Over 200 Jumbos yesterday joined a herd of almost 25,000 runners in the 115th Boston Marathon as part of the President's Marathon Challenge (PMC).
The team of 210 Tufts runners were cheered on by a crowd including many fellow Jumbos along the 26.2?mile trail from the town of Hopkinton to Copley Square in downtown Boston.
All but one of the registered PMC runners finished the race, according to PMC Director Don Megerle.
"We had an unusually high ninety?nine?percent rate of completion," he said. Only one Tufts runner was unable to finish the race due to severe dizziness and dehydration, for which she was hospitalized and then released after a few hours, according to Megerle.
Daniel Hatfield, a graduate student at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, had the fastest Tufts time at 3 hours, 16 minutes, according to Megerle.
The fastest time overall went to Geoffrey Mutai, a Kenyan. His time of 2:03:02 was the fastest time for any marathon, but due to technicalities associated with Boston's course will not be recorded as a world record. A Kenyan also took the top woman's slot, with a 2:22:36 finish time.
Juliana Slocum, a senior who Megerle said ran the fastest female time of the Tufts runners at 3:25:27, said she appreciated the support she received from Megerle and the members of the Tufts community who showed up to cheer the runners on.
"It was awesome; it was a beautiful day, and the crowd was amazing," Slocum said. Slocum, who qualified individually for the marathon but still ran in the traditional yellow PMC singlet, said the team was especially motivated given that this year marked the challenge's last year under the tenure of its creator, University President Lawrence Bacow, who started it in 2003 and ran the marathon for its first five years.
"There's nothing like crossing the line and getting a hug from your university president," Slocum said. "I think we all felt it, [we were] just wanting to make sure it was really great day," Flocum said.
Slocum said she looks forward to the tradition continuing in coming years despite Bacow's departure.
"Hopefully the program will continue," she added. "I'd love to run as an alumni."
"It's going to be hard to come down from the emotional high and go to class tomorrow," Slocum added.
PMC student runners, who are through the challenge sponsored to run the marathon without meeting the normal qualifying times, are expected to raise $1,000 in donations for programs at the Friedman School. Non?students are expected to raise $2,500.
This year's donations, which totaled more than $300,000 according to the PMC website, will benefit the Personalized Performance Program, a Friedman School professor's initiative to increase health and fitness program among Tufts' students, faculty and staff.
