Monday, April 19, 2010

2010 Boston Marathon


It was a sparkling spring day for this year's Boston Marathon, a 26.2 mile run from Hopkinton to Boston. Before the race these people had prepared a welcoming sign in chalk for Tina, who is clearly a Canadian. The first runner to step on Tina's artwork was Teyba Erkesso, from Ethiopia, who won the women's race. You see her whizzing by in this picture at mile 19, where she was far ahead of the pack. She finished in 2:26:11, edging out the next person by a mere three seconds.



The men came next, clumped together bit more at mile 19. But by the end, Robert Cheruivot from Kenya pulled away, finishing in 2:05:52. He beat the next runner by almost two minutes.


I was looking for, but missed, my colleague Scott Kashman, CEO of St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City. He ran a very respectable 3:10:30.

As was the case last year, BIDMC's Dr. Doug Horst was part of a large group of runners who were raising money for the American Liver Foundation. You see him here, near the 24-mile mark, still in good spirits.


Some friends, including a couple of soccer buddies, invited me to play in their band at mile 23 or so. Instruments included African drums, a piccolo, gongs, sticks, and, of course, a sousaphone. The ensemble was well appreciated, especially by the "less elite" runners who were still coming by late in the afternoon.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Paul -- Every year I look forward to finding your smile and hearing your encouraging cheer from the sideline. Thanks for being part of the wonderful Boston Marathon crowd that stays long after the first place runners have passed to provide welcome encouragement to all us slower runners at the back of the pack. We love it.

I am very proud that our Run for Research Team, some 244 runners strong and including me and Ruth Bisschop of the BIDMC GI Endoscopy Unit, has now raised over $1.1 million this year for research that will help find better treatments and possible cures for liver diseases. It was a great marathon day.

Anonymous said...

Margie,

I have sent your suggestion along. Didn't want to post your phone number here.