Around this time of year, a countless number of runners from Bucks County plan to make their annual pilgramage to Boston for a very good reason.
They want to try their best, among the best, in perhaps the best-known marathon in the world.
For people from these parts, the Beantown event is a natural. The iconic course has beautiful scenery, wildly cheering crowds and the well-placed hill here and there.
As for members of the Bucks County Roadrunners Club, it’s more than just covering 26.2 miles as fast as possible on foot. It’s a social event. That’s why the third Monday in April is circled on their calendars well in advance.
There’s usually an informal social post-race get-together, a dinner if you will, to tell “war stories,” listen to them and share a smile or two.
Richboro’s Lori Wade is one of those who keeps going back, not only for the excitement of testing her running skill with the world’s fastest but for the camaraderie of hooking up with old friends in a unique environment.
Plus there’s the somewhat unique qualifying standards which make Boston somewhat glamorous.
“I think it’s all the people you’re running with,” said Wade in a recent telephone interview. “And it’s a hard thing to qualify for in the first place.”
The BCRR Winter Series is the perfect training ground for Boston because it provides a variety of distances over the hilly terrain of Tyler State Park. Competitions such as those get Boston hopefuls prepared for the grind of “Heartbreak Hill” around the Mile 20 mark.
The runners from the Series often get together on their own to train. Wade recently ran with Langhorne’s Pete Lederer, who is set to run in his 23rd straight Boston, just two away from joining the celebrated Quarter Century Club.
“Usually before (Boston), everyone will meet down at the finish line,” said Wade, who will be running her fifth Boston on Monday, April 20. “Like the day before the race, get a group picture. After, we’ll organize a dinner for all those people who are still walking.”
This past winter’s tough weather has made it tough for everyone to run outdoors and get properly trained.
“I think I did a 14-week training plan this time,” Wade said. “I used the ‘Hampton Method.’ It mixes up speed, hills and a long run once a week, plus a couple days of slower.
“Between the cold temperatures and doing the hills, along with the treadmill – and I was doing 10 to 12 miles on the treadmill – those are some of the things I was dealing with.”
Wade did her best Boston three years ago when she ran 3:23. Since then she’s entered a new age group (45-49) and so there’s added incentive to see how she will perform at a different life marker.
Lori and her husband, Marty, have two sons who are both into sports. Carson, 16, plays soccer for Council Rock South and also enjoys running. Brooks, 13, is about to try out for track at Holland Middle School.
The boys can run faster than their mom on the track but when it comes to the long distance stuff, well, that’s another story.
As for returning to Boston this year, Lori is quick to point out the race people are going back to the traditional blue and yellow for their jackets. Those are must-have keepsakes.
Living close to Tyler State Park makes it convenient for Wade to practice up for Boston. It certainly beats adjusting the incline setting on the old treadmill.
“There are basically four hills in Boston and they go from miles 16 to 21,” she said. “The longest is just over a half-mile. I honestly don’t think ‘Heartbreak’ is the worst. It’s the last one and that’s why they call it Heartbreak, I think, because it’s the last one.”
Challenges like that keep everyone coming back for more. That’s why this test of wills is still going strong well past a century.
>Race calendar
Saturday
Be Kind 5K, 9:30 a.m., Buckingham. Contact www.bucks5kseries.com
Be the first to comment