It is that time of year again: finals are approaching, seniors are scrambling to find answers to the dreaded question, "What are you going to do next year?" and students are beginning to wear their beach flip flops to class.
I know it is hard with the beautiful weather and the school year coming to a close for many people to focus. However, mid-April is crunch time for thousands of people who have put in months and months of training and focus into their work. The great state of Massachusetts, with its storied past and histories, has come up with some unique holidays to suit the wonderful traditions of the Bay State. One such tradition that gives most college students a much-needed three day weekend before finals is Patriot's Day, Massachusetts' excuse for clearing the streets during the Boston Marathon.
My first experience with the Boston Marathon occurred during my first year of college. I had nothing better to do with myself on that much-beloved mid-April day, so I decided to volunteer handing out water to runners. After relishing in the fact that volunteering for the marathon garnered me a free jacket, hat, and all the yellow Gatorade I could drink, I was amazed by the marathon experience. I was perfectly placed at mile ten to see the race develop from the almost superhuman Kenyan contingent's blistering five minute mile pace, to the casual, unofficial, marathon runner's walk. The spectacle of the marathon rekindled my fervor for running.
As an athlete who competed in high school cross country and track, running had been an everyday part of my life for the four years prior to coming to Tufts. I ran religiously every day but stopped when I came to college. The college school work, the jobs, and the activities got in the way of my running. I ran every now and then but was not as consistent as in my high school years. I decided not to run track at Tufts in an effort to avoid dealing with the commitment and stress of being a part of a varsity sports team. However, I had come to miss the competition and thrill of running on that mid-April day of my freshmen year.
After six hours of spilling garbage cans full of Gatorade, pouring dozens of gallons of bottled water, and witnessing an incredible athletic feat, I decided to make one of my goals before leaving college to run the Boston Marathon. To my delight, in the fall of my sophomore year, I discovered an opportunity to run the Boston Marathon without having to run an insanely fast qualifying time. Tufts, with John Hancock financial (one of the biggest sponsors of the Boston Marathon), had made a handful of Boston Marathon numbers available to Tufts students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators and friends. I was thrilled to hear of the opportunity and jumped at the chance to run the marathon.
I trained for months, keeping close tabs on my weekly mileage and diet, and reading all the "How to run a marathon" books that I could find. All the training and hard work finally paid off last year when I completed my first Boston Marathon in almost 100 degree weather. I did not really have control of my legs and I was in intense pain the week after the marathon, but all of it was worth it. I had completed one of the things I wanted to do before I graduated college.
So fast-forward to today, when it is about a week until the marathon and I am running it again. "Why?" you might add. Am I a masochist who enjoys the pain of running 26.2 grueling, hilly miles in the suburbs of Boston? Or am I just a college student with nothing better to do? I must say that it is a little bit of both, with an added element of Tufts school spirit. Next Monday, Tufts will have a strong contingent of close to 200 students, faculty and alumni running with Tufts singlets in order to support the nutrition and fitness programs at our University. Each runner has pledged to raise $1,000-$2,500 in order to take part in the President's Marathon Challenge. Months of training and fundraising for this dedicated group of individuals will culminate in anywhere from three to six hours of running next Monday.
The President's Marathon Challenge is one of the best examples of school spirit at Tufts; with students, faculty, staff and alumni coming together with the common goals of running a crazy amount of miles in one day, raising money for Tufts, and having a good time. Next Monday, when you are trying to figure out what to do on your day off, maybe take some time to go into Boston and support the Tufts marathon runners. You will witness a great Boston tradition, wonderful school spirit and amazing athletic performance.
Loi To is a junior majoring in political science and Russian. He can be reached at loi.to@tufts.edu.
