· Date: Saturday August 3, 2019
· Where: Hopkinton, Massachusetts to Boston, Massachusetts
· Total Distance Covered: 20 miles
The meeting hall we were sleeping in was silent quickly last night, but I don’t think any of us slept well. Almost all of us were awake before our alarms. Whoever had been assigned the role of Rooster today, didn’t even have to do their job. I, along with a few others, quietly rolled our sleeping pads and sleeping bags for the last time before loading them in the van. I was tired and I was sad. Those two things together meant I wasn’t in the mood to talk with anyone. I was still waking up. As I looked around, I felt as though others were feeling the same way. Before we ran twenty miles into Boston, as a team, we had to psychologically pump ourselves up first. Eventually, we loaded all our bags and belongings and drove to the starting position for the day.
It briefly dawned on me how even on the last day, there were gaps in the mileage we ran. The starting position was nowhere near where we had ended running yesterday. I pushed these thoughts away though and focused on what I could control, our final miles together.
We may have all been running the twenty-mile route to Boston Commons individually today, but it took a team effort to coordinate our arrival. Matt and Rohan, two 4K for Cancer Alumni, from one of the bike teams came to help. Matt and Rohan would drive one of the fifteen-passenger vans for the length of the twenty miles. Their role was to ensure that we all had water and electrolytes every four to six miles. They also picked up anyone who was too injured to continue or running too slowly to make it to Boston Commons for our noon cut off time. Our cut off time was noon so that our friends and family, who were waiting for us, some as early as seven this morning, weren’t waiting too long. Becca and a few other representatives did some more behind the scenes work too. The van with our belongings was driven to the finish line so that we could easily get to our things after arriving. The third van was returned to Enterprise. Others started to set up the ceremony for our arrival. And still, others, helped our friends and family find the finish line. The amount of team effort that went into these last few miles reflected the amount of team effort it had taken to run across the country. Without all twenty-eight of us on the team, we would not have been starting to run today in Hopkinton. We wouldn’t have learned everything we had. Everyone on the team had contributed something special and unique. Furthermore, we were all supported by the communities that hosted us, our family, our friends, our supporters, and the Ulman Foundation. When we finally did run across the finish line today, it wasn’t about us. It was about the community we had created and those whom we honored.
Our first mile began in a desolate parking lot after an emotional last dedication circle. All of us ran for each other today, but more importantly, we ran for our loved ones and those who had inspired us to participate in the 4K for Cancer. Before starting, all the guys took a group picture as we had done before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. We had come a long way since!
The first few miles were fantastic. We all ran slowly as a group, but as the miles ticked by, we slowly began to separate. The plan for the team was to run seventeen miles at our own pace and then run the last three miles together. Soon, I found myself next to Tyler S. Tyler and I wanted to run the seventeen miles in a certain time and so we soon broke away from the pack. Luke, Jack, and a few others were ahead of us leading the way who also wanted to get a certain time. This was the first time most of us were running this distance in one run, and so we were all curious about what we were capable of. Previously, the furthest I had run in one session was a sixteen-mile training run for a half marathon. Although I had reached eighteen-mile days during 4K, I hadn’t run this distance all in one shot and neither had a lot of us.
Tyler and I talked about our favorite times on 4K together and what we had gained from it. We talked about the things we had learned and how much we both wished our families could have taken part in. I talked about Laurie a lot and Tyler talked about Angela too. Angela was his inspiration to run 4K.
Soon though, my bowels started to reject the miles. Tyler and I stopped off at a Planet Fitness to use their bathroom. We both figured breakfast was cycling its way through our systems. When we started running again and had returned to the road, no one was anywhere to be seen. We couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind us. Eventually, we discovered that at some point, we had made a wrong turn. This added on an additional mile to our run today and we both ended up completing eighteen miles upon our arrival with the rest of the team’s rendezvous point.
We also realized that for me at least, it wasn’t just breakfast cycling through. Something else entirely was not agreeing with my digestive system. These miles into Boston were the worst miles I had run throughout the entire summer. Without getting into too many details, I had to stop to use the bathroom five separate times. At one point, I almost took some Imodium from a stranger who was also completing a twenty-mile run this weekend. We were both waiting to use a firehouse bathroom together and had started talking when I told him how terrible I was feeling. It suddenly dawned on me that this man was a total stranger and I absolutely shouldn’t be accepting any pills from him. My god had something gotten to my head too while running these miles?
During all the water stops that Matt and Rohan had set up for us, I stopped to take a break and drink electrolytes. I was not feeling good at all. At one point, I threw up. Maybe I had food poisoning? I couldn’t figure it out. Tyler though, kept running while I took my breaks. He would go a little farther ahead and then loop back to me. Eventually, he would run a full marathon today because of this. I was so impressed and if I’m honest I was jealous. I so badly wanted to join him in running the full marathon distance, but I knew I couldn’t. It was a struggle enough as it was to complete these miles.
This whole morning, as sick as I was feeling, still had me marveling at the fact that we were running on the Boston Marathon route. The Boston Marathon was, and remains, a bucket list race for me. To be able to run about fifteen miles of the route today was incredible. Countless others were running it too. Occasionally, these local runners would ask why we were all wearing the same jerseys and what we were running for. We were always met with the same excitement that this was our last day! Runners who showed the signs of constant marathon training would move to the side for us throughout our run towards the finish line, and they probably gave us more respect than we deserved. But we took it all the same. It was incredible that our finish line was in the middle of a city with such a predominant running community.
Eventually, we would reach one of the most iconic portions of the Boston Marathon route, Heartbreak Hill. Heart Break Hill is around mile twenty in the Boston Marathon Route. The name does not disappoint. The hill was massive and as Tyler and I ran up it, I quickly became out of breath. Partway up, we were able to stop at the Heart Break Hill Running Company. In my opinion, this is the most iconic running store in all of America. Although I didn’t really go inside because it is a small property and there were so many people, those of us who were running together made sure to take a picture in front.
As we left the store and continued running up the hill, I couldn’t imagine running up this at mile twenty of a marathon. To have a hill placed at this mile of a marathon was intentional and truly broke countless hearts over the years. Mile twenty of a marathon is when the human body has used up all glycogen stores. Kidneys begin to shut down, and your body begins to conserve vital organs. This is the critical point where runners hit the infamous wall, and their times fall dramatically, or they push through to triumph. I think as Tyler and I talked about this, it motivated me to keep pushing. The last few miles to our rendezvous with the rest of the team felt like a breeze.
Throughout most of the run, Tyler and I were unsure where Luke, Jack, and everyone else had been relative to our position on the route. When we arrived, we realized about half the team had gotten here before us. We were so happy to hear about people’s successes in the day. Luke and Jack had gotten the times they had wanted. Those who had been aiming to run a one-hundred-mile week were projected to do so on our last three miles to Boston Commons. Multiple people had also successfully run extra today so that they would run a marathon distance upon our finish. Furthermore, many of those who had been injured had participated in the miles today. Leah, who had a bad stress fracture had been loaned a bike and biked the seventeen miles so far. Amber, who had also been dealing with a sacrum issue, would run the entire twenty miles today and we were all incredibly impressed. So many others, who had been experiencing injuries ran most of the route, if not all of it. We all knew that this amount of mileage wouldn’t help any of their injuries, but the symbolism and what these miles meant were more important today.
Before beginning our last three miles as a team, Matt and Rohan took a team picture for us. The number of cheers, support, and jokes we had received from them over the past few hours was incredible. We all agreed we wouldn’t have preferred having anyone else to support us in the last miles of our journey!
The last three miles to Boston Commons were slow. We wanted to ensure that the entire team ran the last three miles together. All the injured people led the way. We ran past “Boston Strong” signs and found we were now in the heart of Boston. We must have looked like quite the crowd as twenty-eight sweaty, smelly, and loud runners trounced through the sidewalks. No matter how hard we tried not to, we took up the width of the sidewalk and people would move over for us. Some would join in the cheering and chanting, even though they probably had no idea what we were doing. All they could see were the bright, smiling faces of those who had, unbeknown to them, just arrived from San Francisco. With a little less than a mile to go, Leah returned her bike to Matt and Rohan, who would take it to the finish line for her. From there, all twenty-eight of us were running now.
As we approached Boston Commons, we started to see people who were wearing 4K for Cancer shirts, Team Boston shirts, and other various Ulman Foundation swag. Our eyes followed the path up towards the hill in the center of the park where everyone else was waiting. We could already hear their cheers coming from the swarm of blue. It was incredible and some team members were already crying. Anna led our team from the front, as we yelled our cheer for the last time. This was the same cheer we had yelled every morning before starting our miles. When we arrived on top of the hill, our friends, family, and supporters had lined the path to the top. Running through the swarm of blue, all we could hear was the excitement and support from everyone. The sounds you hear at a finish line, clapping, the ringing of bells, and whistling were overpowering. Everyone was yelling, cheering, and laughing.
Even a year later, as I think about what it was like finally finishing our journey in Boston, it is hard to formulate my thoughts and emotions into words. Running up that hill, surrounded by everyone, I’m not sure what I was thinking. I was looking for my family, a familiar face, or anyone I knew. Inside, my thoughts were going like rapid-fire, but two thoughts kept rising to the surface where they were heard over everything else. The first was that there was no denying Team Boston had done something incredible over the past forty-nine days. The second was that I could feel Laurie smiling down on us. This had been for her.
When we all reached the top of the hill, no one knew what to do and we all bumped into each other as the front runners stopped. This collision naturally turned into a massive group hug and one final team cheer before we all dispersed to our families.
Seeing my family waiting there made me so happy. Each of them had made a sign to cheer us into the finish and they were so cool! I hugged everyone, despite my running clothes and sweaty condition. I think I got everyone sweaty! At this point, I had run twenty-one miles and I could ring sweat out of my jersey like a wet towel. Talking with them and sharing this moment with them meant so much to me. I was so glad that they had been able to come to Boston and even happier that I would be leaving with them. I was ready to go home.
For a while, everyone intermingled together. All of us on the team wanted to meet everyone else’s family. Last night we had joked around that we felt like we already knew everyone! Team Boston had gotten to know each other so well and had talked so much together, that most of us knew the names of everyone’s immediate family and a story about them.
Everything else from here though kind of blends into a blur. I found myself being interviewed for the local news and by Sacred Heart University’s media producer Sean Kaschak. I talked with a few team members and their families. We all ate bagels and fruit the Ulman Foundation had prepared for us. Eventually, a small ceremony began.
Becca and Parker, both representatives from Ulman started. If I’m honest, I don’t remember what they talked about. I am sure they spoke about the support we had all received, what we had done in the past forty-nine days, and how the other 4K for Cancer teams had faired. Team Baltimore was finishing in Baltimore at the same time we were. Eventually, they handed out a few fundraising incentives for those who had fundraised a certain amount. I was able to receive an Ulman Backpack and an Ulman water bottle. I had been waiting for these for weeks and was ecstatic to finally have my hands on them!
Next, was a 4K tradition. Last night, we had all been assigned random teammates whom we would talk about for a minute or so. As Lizzie talked about me, I made my way to the front of the crowd where we congratulated each other and hugged. As she stood there talking about me to everyone else, I became embarrassed and wasn’t sure what to do. Soon though, I was talking about Abby and it was her turn to be embarrassed! This continued until we had gone through the entire team.
To anyone observing, it must have looked pre-planned, which only made this more memorable. None of us had prescripted what we would say. None of us had even chosen who we were talking about. People later told us it seemed as though everyone talked about whom they had been closest with on 4K. But again, this was not the case. All of us were so close on Team Boston, that by the time we arrived in Boston Commons, we could all talk about anyone on the team for an indefinite amount of time. We shared our favorite memories of the person, what they contributed to the team, and what we would remember about them. Essentially, we tried to include those who had come out to support us, in on our team dynamics.
The Ulman Foundation gifted all twenty-eight of us an Ulman Foundation 4K for Cancer flag upon completion of the ceremony. This was by far my favorite thing about the ceremony. I was beyond excited to hang this flag up when I got home.
Saying goodbye after was the hardest part. We all had plans to get to.
Tyler S. was the first to leave the park with his family because they had a wedding to get to. He was in the wedding party, it was an hour away, and he had to be ready in less than three hours! We were all sweating for him. Everyone was with their families and as we all hugged each other goodbye, it felt rushed. Within just a few hours, some had planes to catch, others had trains to catch, and others had parties to attend to. As I tried to track everyone down to say goodbye, it was difficult and felt rushed. We all met up at the vans where we collected our bags and said our goodbyes there. It was sad. We were glad that we had said our lengthy goodbyes to each other last night, but I don’t think anyone pictured it being so rushed now. As everyone left to go back to their lives, it suddenly hit me that the 4K for Cancer was over. It was back to reality.
My sister Aly, and her boyfriend John, would go and explore Boston together. Annalyse, my mom, and my dad grabbed a slice of pizza and then started to drive home. As I sat in the back of our SUV, I realized how strange it felt to sit in an air-conditioned vehicle that didn’t smell like body odor. That was one thing I knew I wouldn’t miss!
We all talked on the way home and at one point I fell asleep. I was so happy to be heading back home. I was finally with my family. I was excited to see everyone and talk about everything we had all missed in each other’s lives.
Eventually, my mom asked me the all-important question, “Did you get out of 4K what you needed to?”
The answer to this is a long one.
