Boston Marathon
Monday, April 21, 2003Volunteer report from Glenn...
Date: Sun Apr 27, 2003
Subject: A Boston volunteer's report
Group photo after the post-Boston Marathon dinner
Fellow winged wonders...
What a weekend.
I visited Boston for the first time in 1998. I took part in the Penguin Flight School at Babson College and met many Penguins for the first time, including the legendary Julia Kim and Harriet Kang. This was August, and of course, I didn't get the chance to participate in every marathoner's dream, the Boston Marathon. I swore I would return and use the extra "T" token I had kept all these years.
Five years later, I finally made my return trip...
SATURDAY, APRIL 19
At 6:30 a.m., I caught a charter bus full of runners going to Boston. The bus was nice and clean, there was plenty of space and -- best of all -- no extra stops along the way. It was also nice to cross the U.S. border without having to de-board and go through customs.Dave McConkey was the tour leader and he occasionally brought us snacks (trail mix, chocolate, beer nuts) for the whole trip. We also watched a documentary of the Badwater 135 ultra as we drove along the I-90. We arrived in Boston around 5 p.m., and we saw the Red Sox fans leaving Fenway Park after their game with the Blue Jays (Jays lost).
The bus dropped us off at the Hynes Convention Center and I took my bags and ran to the closest subway stop. Good thing I still had that T token because there was a lineup at the tollbox! I rode the "B" train to Harvard Avenue and walked a couple blocks to Big City Restaurant, where Robin Cain had organized the Dead & Penguins dinner.
At the restaurant, I saw Deads and Penguins milling about in the upstairs pool room, which was roped off for us. I hadn't seen Julia, Harriet, Carol, Ken and Kecia since last year. I saw faces that I hadn't seen in years: Val Burgos and Larry James. And I met Joe B, Scott and Lisa Whipps and Nangel for the first time.
As we ate dinner, we all had the chance to catch up. Scott and Kecia were running Boston for the first time and their excitement was contagious. Julia, Nangel, Ken and Joe B were also running. As the sun set, it came right into the pool room. The weather was beautiful outside and it hinted at good weather for marathon day. We ended the meal with double chocolate brownies. Sweet.
I took the inbound T with Julia, Joe B and Ken and called it a night.
SUNDAY, APRIL 20
I rose early and got dressed. Holy Cross Cathedral was about a mile away and I didn't want to miss the 8 a.m. Mass. The sun was already out and it was warm enough that I only needed a fleece jacket. (We've had a brutal winter in Toronto, so this was summer-like conditions!) How do you know you're in Boston? After the Easter Mass, the priest gave the marathon runners a blessing! First time I've ever seen that!Later that morning, Ken and I walked to the Sunday brunch hosted by Julia and Joe B at Joe's place. For the next couple of hours, Deads and Penguins trickled in and out. I met new Penguin Barb and Pam B (who I last saw at PWC last year) again. Even had a chance to meet a girl from Baltimore who was cheering a friend. BTW, Julia makes the BEST cinnamon rolls. She caught me taking one to go, before I left for the expo.
Boston during marathon weekend is a zoo. The streets are full of runners, and many fast runners to boot. At times the atmosphere was overwhelming. Imagine runners talking about marathon times in the 3-hour range as if it was nothing. Imagine runners wearing their best running gear, especially the ubiquitous "Boston Jacket." I neglected to bring any running-related clothing and I really needed to "represent." Should've brought my Toronto Penguin t-shirt.
I spent the afternoon at the expo and it reminded me of other big-city marathon expos, like Chicago, New York or Marine Corps. The difference was: You couldn't ignore the amount of Boston "stuff" that was on sale. Of course, if you're running the race, you'd probably want to go home with at least a jacket. But I was still blown away by the amount of Boston logo merchandise you could buy.
After trying all the assorted bars, gels and drinks, I bought a Boston Police Runners shirt (hey, you gotta represent!) and started my walking tour of downtown. Five years ago, I walked the "Freedom Trail" route from Boston Common to the Quincy Market. I was looking forward to repeating those steps.
I walked down Newbury Street to the Public Garden, where I had to pay a visit to the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture. No surprise, there were children playing on and around the ducklings. From there, I passed by Beacon Hill, through the Common, the Granary Burial Ground, the Old State House and finally Faneuil Hall. Took a quick look inside the Bill Rodgers running store and walked up and down Quincy Market.
Took the T back to the Prudential stop and had dinner at Marche with the Penguins. Here we met Daniel, who drove up from New York and was running the marathon as a bandit. Around the table were some of the most knowledgable and experienced runners in the whole Brigade, including doctors, coaches and long-time runners.
I made an early exit so I could get to Cambridge. My latest obsession has been improv comedy and I wanted to catch a show at ImprovBoston. I got there halfway through the first show (improvised musical) and saw the whole second show where one actor had to do 20+
separate improvised scenes with 20+ different people! I stayed for the third part of the show, which was an "open jam" where anyone could participate. I got on stage a couple of times and it was a BLAST! Was I scared? Sure, but who would know? :-)MONDAY, APRIL 21
In April 2002, realizing that the Boston Marathon was approaching, I visited the B.A.A. Web site to see if I could volunteer. I realized that becoming a volunteer was almost as complicated a process as registering for the marathon itself. I was too late.So in January 2003, I mailed in my volunteer application and waited. And waited. I didn't hear
anything until late March when my volunteer package arrived. I was assigned to help at the 23.1-mile water station. A couple weeks later, I also got a letter from Joseph, our station captain, with more details of the day's happenings. This was serious stuff.I definitely didn't want to be late for check-in! I had to be there by 11 a.m. sharp. I left at 9 a.m. and it only took me 30 minutes to arrive at the Washington Square T stop in Brookline, about 5K from the finish line. I killed an hour's worth of time by hanging out at the Starbucks patio and nursing a tall coffee.
At 10:50 a.m., I walked in front of the Tai Chi building where I was supposed to check in. There was nothing set up so far, although there was a trailer/shed with all the equipment and supplies inside. Beside the shed were folded tables. I introduced myself to the captain, Joseph, who gave me my jacket, a yellow adidas jacket with the words "Boston Marathon 2003" on the back and front left chest.
There were about 40 people split between two water/Gatorade stations on the right and left sides of Beacon Street. Spectators were also starting to gather on the left side, organizing tailgate parties with barbeques, beer and lawn chairs. After we set up the tables, we fastened sponsor aprons to them with duct tape. Then we moved the supplies: bags of ice, water bottles and Gatorade concentrate.
I was on the final Gatorade table on the right-hand side with two friends, Raquel and Vivian [see above], and a local resident, Jenny, whose apartment overlooked the station! We began to mix the concentrate and the water and stack the cups on the table. Joseph said we should stack them three layers high.
After we had finished half of the first layer, Joseph told us to stop. A representative from Gatorade would come by and test the Gatorade [see below] to make sure it was the right concentration! The lady took some Gatorade, placed it into a small tube with a sight at one end and looked down the sight. She said it was the best she'd seen all day. We patted each other on the backs and got back to work.
Believe it or not, all the practice I had last year in preparation for the Burlington Rock 'n' Roll Penguin Aid Station helped me immensely in Boston. We were able to fill and stack our cups quickly and efficiently and soon we had all three layers on our table. There was a headwind, which made it difficult to keep the empty cups down and I wondered if the wind would help or hurt the runners. The weather was beautiful for the non-runners, but it was too warm for the marathoners.
Calm before the storm: everything ready!I wore a pair of black nylon pants and an old white shirt. If there was one thing I knew, it was that I'd get wet. My shoes are still a little crusty from the Gatorade spilled on them.
At 12 noon, I took a break and ate my corned beef sandwich. Once the runners started coming by (roughly 1:45 p.m.), we wouldn't have another chance to eat until 4 or 5 p.m. Luckily, J.P. Licks was also there giving out ice cream. I scanned the flavour list and saw "Cherry Garciaparra." It was good. At 1 p.m., everything was ready. All the cups were stacked. We mixed extra Gatorade, which was in barrels on the ground. All we could do is wait.
A wedge of police motorcycles flew by our station followed by the first wheelchair racer. Ernst Van Dyk had a commanding lead -- a couple of minutes passed before the second wheelchair came by. A little later came the first women wheelchairs.
Then the first male runners passed our station at 1:45 p.m. All of us watched the Kenyans fly past us. Then I thought: Shouldn't we be giving out Gatorade? Although the elites usually have their own fluids, I realized that at least one of us should've given out Gatorade! Knowing this, I grabbed three green Gatorade cups (two in my left hand, one in my outstretched right hand). The next runner was Bib #1, the 2002 winner Rodgers Rop of Kenya. Surprising all of us, he grabbed the cup from my hand. We were ALL in awe. It was the first of thousands of cups we would hand out all day. (Rop would finish seventh.)
Svetlana Zakharova was the first woman by. She had a good lead on the next few women. By 2:00 p.m., a slow trickle of runners passed us. Some of them stopped at our station, but many flew by. The day was getting warmer and the breeze that made it difficult to stack our cups had dissipated.
By 2:30 p.m., Vivian, Raquel, Jenny and I were in full swing. Hundreds of runners were passing by our stop every minute. I yelled "Gatorade, Gatorade" as I handed the cups to the runners. On the left side of the street, the locals were grilling burgers, steaks and hot dogs on their Broil Kings. The smell wafted to our side and we were tempted to cross the street.
Ready to give out Gatorade and water!At the same time I was saying "Gatorade," I also shouted encouragement. Many runners were representing their countries and clubs... Korea, Mexico, France and Canada (a couple of spectators sang O Canada when they saw a Maple Leaf)... Police, fire department and military teams... Charity groups like L-Street, Doug Flutie and Dana Farber... Running clubs like Prospect Park, Buffalo Chips, Checkers and, of course, the B.A.A. I had fun calling out the names on the singlets as fast as I could. It was as hectic as when I cheered at the 2001 New York City Marathon. Several runners also thanked the volunteers.
A couple hours into the race, our table was on the last layer of cups. We had to mix more Gatorade and fill the cups pronto. The four of us were switching jobs: mixing, pouring into cups and giving out. After 5 p.m., when the number of runners started to decrease, we used rakes to clean the cups off the road.
I told the Penguins that I'd be at mile 23 and I was wearing my pink Penguin Brigade hat. The first person I recognized was Joe B. An hour or so later, Julia stopped by looking strong. A little later, Nangel and Kecia arrived at about the same time. Later, Kecia would tell me that when she saw me, she wasn't sure she would finish the race. But she did and she has the medal to prove it! The last Penguin I saw was Daniel.
We ran out of Gatorade after 5 p.m. Actually, we still had Gatorade concentrate, but ran out of water to mix it with (the remaining water was in cups on the water table). At this point, most of the volunteers were cleaning up our station, putting everything in garbage bags. I remained with two other ladies giving out water.
By 5:30 p.m., I decided to take a break. I had yelled "Gatorade" and "Water" for 3+ hours and even though I drank the Gatorade and water to relieve my throat, it was still hoarse. After 3+ hours of non-stop activity, I was physically and mentally exhausted. My right trapezius muscle was hurting from keeping arm out at 90 degrees! I sat down on the curb and ate the rest of my corned beef sandwich and downed it with a couple Dixie cups full of water.
Another wedge of police motorcycles flew by, followed by a line of street sweepers. Then the traffic returned to Beacon Street. Anyone still on the course had to move to the sidewalk. Once the cleanup was complete, Joseph, the station captain, congratulated me on a job well done. We all did a good job.
I took all my stuff and got on the T. As the train travelled toward the city, I saw runners finishing the last 5K of the race. I exited at Hynes station and walked down Boylston to see the remaining finishers. Even at 6+ hours, people were still cheering the runners. As I walked by the medical tent at Copley Plaza, a woman asked if I would trade my yellow volunteer jacket for a white medical jacket. As much as I wanted a white jacket, I had to say no. I'd earned my yellow jacket that day.
I walked to Maggiano's and waited for the Penguins. All the Penguins enjoyed a big meal, wearing their jackets and their medals. Then we started asking, "What's next?"
TUESDAY, APRIL 22
The bus ride back to Toronto left at 7:30 a.m. I hadn't seen this group since the previous Saturday, but everyone had the post-Boston excitement. People were interested to hear my story of being a volunteer and I heard bits and pieces of their stories (e.g., "I was aiming for a 3:30, but it was TOO hot so I finished with a 3:45", etc.)On the way back, they played the video of the race on the bus. As the lead runners pass our water station, you can see me for about two seconds. I'm wearing the pink hat :-)
THANKS YOUS
Thank you to Julia. I wouldn't have been able to attend this encounter without her help.Thank you to Joe B. It was a pleasure to finally meet you. The Sunday bagel brunch was awesome.
Thank you to Robin Cain for organizing the Saturday night Deads & Penguins dinner. Much appreciated.
Thank you to Dave McConkey for a great bus ride to and from Boston.
Thanks to all the Penguins who made this weekend a special event.
POSTSCRIPT
If there's a way, I would like to be a Boston volunteer again! :-)
Godspeed!
Glenn Gabriel (ggabriel@pathcom.com)
Toronto, Canada
Kecia and I at the post-Boston dinner at Maggiano's
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