It's easy to understand why the size of Tufts' marathon team has steadily increased over the last five years, ballooning from 25 runners in 2003 to 193 participants this year - large enough so that people had to be turned away.
Marathon coach and President's Marathon Challenge (PMC) Director Don Megerle has had his hand in the growth of the team since 2004, when he accepted the responsibility following the conclusion of his 33-year tenure as the men's swimming and diving coach.
"I retired; I was ready to walk out the door," Megerle said. "And [marathon co-captain] Eric Johnson, the guy I report to, he helped create this with the President. So someone said, 'See if Don would stay at Tufts, not coach swimming anymore, but take over directorship of PMC,' so they gave me a piecemeal program and we started adding stuff to it."
As it turns out, the swimming program's loss was the marathon team's gain.
Megerle was obviously not ready to hang up his coaching cap so soon, investing all his energies into building the program. The hundreds of photos and thank you cards lining his office in Packard Hall should be enough evidence of this fact.
"I know what happens when you exude a lot of excitement and energy and enthusiasm - people can't help but be part of it," Megerle said. "You have to extend yourself way beyond the running [of the program]. You go to the trainer, you talk to them, you e-mail them, you call them, you write recommendations for them. You're there as if you're the personal trainer for 200 people.
"And to some of these people, it blows them away because they've never had this kind of attention," he continued. "And I like that. I like working to the bone just for those kids - there's nothing like it."
Monday's 26.2 mile trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square will also be a first for many members of the team, from alumni and parents to faculty and students. It goes without saying that despite all the months of preparation, there will be some nerves on Patriots' Day - even for the more seasoned athletes.
"It's a huge challenge," said Alyssa Adreani, a development officer at Fletcher who is running in her first Boston marathon and fifth overall. "I'm nervous that I will wake up and not have a great day. But at this point, training is like putting money in bank, and on marathon day, you have to crack open the bank. You can't do anything to get yourself in more shape now. Now it's all about taking it easy and doing what you need to do to be relaxed and ready for Monday."
Physically, no one on the team should be under-prepared when Monday rolls around. The PMC started its training runs in September, hitting the pavement twice a week when most of the campus was still asleep.
After peeking at 20 miles three weeks ago, the team has been tapering in preparation for the race, reducing its workouts to the barest minimum during the next couple of days.
Having spent so many hours training together, the members of the squad have cultivated a deep-seeded sense of community over the past several months.
"It's amazing," Megerle said. "The friendships within the group, there's life-long stuff there because you're doing something that less than 1 percent of all the populations in the world will do, and that is to run, train for and compete in a marathon."
With so many participants coming from all areas of Tufts' schools, the marathon provides the inevitable intermingling of students, faculty and alumni.
"I have had as much fun with the President's Marathon Challenge as anything I have done as President of Tufts," President Lawrence Bacow wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. "I love running with students. I love hearing stories from people who say that they never thought they could do something like this. To have run the Boston Marathon is like scaling the highest of peaks."
For junior Gopi Desai, the experience was particularly rewarding, as she spent nearly the entirety of her 20-mile run talking with Bacow.
"Larry Bacow is one of nicest people I know," she said. "During the 20-mile run, we ran the entire thing together. He's so personable. He really makes the effort to get to know everybody - he knows everyone by name, he keeps everyone upbeat. And it's great to get to know him on not just a student-faculty level."
It will certainly come as a disappointment to many when Bacow, who has become the face of the marathon in the eyes of the Tufts community, will be unable to run in the marathon next year.
"I love to run and will continue to do so," Bacow said. "Actually running the marathon, however, represents a huge commitment of time. I am finding it harder and harder to set aside the 10-12 hours a week for training that are necessary as the marathon approaches. Also, I am 55 and after this one will have done five marathons. I have managed to stay relatively injury-free. I want to keep it that way."
Still, he will participate in the training runs - a testament to his devotion to the team and the addictive quality of the Tufts marathon experience.
"It's just an incredible event," Adreani said. "First of all it's the history. It's one of the most well-known marathons in the world. It's not like any other marathon in the world, and it's so much fun to run with this diverse group of people."
Evan after his storied career with the swimming team, Megerle cannot help but be in awe of the whole event.
"Coming down Boylston, the last mile and a half, it's unbelievable," he said. "And I coached swimming for 33 years. We had kids win Nationals, All-Americans, Coach of the Year awards, but it's nothing like that."
Apparently, over 20,000 runners agree.
