Once again, remember that the posted pictures are reduced resolution. Please email me at secondlap@comcast.net and identify the pictures you’d like by their number, and I will be happy to send you the full resolution versions. Don’t be shy, feel free to ask for as many as you’d like.
To see my article on the race itself, follow this link.
To see the first batch of pictures, follow this link.
To see the second batch of pictures, follow this link.
Now, on to the pictures!
BM-071: Back around the Ashland-Framingham line, we’d heard a train blast its whistle and fire up its engine. Now, passing through downtown Framingham, the train has caught us but isn’t moving much faster than we are, which gives an interesting quarter mile or so of train racing.
BM-072: Continuing to race the train. It’s going the same direction we are, despite the appearance of engine 7705.
BM-073: This lady was clearly happy, or at least trying to convince others to be. Look closely at the fuzzy antennae, easy to miss.
BM-074: Still pacing the train, this gent powers on. (Ed Note: Learned later that this is #7711, Chris Roberts, of Findlay, Ohio running his 10th Boston and notching his second fastest finish. Way to go!)
BM-075: In east Framingham, a local business sports a sign encouraging you to check out your form in their reflective windows. Look closely on the right edge of the third pane and you can see me taking the picture.
BM-076: Another attempt at form checking, this time the camera flashed making my location a dead giveaway.
BM-077: In West Natick, a formed co-worker (holding the green sign, reaching for an orange), her husband (green jacket) and daughter were right where they told me they’d be and gave me a huge cheer. Thanks, Cori & Chris!
BM-078: Cori tries to give me an orange while I try to take her picture. Neither of us were very successful. But I’m glad I tried, because I didn’t realize until I viewed the picture that she had a sign made up for me! Way cool, I think that’s a first for me! Thanks again, Cori!
BM-079: Over the hump past Wendy’s, we head through West Natick.
BM-080: Here’s #4893, Bob Miller of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Big grin, I like that!
BM-081: Bob then returned the favor. This was not an easy feat, because the camera was tethered to my belt. Not bad aim. Thanks, Bob!
BM-082: Can’t see her number, can’t say who she is, but she’s smiling. There’s a theme here.
BM-083: #5057 David Butterfield of Papillion, Nebraska (which is near Omaha). Now, before you think, “What hills can he train on in Nebraska?” I’ll tell you that at one point in my life I spent a good amount of time out there, and they do have some hills. They used to even have a ski area (don’t know if it’s still there) near Lincoln called – I can’t make this stuff up – Nebraski.
BM-084: Another gaggle of my ‘peeps’ is right where they said they’d be, near St. Patrick’s church in Natick. Thanks, Christine, for the great cheering!
BM-086: And there’s St. Patrick’s, a landmark on the way to Boston.
BM-087: What’s that we hear? You hound dog! It’s Elvis! He is alive, and eating a donut in Natick!
BM-088: A better shot of The King.
BM-089: #4363 Reavis Eubanks of Asheville North Carolina and blind runner #21553 Dickson Perez of Passaic New Jersey. I’m amazed these guys do this sightless. Truly amazed.
BM-090: #6328 Jonathan Drum of San Francisco, California. Grinning. This camera thing worked!
BM-091: Truly dedicated fandom, trying to make it more fun for all. These folks created a replica of Boston’s signature Leonard P. Zakim Bridge. The bridge is impressive, Lenny Zakim was impressive, though I’ve always been puzzled why we needed such a big bridge to get over such a small stretch of water. Go figure.
BM-092: Unfortunately my side-on shot of the bridge missed the top of the towers. Here’s a look back at the total grandeur of the creation.
BM-093: An unidentified runner shows off fine form and another fine grin. Love the flying hair!
BM-094: #9316 Mary Lebrun of Buffalo, New York. A little sleuthing was in order, since I’ve run Buffalo twice – love the race – including my 2:54:09 PR. Yes, she ran it, yes, we have indeed raced before.
BM-095: Mary again. I thought I missed the shot the first time, so I took another. Lucky Mary, both came out.
BM-096: Heading into the dip just before Wellesley College. We can hear it coming.
BM-097: And here we go into the Wellesley College Scream Tunnel. I just held the camera up and click-click-click-clicked almost all the way through. It’s long, there’s lots of clicks. These get a bit tedious, but the sheer number of shots reminds us what an amazing experience the tunnel is!
BM-098: Wellesley College
BM-099: Wellesley College
BM-100: Wellesley College. What’s that MAN doing there? (Answer: Enjoying the company.)
BM-101: Wellesley College. That sign starts to take on new meaning at my age.
BM-102: Wellesley College
BM-103: Wellesley College. The guy in the green hat was shopping. He found a girl he liked and plunged in for the smooch. I missed the shot.
BM-104: Wellesley College. This was my attempt to aim backwards to get the smooch in action. I missed the action, but the looks on the ladies’ faces tells the story. Classic!
BM-105: Wellesley College
BM-106: Wellesley College
BM-107: Wellesley College. Get a load of the ‘official’ sign: “Kissing runners since 1897” Love it.
BM-108: Wellesley College
BM-109: Wellesley College
BM-110: Wellesley College. On the left, she’s holding a sign, “Kiss a first year”. Cripes, that might not even be legal!
BM-111: Wellesley College. These ladies weren’t waiting for runners to stop, they were sending them airborne.
BM-112: Wellesley College. Kiss a Tarheel? Yeah, I know, it’s a regional thing, but it’s just not an enticing sounding idea.
BM-113: Wellesley College
BM-114: Wellesley College. Free kisses for NY-ers? I grew up there and spent my first 22 years there, do I qualify?
BM-115: Wellesley College
BM-116: And finally, the last Wellesley College shot. Two important points: First, I stopped taking pictures before reaching the end of the Scream tunnel. So as long as this appeared, that wasn’t all of it. Amazing. And second, very important, NO, I did not stop.
And with that, we’ll close for tonight. Next time, we see the Hoyts and head for the hills!
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