For many Bostonians and runners all over the world, the Boston Marathon stands out as the "granddaddy" of all running events. And every April, when "Marathon Monday" rolls around, fleet-footers traverse that world in order to take part in what has become a cherished competition of human strength and will.
For Tufts grad and running enthusiast Dan Ruane (LA '00), the marathon has become a way of life - and a livelihood, too. A runner since the fourth grade, and a 13-year native of Needham, MA, Ruane has participated in the Boston Marathon every year since he was a senior in high school, when he first tackled the 26.2-mile path. Since then, he has completed dozens of marathons around New England both to satisfy his competitive drive and just for "pleasure" on weekends.
"If you're going to do a long run anyway, you might as well suck up the entry fee and just do the run in a marathon with a bunch of people around you," Ruane explained.
For the past four-and-a-half years, Ruane has worked at Marathon Sports in Cambridge, where he is now a store manager. In past years, he has been involved with Marathon Sports as a booth provider for the Boston Marathon Expo at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
Having completed 12 marathons last year alone - including Boston during the spring of his senior year at Tufts - Ruane has adopted running in New England as a way of life. In that same semester he spent his time outside the store and off the trails, teaching an Experimental College course on the science and history of running.
"Everything out there is about how to train and shoes and products. I wanted to combine that stuff with a look at the rich history of the sport," he said.
But his most intimate relationship with the marathon developed out on the course in the Boston hills. "My senior year [in high school] was the 100th running of Boston and I decided I had to do it," he said.
Ruane said he trained rigorously, completing 25 to 50 mile weeks in high mileage runs spaced throughout the week. His will to prepare for the race turned out to be the least of his problems.
"I really wanted to get in but no matter how many favors I called in or tricks I tried, I couldn't get a number," he said.
For the Marathon's 100th year, qualifying times were dropped from consideration, but obtaining an official registration and "bib number," which was needed to participate, proved difficult for many first-timers. Ultimately, that didn't stop this Jumbo from hitting the roads.
"It required some serious logistical moves, including my cousin's residence in Hopkington [the start of the course]," Ruane said. "But it was worth it. That first time, feeling all the energy of the crowd and seeing all those towns with everybody along the course, and being completely overwhelmed by the people before the Newton hills urging you to 'go after them'."
Even runners new to Boston have heard about the treacherous uphill climbs in Newton, such as the famous incline dubbed "Heartbreak Hill" by a sports writer speaking of the defeat of one of the Boston greats, Johnny A. Kelley, at the hands of fellow runner Tarzan Brown in 1936. Contrary to the hype over these killer ascents in the Marathon's second half, Ruane insists that the downhills actually puts the hurt on the legs for all those who waddled home from Boston.
After this year's marathon, which Ruane completed in 3:57:43, having trained with only "a couple six-mile runs in March," he said that he had found some of the secrets to Boston. "It is all mental," he said about his apparent lack of training, pointing a convincing finger at his temple.
And for those people who come away from the hills unable to climb up and down stairs for the next week: "The trick to Boston is to take the first five [miles] as relaxed as possible - almost zero effort through five, ten, even 13 miles, if you can make it that long. It is all downhill from Hopkington to Newton so people really let it go and take the first half or more way too fast. Then, they finally start feeling it around 17 miles or so into the race, and by then they've already hammered their quads."
At that point, Ruane said, the running crowd's attitude begins to deflate as the serious pain sets in. "All the way through to Newton people are slapping five and keeping upbeat. After BC [and the hills], the interaction dwindles. They get tired of looking around to see anyone they know. You sort of end up in the middle of the road waiting for one of the last turns on to Hereford," he recounted.
Once they hit the city for the last couple of miles, there isn't much rejoicing among the weary travelers. "The first time I ran, I didn't feel anything the last hundred-yard because of the adrenaline. But since then, it has been tough to sprint," Ruane said.
But Ruane has no plans of slowing down. Along with potentially teaching the Ex College course again, and staying on as the manager at Marathon Sports, Ruane guides his personal running life with a few ambitious goals. "I'd like to complete every single marathon in New England and maybe write a book about them... a sort of a guide book with a story to it since those races are all so different and have so much character," he explained.
And - with a touch of what some may call insanity - Ruane suggested that he may someday run across the entire country. "I want to see what it would be like to just run all the way across - to just have running be your duty for the day, like your job - just wake up and run!"
