 26 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:28,040 on April 21st this year, always on Patriots Day in Boston and we 27 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,120 are very excited. We will not be running it this 28 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,120 year, but we'll definitely be there to cover the news part, 29 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,680 the elite runners, etc and be partaking in the cheering. 30 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,640 So if you could get an overview of the handbook, what is it 31 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:45,960 about? The handbook is awesome, and 32 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:48,640 we'll obviously hop into that when we talk to Mark. 33 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,840 It is a book written by an author that resides in Boston. 34 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,960 Mark lives in Boston, but he also lives in Florida, which is 35 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,800 How I Met him because he was on my flight back from Boston from 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,240 the Boston Marathon. He saw my shirt that said 37 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,400 marathon running podcast, introduced himself, gave me his 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:06,760 business card and then we've been in touch and he sent me 39 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,520 this book to look over for future episodes, which is 40 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,760 perfect timing right now given that the Boston Marathon is 41 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:15,080 coming up do. You have a link for the book? 42 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,560 I do have a link for the book and you will see that in the 43 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,440 show notes below So. You're going to get into 44 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,080 everything about it, but it looks like it's, I didn't get to 45 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,040 read it. You read it, says Insider's 46 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,840 Guide for Training and Succeeding in the Ultimate Road 47 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,200 Race. So I guess it has training in 48 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,600 there and it has all about the marathon and how to get there. 49 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,120 It has all sorts of stuff, right? 50 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,520 It talks about why the Boston Marathon is so special. 51 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,880 It has a ton of history in there about individuals who helped 52 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,160 with the Boston Marathon. It talks about how to get in. 53 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:47,880 It talks about training the weather. 54 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,240 It talks about the different cities that the Boston Marathon 55 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,880 runs. It talks about pre race, post 56 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,120 race and everything Boston and really beyond. 57 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,440 It's very beautiful. There are some pictures of the 58 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,720 Boston race on there and motivational things and a lot of 59 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,520 quotes from prominent people when it comes to the Boston 60 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:09,200 race. So it's really, really cool. 61 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,760 I remember how obsessed you were with the Boston Marathon, so I'm 62 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,640 sure you liked it. I am kind of still obsessed a 63 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:16,880 little bit, right? I mean, not obsessed to keep 64 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:21,120 running it, but I still am very, very obsessed about just that 65 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,320 whole weekend and going there and how everything turns into 66 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,280 athletes Village and you see all the runners and it's it's very 67 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:29,520 inspiring. Yeah. 68 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:32,120 Yeah. So Are you ready to get into it? 69 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:33,760 Let's do it. All right, so without any 70 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,520 further ado, we're now going to play our conversation with Mark 71 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:41,200 Polina. All right, so I'm on here with 72 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,520 Mark Polina. Mark is the author of the Boston 73 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,920 Marathon Handbook. Mark, thank you so much for 74 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,040 joining me today. Letty, thank you. 75 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,760 I've obviously been a fan from afar and it's great to be here 76 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:56,360 and to talk about. Things we love. 77 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,800 Right running the Boston Marathon and this great city of 78 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,800 Boston. Yes, and it's all coming up. 79 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,920 And with that, I'm glad to have you on here. 80 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,360 And well, perhaps just briefly, before we get started with this 81 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,080 book that can help the marathoners of 2025 and future 82 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,839 Boston Marathoners, perhaps you can tell us who you are and then 83 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,120 also how you came to write this book. 84 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,560 Wow. OK, so I. 85 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,920 Long story short, I. Came into running when I moved 86 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,440 to Boston in the year. 2000 actually. 87 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,240 And I had been a college baseball. 88 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,960 Player. And really wasn't. 89 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:39,840 Built to be a. Runner in any way, shape or 90 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:42,000 form. But I arrived in Boston. 91 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,200 Funny enough, I actually moved. About a. 92 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,080 Block and a half away from Heartbreak Hill and I had no. 93 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:50,400 Idea. So there I was. 94 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:55,280 Living in Newton and I saw this hill and people would tell me. 95 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:58,640 About this is Heartbreak Hill. And it didn't really mean a lot 96 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,560 to me, but it certainly did when I went to watch the marathon for 97 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,400 the first time in 2001 and I was amazed. 98 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,080 I was captivated, quite frankly, and I was looking for something. 99 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,640 Athletically to do. After having played college 100 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,360 baseball. And not going pro. 101 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:17,320 It's in my DNA. I'm just. 102 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:19,480 Wired to. Train for something pretty 103 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,200 intensely. So the very next day. 104 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:27,360 After watching the race in 2001. I actually laced up shoes. 105 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,720 And ran. For the first time. 1/4 mile and 106 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:32,160 I kept running and I wanted to run. 107 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,400 I said I'm going to run the Boston Marathon and it wasn't 108 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,480 until 2000. Three, that I actually was 109 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:39,520 capable. Of pulling that off and I ran as 110 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:40,120 a. Bandit. 111 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:42,560 Now that sounds horrible because we. 112 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,080 All know now that banditing is not something you do. 113 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:47,760 And it's it's certainly frowned upon. 114 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,280 Back in 2003 in the. Boston. 115 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:53,360 I talk about it in the book. The Boston Marathon does have a 116 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,640 culture of banditing. Where they tolerated it for 117 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,280 decades, right? And it actually. 118 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,160 Strengthened the race. In a lot of different ways, and 119 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,880 we can talk about that later, but I banded it in two. 1003. 120 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,240 And I finished and I was in a lot of pain. 121 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,040 I had all kinds of injuries. I don't want to get too deep 122 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:11,280 into it, but I was in a lot of pain. 123 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,080 I finished the race. I did not get a medal because 124 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,440 bandits don't get medals. And I said, you know, Frank 125 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,200 Shorter has this. Saying, he says, you know. 126 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,560 You have to forget the pain of your first marathon before you 127 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,800 would even consider running a second. 128 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,240 Well, I knew. When I crossed the finish line 129 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:27,040 in Copley. Square. 130 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:28,800 I was like. I'm going to come back and. 131 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:30,320 I'm going to come back next year. 132 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:31,040 As a? As a. 133 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,600 Runner and I am going. To, you know, get my medal. 134 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,720 And finish the Boston Marathon. Officially so the next. 135 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,360 Year I ran. With Mass General Hospital. 136 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,040 On their charity team and I ran for your for quite a few years 137 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,280 in a row. I streaked for 16 years. 138 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:49,240 But I ran as a. Charity runner through 2. 1008 139 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:51,720 and it wasn't. Until the fall of 2008 that I 140 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,360 actually qualified for the first time at The Hartford. 141 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,040 Marathon in Connecticut. And then I've run as a qualified 142 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:59,960 runner pretty much ever since. And here I am. 143 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:05,280 This will be my. 20th coming up. Days away in April, so. 144 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,360 That's kind of my running journey and it's been just 145 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,040 absolutely incredible. But the book itself was. 146 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,800 Something where long ago I. Knew of a book when I was 14 147 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:18,800 years old called the. Preppy Handbook The official 148 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:19,440 Preppy. Handbook. 149 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:21,200 It was a book. About the culture of. 150 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,840 Preppiness and it was written by this woman in New York City 151 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:26,560 called her name is Lisa Burnback. 152 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,600 And it was just this really fun, tongue in cheek. 153 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,800 Guide to the Culture of. Preppiness. 154 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:35,600 And I was enamoured with. This book. 155 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,040 I can't even tell you how. Much it meant to me, I carried 156 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:39,640 it. Around in my back backpack and 157 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,000 it was. Dog eared and I'd always. 158 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,160 Been and always wanted to. Be a writer. 159 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:46,800 So it was. In the back of my head, I want 160 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,520 to write a handbook about something once I have. 161 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,760 The knowledge to do it right and the writing chops to actually. 162 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,160 Pull it off so. I've been writing my entire. 163 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:56,800 Life. I've written screenplays I've 164 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:57,880 written. TV pilots. 165 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,480 I've written fiction, Book, you know, books. 166 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:06,600 Novels, if you will. And I was sitting back in 2001 167 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,320 and I said, what am I going to write next? 168 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:13,240 And it all came to me. It was like this perfect. 169 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,520 Storm I thought about all of my experience with the Boston 170 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,720 Marathon, how much I loved it and. 171 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,120 How much I wanted to. Share not my. 172 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,440 Story but share the greatness of this race. 173 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,440 And the. City with the world. 174 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,080 And do it in a way that hasn't been done. 175 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,880 So. And not to get I'll tell you one 176 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,000 more thing. You know many books about the 177 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,640 Boston Marathon. Fall into two buckets, right? 178 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,000 You have memoirs like. Choosing to run by. 179 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:43,120 Des Linden. Fantastic, right? 180 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,960 And you can get. Really excited about somebody's 181 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:47,840 particular story. And those those books are 182 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,200 written in first. Person, right? 183 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:51,680 I did. This I did that. 184 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,000 And then the other. Bucket for Boston Marathon is 185 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,320 historical accounts. So. 186 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,640 They're written in third person. You know Bill Rogers did. 187 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:04,160 This in 1975. Katherine Switzer did this in 188 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:05,640 1972. Etcetera. 189 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,120 And I thought to myself. What's missing from this 190 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,520 equation? I wanted to immerse the reader 191 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,880 in the race in a way that hasn't been done before. 192 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,520 So I wrote the entire. Book. 193 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:18,880 In second person. So it's like. 194 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,520 You're traversing the course as you're reading about the 195 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,200 different towns along the way in your journey. 196 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:31,640 So in 2021. I started. 197 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:33,600 Writing the book and two. Years it took. 198 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:38,960 All in the writing process. Getting more than 50 people that 199 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:40,600 contributed. To the book to contribute. 200 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,000 Getting an agent. Getting a publisher. 201 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:45,600 Getting it out in the. World. 202 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,120 And it was. Published on February 6th. 203 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:51,400 Of 2020. 4 So it's a year old. And it's been an. 204 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,640 Absolutely. Fascinating journey to get to. 205 00:09:55,280 --> 00:10:00,720 Where we are today on this call. Absolutely delightful. 206 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:06,080 I love it, and that's one of the things that, you know, the type 207 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,280 of books that are written about the Boston Marathon One, it 208 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,000 doesn't have to be your cup of tea, right? 209 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,360 Whether you like memoirs or historical books. 210 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:19,440 But this one is also different because it has a lot of advice 211 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,440 pieces in it. So I feel like it's very 212 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,240 appealing for the reader because it's not just inspirational and 213 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,760 makes you smarter historically, but it also brings that appeal 214 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,000 of I'm going to learn something when I read this book. 215 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:37,840 And with that in mind, maybe tell us how, for the people that 216 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:42,160 haven't read it yet, how you laid this book out, how you went 217 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:46,640 from going broad into more specific things. 218 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,280 Sure, you know there are certain things when I got. 219 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,280 Started. Writing it that I knew I wanted 220 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,240 to incorporate. Of course that I wanted to, you 221 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,160 know, the grand. Vision was to include everything 222 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:01,040 a runner would want to. Know. 223 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,840 About this great race. So you really, you know, my 224 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,560 initial first manuscript was over 450 pages. 225 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,480 The final product that you know was published. 226 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:18,720 Is 280. 8 pages. So I had to really kind of be 227 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:23,960 very careful about. What I wanted to say and be very 228 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,880 concise and saying it so there are certain things. 229 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:28,520 That were mandatory right? Like. 230 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,760 Going through each town and the personality. 231 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:33,000 Of each town that you. Traverse. 232 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,960 There's eight of them as you move from Hopkinton to Boston. 233 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:37,960 But there are certain things I wanted the. 234 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,360 Book to be incredibly playful. But reverent. 235 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:43,040 I love the. Boston Marathon. 236 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,320 It's sacred to me. I don't. 237 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,320 I don't make. Jokes for the sake of a joke I. 238 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,720 Want to make the book fun? So I included things like the 10 239 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:58,320 Commandments of Boston Marathon. Etiquette 10 charity running 240 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:02,440 personas There's a pre race. But there's also very useful 241 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,120 there's a pre race report card. Which I think is incredibly. 242 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,400 Useful. There's a checklist. 243 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,600 There's so many things, so many elements that are fun. 244 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,320 And my agent has a word. For that, he says. 245 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:20,200 You know this book is. You know, no matter. 246 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,600 What page you? Open it to. 247 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,880 It's engaging on the. Page so. 248 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:32,800 I think that was important. To to have that you can. 249 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:34,520 Just dive. Right in and no matter where you 250 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:36,640 drove into the. Book you would have. 251 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,640 Fun from the get go. So so having some of these 252 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:45,800 things, these pop up elements. Really, I think adds to. 253 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,120 The reader's experience as they're kind of moving. 254 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,480 Through the book. I have to agree 100%. 255 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,760 It's kind of what keeps me engaged. 256 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,520 As busy as we all are, I'm very guilty of getting a book and 257 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,520 then putting it down within the first few chapters with all the 258 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,000 good intentions. There's nothing wrong with the 259 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,440 book, but it's just you get busy and then the book, it is great, 260 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:12,000 but it didn't grab me enough to want to make the effort to have 261 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,880 time away from everything else that we have got going on in 262 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:16,920 life, right? But this one did just because it 263 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,360 was written so differently. I want to maybe talk about the 264 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,800 acknowledgements, right? Because that really spoke to me 265 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,040 because you kind of have a sense of gratitude in there. 266 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,240 And for the people that didn't read the book, the 267 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:34,440 acknowledgements have 26 miles listed that acknowledge someone 268 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,520 or something to be grateful for, which I think is the number one 269 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:42,120 thing that we as runners need to be practicing rather than being 270 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,120 down on ourselves. If we don't hit paces. 271 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,120 We have to be grateful to, you know, whatever it is our bodies 272 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,360 to move in order to even move forward with anything. 273 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:55,560 Yeah. When I started to think. 274 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:57,960 Through the acknowledgements, there were so many. 275 00:13:57,960 --> 00:13:59,440 People Boston Marathon and having. 276 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,000 Done it now almost 20. Years. 277 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,640 So many people that I've met. Really important. 278 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:06,840 People in my life that I've met along the way. 279 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,200 That either a contributed. To this book or. 280 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:11,640 B. In some way inspired. 281 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:13,800 This book. And I wanted to honor. 282 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,760 Them, you know. A book is. 283 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:17,160 Permanent, right? I'm going to die. 284 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,720 Everybody in this book that I mentioned is going to die. 285 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,080 And this book is going to live on. 286 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,320 It's going to live in perpetuity. 287 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,480 And I wanted to honor. Them in a way that they deserve, 288 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,560 quite frankly. So I did. 289 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,120 It in a fun way, again, trying to get back to the whimsical 290 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,600 nature of the. Book and by the way, the thing 291 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,080 that I. Forgot to mention about my 292 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:36,800 agent's expression was that he calls. 293 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,520 It multiple points of entry, so the book. 294 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,120 Has multiple points of entry and this. 295 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:42,520 You know this the way that I did the. 296 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:50,000 Acknowledgements mile, you know, 26 to mile one was was fun for 297 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,800 me because listen, I've had friends that I ran. 298 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,040 I'll give you one example I ran in 2000. 299 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,080 And four. Which was an 87. 300 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,360 Degree day with a. Gentleman, I won't mention his 301 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,000 name. Near and dear. 302 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,280 Near and dear friend who. We ran. 303 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,600 For Mass General Hospital for. Cancer that particular year. 304 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,600 And we ran together on the course until he. 305 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,640 Actually went ahead of me. Because he I just. 306 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,760 Was bonking and then I ended up passing him toward the end 307 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:20,600 unbeknownst to me. I didn't see him but I ended up 308 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,280 doing it. Got to know him even better and 309 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:25,120 better. Ran many races of them in the 310 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,320 future and the. Very 'cause that we raised. 311 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:29,920 Money for in 2000. And four. 312 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,080 Ended up killing him. Years later, so he died 313 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,520 tragically of a very rare. Form of cancer. 314 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,320 So it's stories like that you have. 315 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,440 These experiences, you know, built up over time and the 316 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,240 Boston Marathon, one of the. Beauties of it, not just. 317 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:49,760 This isn't just my experience. Is, is its history right? 318 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,160 It's such a rich history. Which makes. 319 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,880 The race not only special. To. 320 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:59,880 A participant. But to the entire community, the 321 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,360 entire, the entire running community and the entire city of 322 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:09,800 Boston, it comes together in a. Way that creates this vibe if 323 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,680 you will. Not only during the race, but 324 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,160 during the entire weekend. And having the race on a, on a 325 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:16,840 holiday on Monday makes it special. 326 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:22,520 And the entire community, you know, shares in in this. 327 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:26,120 This celebration in a way that other cities just don't. 328 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,960 Yeah, No, I I agree with you. And that's kind of what made it 329 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,960 very a beautiful read and a question that I had while I was 330 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,480 reading it. While I was reading kind of 331 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,720 through the historic part, I think it was chapter 2 where you 332 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,240 talk about certain individuals and stuff like that and the 333 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,880 importance of Bostons history. What are your thoughts on the 334 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,560 future of the Boston Marathon? Just because obviously these are 335 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,560 things in history that already happened and now it seems that 336 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,640 this race is getting. Uh. 337 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,320 You know, a little bit more competitive, a little bit of a 338 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,520 backlash, having the sponsor being swapped out with Bank of 339 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,720 America and Bank of America. You know that you've seen the 340 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,119 memes on Instagram with Bank of It. 341 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,440 This is the Bank of America race rather than the previous 342 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,480 sponsors. What are your thoughts on the 343 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,920 development of the Boston Marathon and whether it can stay 344 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,800 special the way it was? Wow, this OK? 345 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,240 This is a fantastic question. We could talk about this for 346 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:35,120 hours. My first gut reaction is this is 347 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,240 and that is, you know, this is a balancing act. 348 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,840 That the BAA who created. This race and organizes. 349 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,360 This race and manages this. Race has to deal with. 350 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,880 And I do not envy them, right? They they have. 351 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,240 To make so many different. Stakeholders, whether it's 352 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:58,720 towns, elite runners, charity runners, sponsors. 353 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,040 It just the list goes on and on. They have to make them all. 354 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:03,960 Happy or try to. Right. 355 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:05,280 And it's you're never going to make them all. 356 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,680 Happy so this this the. Future and you know. 357 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,760 That. The future it's. 358 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,080 Going to be very interesting I think every year and every day. 359 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:15,080 They have to deal with. That. 360 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:17,920 And I think they're listening. Really, really well. 361 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,680 They've made changes, right? This used to be an all male. 362 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,160 Race right back when it started, you know. 363 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:28,720 Women didn't arrive on the scene until officially 72 and 364 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:34,880 unofficially. 66. And you know, other people 365 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:36,400 would. Argue that it. 366 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:42,560 Was, you know, a very. Much a white race and, and runs 367 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,680 through the the white towns of Boston and things like that and. 368 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,280 There are a lot of ways to. Look at the Boston Marathon. 369 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:50,720 And it's and it's. History. 370 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:56,160 And poke holes in errors that they made and say it has to 371 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:57,920 change. And I think it's changing in a 372 00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,080 lot of good. Ways. 373 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,640 You know, you could go from wheelchair racing. 374 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:08,240 To to women participating to. Non binary participation to 375 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,000 seeing more charity teams. That are diverse. 376 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:17,960 In a lot of different ways. I think it's also important, 377 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:23,720 though, to honor the history. What makes Boston special? 378 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:25,560 And there's a lot. Of things but the history. 379 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,800 You could we could talk about. You know, for hours is 380 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,360 incredibly important and I don't think you want to. 381 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,800 Stray too far away. From that, because then it turns 382 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,120 into something that's going to look. 383 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:39,440 A lot like other. Races and it loses some of its 384 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,920 magic, quite frankly so I think going. 385 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,480 Forward we will. Continue to see changes. 386 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:51,320 I think those changes will come, perhaps in some people's minds, 387 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,280 not as quickly. As they'd prefer, but. 388 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:56,000 I think the BAA is always listening. 389 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:58,280 Always tweaking things. Always. 390 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,680 Trying to make it better. And I think their hearts in the 391 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,240 right place and I think that's the most important thing. 392 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,200 And we're seeing, we're seeing those changes. 393 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,560 Literally on a yearly basis now, yes. 394 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,840 And I have to agree with you fully knowing a few of the 395 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:15,680 people on the board of the BAA. And then also the fact that 396 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:17,800 we've seen it all right, Everyone that works in the 397 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:22,440 running space, the influx of runners that we now have that we 398 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,480 did not have before. It's nobody's fault that people 399 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,200 are inevitably training better, having better shoes, and running 400 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,720 faster than before applying for more races. 401 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,160 So it's not anything that comes from a bad place. 402 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,720 I think they're just trying to do their best to to deal with it 403 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,520 all. And luckily for us, we have 404 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,640 people like you helping runners. So maybe you can talk a little 405 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:51,320 bit about what aspects in your book help a runner when it comes 406 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:55,800 to getting in Chapter 3. Oh, getting in. 407 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,320 Yeah, the you. Know people think that there are 408 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,480 two ways to get in and those two ways. 409 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:03,880 Are to qualify. Right. 410 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:05,320 And that's. On a yearly. 411 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:06,840 Basis. Roughly 80% of the. 412 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:08,440 Field. And then to run for. 413 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,320 Charity which in this. Day and age means raising 414 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:15,480 upwards of $10,000 and more for a specific nonprofit 415 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,480 organization, and that's the other. 20% of the field. 416 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:20,480 The reality? Is it's a little different. 417 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:22,480 You know there are other. Side. 418 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,840 Doors. Or Windows into the Race 419 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,880 sponsors giving you bibs members. 420 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:32,280 Of. Government, you know, in the 421 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,080 Boston. Area have access to bibs, so 422 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:37,800 bibs. Having lived here in. 423 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,640 Boston for 25 years. Bibs kind of float around in a 424 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:46,360 way, and you hear about them because you have friends, you 425 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,520 know? Closely associated with the race 426 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,800 so. If you're not qualified and 427 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,600 you're looking to get in. There are certainly ways to. 428 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:03,440 Stack the odds in your favor in any given year on. 429 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,920 The flip side of that if. You are looking to qualify. 430 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,600 You know there are. Some interesting ways where you 431 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,880 can also stack the odds in your favor. 432 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,600 So. To qualify for Boston. 433 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,760 It just has to be. A certified course. 434 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,480 And that course? Could be. 435 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,760 Of course, like some of these. Rebel races out West. 436 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:23,640 Where you. Literally. 437 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,800 Run down the side. Of a mountain, so you're. 438 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,600 Going in the case. Of, say, rebel Big Bear. 439 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:35,080 You're going down 5000 feet from point to point and that's going 440 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,560 to help your. Chances to get a B. 441 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,760 Q for the for the. Upcoming. 442 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,600 Year and it's getting more. Difficult, right? 443 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,160 You know, Boston, it's no longer you. 444 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,520 Just have to qualify. But you have to qualify with a 445 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:49,960 buffer. So let's say you. 446 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,080 Are on the cusp and you ran Chicago and you, you know, 447 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,240 barely missed AB. Q or you BQ. 448 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,000 D with a. Minus, you know, a minute. 449 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,720 Minus a minute and a half, you're probably not going to get 450 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:02,760 into the next year's Boston. But if you. 451 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,000 Took those legs that just. Ran, you know, a minute and a 452 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,280 half faster than your. BQ at BQ at Chicago. 453 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,680 And you went to a. Rebel race out West you could 454 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,920 perhaps? Find another 10 minutes, 15 455 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:17,880 minutes even. To get that. 456 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:20,480 BQ that you're looking for so. You know, I, I think. 457 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,760 There are if, if. You want to run back Boston bad 458 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,040 enough. I think there are multiple. 459 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:30,680 Ways to do it. You just have to be a little 460 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,560 Wiley. In the way you. 461 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:34,800 Go about it. Yeah. 462 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,680 So good luck to everybody. I know it's I know it's a it's a 463 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,800 difficult task. And I know that I know that 464 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:42,560 downhill races are not for everyone. 465 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,960 Some of us, I mean, I shaved off 15 minutes of my time without 466 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,440 even training. And I know that others, you 467 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:50,920 know, your quads will just destroy you. 468 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:55,040 I think it has just kind of, it's almost like your body's 469 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,880 preference of whether it deals well with that. 470 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:04,320 But yeah, I mean, I've heard of brands giving out bibs and other 471 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:06,480 ways. Of course, that's really hard to 472 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:11,760 come by for any of us. But keep your eyes open and keep 473 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:16,200 good karma going I guess. Yeah, I think, you know, we're 474 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,760 seeing some negative things happen with influencers and 475 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,920 things like that. Where, you know, we saw. 476 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:22,760 One particular influencer in New York who was. 477 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:27,480 Banned for for life. From the New York City Marathon 478 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:33,520 or any you know New York Roadrunner's race and the BAA 479 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,600 has been known has a reputation to be strict. 480 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,760 As well, and they should. Be Quite frankly, you know I. 481 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:41,320 Say. I said earlier that the. 482 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,320 Boston Marathon is sacred. To me. 483 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:46,480 It's sacred to a lot of people, right, So you're. 484 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,400 Really compromising the integrity. 485 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,680 Of the race. If you're not doing. 486 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,240 It by the book. And these some of the things 487 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:55,600 that. We described like that's. 488 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,080 Getting a sponsor? To give you a bib. 489 00:24:58,360 --> 00:24:59,840 These are real things that are happening now. 490 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:01,840 They're good. I think that's good. 491 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,400 I think if too many are given away and that's that's getting 492 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,280 you're leaning into, you know, starting to, you know, damage. 493 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,200 What this race is all about. But I do think it is good. 494 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:14,800 To have. Some sponsors and some some 495 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,440 brands. That have access to bibs. 496 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,640 To get people. Into the race that otherwise 497 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:22,920 wouldn't be able to participate yes I mean kind of like you 498 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,360 said, it could go either ways right, because then how fairly 499 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,040 are people being picked? And you know you're not going to 500 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,000 get your average runner without you getting that because the 501 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,840 brand wants to work with this certain influencer or whatever 502 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,800 this person is. And so I mean I, I guess you 503 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,400 know that exists in every level, not just running it's in the 504 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:47,360 government, it's everywhere. So hopefully, you know, people 505 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,680 just with everything out there, the nutrition and the training 506 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:56,600 and the knowledge about working out and strength training and 507 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:02,920 rest and shoes, hopefully people will just be able to get faster 508 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,160 and make their dreams happen also. 509 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,720 But I mean, that's always a difficult talking point, right? 510 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,320 Yeah, I, I, I think getting into Boston. 511 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:21,840 Because the race is revered. Around the world, it's such a 512 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:27,800 big thing. I found, you know, digging into 513 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,120 the community, the running community locally and also 514 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:33,600 online. Is really helpful. 515 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:38,080 You know, I'm I'm obviously very immersed in the Boston running 516 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:43,360 community and also a little bit in New York, but I found that 517 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:47,320 online. It's incredible what exists 518 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,000 online and and you'll. Be in a Facebook. 519 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,240 Group. You know. 520 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,440 Related to the Boston Marathon and you'll have access. 521 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,840 To information in those groups. You know people. 522 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,360 All over the world. Are talking about the race. 523 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,800 And their experience and you can glean a lot of information from 524 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,360 them. In short. 525 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:07,800 Order so I think. If I were. 526 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:09,080 Interested in the Boston Marathon? 527 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,760 I had never done it before. I would not only get a good. 528 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,840 Book. Like the Boston Marathon 529 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:16,440 Handbook? But I would, I would. 530 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,840 You know, get online and I would surf around and I would find 531 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,640 some of these communities. To to amp up my knowledge. 532 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:25,440 For sure. Absolutely. 533 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,760 I couldn't agree with you more about those. 534 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,840 Obviously the good book, but also the Facebook groups, I've 535 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,840 myself found some gems on there. How to get hotel rooms right by 536 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,720 the finish line without having to paint arm and a leg. 537 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,120 I mean, at the same time, you're still paying a premium, but 538 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:43,840 you're not paying the, you know, $1000 nights like they have them 539 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,160 right before the Boston Marathon, etcetera. 540 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,360 But yeah, so with that, let's talk a little bit about, you've 541 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:54,720 kind of already alluded to it. You are going through all the 542 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,240 cities in one of your chapters, which that is a great race. 543 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:04,440 I mean, great read because you get to see more than you will on 544 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,480 race day. On race day when your mind is 545 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,880 exhausted, it kind of all blends together. 546 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,000 But I think it's really cool. I wish I would have read that 547 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,720 before I ran the Boston Marathon, because then I would 548 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:21,160 have been like, oh, you know, here's Farmingham, which this is 549 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,240 what Farmingham is about. Framingham. 550 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:27,880 Yes, it's Framingham. Sorry. 551 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,960 Yeah, No, I. I had a. 552 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,960 Blast writing that. So, so so, so those readers that 553 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:37,880 haven't. Read the book. 554 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:40,720 There are 8. Towns that you? 555 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,640 Traverse right you. Start in this this pastoral. 556 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:47,800 Town in Hopkinton and you end. Up traversing these other. 557 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,600 Towns to get to to downtown Boston and and. 558 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,080 Copley Square, to be precise. And it is really what another 559 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,320 thing that makes Boston unique. Is is it? 560 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,360 Is that? Point to point journey and each 561 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,720 of these towns that you. Traverse has a. 562 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,760 Really unique personality and I wanted to get some of that 563 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,480 personality. Into these. 564 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,960 Chapters in a way that. Has never been done before. 565 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,680 Dathan Ritzenheim has a quote in the book as a lot of. 566 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,520 Lot of. You know, great runners. 567 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,680 Contributed quotes to this book and I love. 568 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,800 Dathan's quote. Because he talks about just what 569 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,840 I described this this pastoral. Town you're you're literally 570 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:29,320 going past farms. With, you know, cows and. 571 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,440 Then you're you're getting you. Know closer as you get. 572 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,680 Closer and closer to. Boston thing, your landscape 573 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,280 starts. Changing, you'll begin to see, 574 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,720 you know Natick, which is has a little tiny Town Center. 575 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:42,920 Then you'll see. Wellesley. 576 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:44,400 Wellesley College. And then you'll. 577 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,040 Go past graveyards. And Newton and. 578 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:49,960 These gorgeous. Beautiful hills in Newton with 579 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,840 these beautiful homes lining the streets. 580 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:55,320 And then as you get to Brookline, you have these 581 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,640 brownstones that you start to see for the first time. 582 00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:59,400 You know, you're getting closer to Boston. 583 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,840 And then as you turn into Boston, you truly get, you know, 584 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,960 this Boston. Vibe with these gorgeous. 585 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,200 Brownstones and these. Weird streets with. 586 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,280 Different, you know, one way streets and then of course some 587 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:15,320 taller buildings that make it. Look city like so you're you're 588 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,520 just. Transported. 589 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:19,880 That's probably the right word. You're you're. 590 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,560 Transported I've run Chicago I've. 591 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,200 Run New York City. I've run many sleepy little 592 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,440 smaller marathons. Nothing feels like Boston. 593 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,400 Nothing feels like that point to point journey that you take. 594 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,000 And it's not just the. The physical landscape that 595 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,800 changes. The. 596 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,520 Complexion of and the personalities of the people 597 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,160 lying the course change and I speak. 598 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,280 To that as well the people that you. 599 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,880 See in Ashland are very different than the people you're 600 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:52,720 going to see in. Brookline that are cheering for 601 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:58,480 you yeah that's that's that's it's a great read it's very 602 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,560 entertaining at the same time you also hit on more serious 603 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,040 points. You know, anything from training 604 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:11,800 to pre race stuff, including the weather and then taper goal 605 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,960 setting, how to run it. Like you mentioned earlier, the 606 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:17,960 10 commandments, which are really cool. 607 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,720 And then you kind of concluded on crossing the finish line. 608 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:24,120 And then there was a chapter called now what? 609 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:27,000 And then beyond Boston. So tell us a little bit about 610 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,640 that, because we all know that the marathon Blues are something 611 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,640 that's real. We feel like we've done this 612 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,880 race and and now what, right? Because if you have gotten into 613 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,480 Boston one time doesn't mean you're going to get into it 614 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,200 again. So tell us, Mark, now what? 615 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,360 Yeah, wow, that's. That's very real question in my 616 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,520 life right now. For a lot of. 617 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:48,800 Reasons. But First things first. 618 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:51,920 Yeah, I think once you finish any marathon you're going to, 619 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:53,080 you're going to come down off that. 620 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,560 High, if you will. Certainly at Boston, because it 621 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,880 is you when you when I say. It's a high at. 622 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:01,800 Boston, it's probably as high as you're going to get. 623 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,400 As a runner and. You do have these post race 624 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:06,800 Blues. That are real. 625 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,880 It is almost like a depression and some people. 626 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:11,800 It. It affects more than others. 627 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:13,920 But. It's something what you have to 628 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,920 deal with and the question is, you know, what are you going to 629 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:17,920 do? Next. 630 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,240 Right, so. What's going to get that that 631 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,000 that feeling back? Some people will plot their 632 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:23,840 next. Race. 633 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,160 You know, most people that talk to to me, they're like, Oh, 634 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:31,440 well, you've done 19 of them, this is going to be 20, so. 635 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,000 This must be old hat and. Easy for you, and the answer is 636 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,920 no, it's not you. Know I almost want to. 637 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,200 Say it's more difficult each passing year to make the 638 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:43,200 decision whether I'm going. To run or not and whether my 639 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,720 body. Is going to be able. 640 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,280 To pull it off. So. 641 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,960 What? And then, you know, I'm also 642 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:54,120 looking a little bit in the. Future where? 643 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,760 You know, maybe, just maybe, I won't be able to run Boston 644 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,400 anymore. And what is next? 645 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:01,920 For a lot of people. What is next? 646 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:03,440 And I think. There are a lot of. 647 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,360 Directions. You could go right, you could do 648 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:07,960 another sport. You could play pickleball. 649 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:10,720 You could certainly keep running. 650 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:12,280 You could change up what you're doing. 651 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,360 You know there's many different surfaces, right? 652 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:15,640 You can go to the. Trails. 653 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:17,440 There's many different distances. 654 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,000 You don't have to run a marathon anymore. 655 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,760 You can run short races. Or you could go to the opposite 656 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:23,640 direction. And say I'm done with marathons 657 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:25,600 and now I want to tackle an ultra. 658 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,440 So. And then the other thing is, you 659 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:34,160 know. As you age up your PR's 660 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,120 typically. Are in the rearview mirror. 661 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,200 So or. You know, as they say. 662 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:42,360 PB in Europe, but you're no longer going to be. 663 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:43,880 Able to run as. Fast as you. 664 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,080 Did in your youth? What do you do right if that is 665 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:48,120 what was? Driving you. 666 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,080 Then I would suggest. You look into dominating your 667 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:56,040 age group because you will then. Race against your peers. 668 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:59,840 Or even better, I talk. About this in the book as well. 669 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:01,800 You can. Do you know? 670 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,880 Age graded racing which allows. You to take whatever. 671 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:07,880 Time you have when you're 80 years old and. 672 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:11,040 Compare that time very accurately. 673 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:15,040 To a time that you ran when you were 22 and there's an entire, 674 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,400 you know. Calculation to do that. 675 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,120 It's fascinating, quite frankly, and you could actually compare 676 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:24,480 your time. Let's say I'm, you know, I am, I 677 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:30,320 am 58 and I had a 58 year old friend who, you know, ran a 10K 678 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:36,159 in Utah and I ran a marathon here in Boston and he was 679 00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:37,400 bragging to me. Oh my. 680 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,000 Race is far better than your race. 681 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,639 Well. That sounds it's arbitrary, 682 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:42,600 right? But it's not. 683 00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:45,320 You can actually. Put those two races into. 684 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:46,440 The. The calculator. 685 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:49,639 Age graded calculator. And you can determine whose 686 00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:51,600 percentage is higher or not and there. 687 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:54,560 Will be a winner, so. I think there's so many things 688 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:58,880 you can do after Boston, and I'm at the point in my running 689 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:03,120 career where I'm thinking through a lot of these things 690 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,440 and also thinking about my health. 691 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,320 And a lot of people. Will end up doing this a. 692 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:14,560 Little bit more holistically. Right, so I arrived at this via 693 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,320 having played college baseball. And it was really in my DNA as 694 00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:19,040 I. Said earlier the. 695 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:21,960 Train for something. Well, I could do that. 696 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:23,240 With something else, and in fact. 697 00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:26,360 I've actually picked up tennis. In a pretty serious way. 698 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,800 I. Love different things, so I'm 699 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:34,080 writing a book a second. Book now that's pretty close. 700 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:35,200 To getting a deal done that I'm really. 701 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:36,480 Excited about that I can't talk about. 702 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:41,640 But it is related to that. That journey of what's next? 703 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:45,160 And I'll share more details. When we talk next. 704 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:48,560 And hopefully we'll get a copy of that book and then we'll 705 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,280 bring you back on. So Oh yeah, we'll do that. 706 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,920 Definitely. Thank you, Mark, so much. 707 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,720 And obviously, we'll link everything that has to do with 708 00:35:56,720 --> 00:36:01,680 your book on our platform. And then if you want to, just 709 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:04,320 let our listeners know how they can find you best if they want 710 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,960 to contact you. Sure, the easiest way is just to 711 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:09,000 go right to my. Website which? 712 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:14,000 Is Mark MARCW, polina.com. It's my writing hub. 713 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:18,320 So I have a blog there. That has a lot of information on 714 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:21,240 the Boston Marathon. A lot of podcasts, this one will 715 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:23,800 be there as well. That is the easiest way and it 716 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:27,000 also has links to. How to get in contact with me 717 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,600 whether it's e-mail or. Otherwise, so that is probably. 718 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,440 The easiest way I would. Also encourage you. 719 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:35,840 To if you love the. Book. 720 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:39,120 And you've read the book. To review it. 721 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:44,120 On Amazon or on? Goodreads and also to connect 722 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:46,320 with me. I am on social media. 723 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:48,320 I do. A lot of my running posts on 724 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,200 Instagram. I'm also on Facebook. 725 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:53,480 Reach out to me, I'd love to hear. 726 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:57,600 From you and connect in ways beyond this podcast. 727 00:36:58,120 --> 00:36:59,520 Absolutely. And then when they see you in 728 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:03,520 Boston, they can say hi. No, I yeah, I love that. 729 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,960 The Expo. And the Boston experience is so. 730 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,280 Special and runners are. Just so friendly, they're so. 731 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:10,800 Such a. Convivial. 732 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,400 Community, right? So absolutely. 733 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,000 I am all over the Expo. I'm all over the streets of 734 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,320 Newberry or Newberry St. And which is where a lot of the. 735 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,160 Pop up stores are. So seek me out. 736 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:27,160 I am there and I if you don't see me, I may see. 737 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:30,080 You and I'd love to. Sign your book and personalize 738 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,000 it for you if you bring it with you so I. 739 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,600 Would love to do that. Perfect, Mark. 740 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:37,160 Thank you so much. Thank you, Letty. 741 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:43,880 My pleasure. Thank you, Mark, for speaking 742 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:45,720 with me. That was very awesome. 743 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:49,000 I appreciate your time. And like I said to you 744 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:52,640 listeners, if you are interested in checking out this book and 745 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:55,200 get it right before Boston, you can do so. 746 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,800 I'm going to link it in the show notes, but if you're running and 747 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:02,120 you can't check out the show show notes, you can check it 748 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:03,680 out. It's the Boston Marathon 749 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,720 Handbook by Mark Polina, very easy. 750 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:09,320 You can find it on Amazon and everywhere else. 751 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:10,840 So what do we have in the store next week? 752 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:15,600 So next week we're going to talk to an elite runner about the 753 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:20,320 reality of sponsorships. Sponsor sponsorships. 754 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,520 Sponsorships. Sponsorships, the reality being, 755 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:27,200 you know, kind of obviously not that great, especially running, 756 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:28,520 right? If you compare running and how 757 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,360 much people train for it and everything to a sport like I 758 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:33,240 don't know, I don't know anything about football, but if 759 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:35,520 you were to compare to football. They do a lot of training for. 760 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:37,680 Football, right? But look at the different pay 761 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,560 grade level. Yes, it's ridiculous, especially 762 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:44,880 given that, for example, the Olympic athletes or Olympic 763 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,400 marathon qualifiers had a post up before they went to Paris, 764 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,920 kind of almost fundraising for that trip, which I thought was 765 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:53,720 outrageous that they had to do that. 766 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:56,840 And yeah, I think with all those sports that are the mainstream 767 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,560 sports, unless you're very, very top, you're not making much 768 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:01,480 money. And even the top, top raisers, I 769 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:02,560 don't know how much they're making. 770 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:06,360 Exactly, unless you're living in a different country where that 771 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,920 money will go further. But we cannot talk about that 772 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:11,480 next week. All right, so that's it for 773 00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:13,040 today. Thank you so much for tuning in. 774 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,160 If you are watching this, which I don't know how many people 775 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:18,800 will actually watch this on YouTube, but if you are, thank 776 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,840 you so much. Check out our other videos. 777 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:23,200 I do tons of shoe reviews, vlogs, etc. 778 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,360 This is just kind of part of the channel now, right? 779 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:29,000 So that's it. With that. 780 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:36,200 Have a great week of running. Thanks for tuning in. 781 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:41,200 For more information, go to www.marathonrunningpodcast.com 782 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:43,480 or check us out on all channels.