A Run With A Purpose

So what did you do to celebrate Patriot’s Day? Read some cases? Sleep? Suck down some Ben and Jerry’s?
Or, did you run 26 miles like Kate Attea, Beth Ferguson, Cyrus Hadidi, Kerry Noone, Bill Russell, and Erin Thomas to raise over $14,000 for a great cause?

Last Monday about 30 members of the HBS community ran in the world-famous Boston Marathon, the largest spectator-sporting event in the world. For the two of you who read the Harbus Sports Section regularly, you may know that one contingent for HBS ran the marathon to benefit the West End House, an affiliate of the Boys and Girls Club of Allston. Although the crusade culminated with the marathon, the group waged a all-out charity drive that included a TGIF, corporate sponsorship, a treadmill raffle, the “Energy” party, and a per mile donation campaign.

So kudos to the team who made our school proud!! Their determination and selflessness should motivate us all. To get everyone excited about training for next year’s race, I decided to capture some of the thoughts of the team:
How did the race go?

“This was my hardest marathon ever – the hills really gave me a beating! I hit the wall at around mile seventeen. Today I feel pain in every muscle and joint. I wince at the thought of going downstairs.” – Kate

“The first 19 miles were glorious then I smacked into “the wall” and got a glimpse of what hell must be like. But the fans were great, especially the huge HBS contingent at Mile 24.” – Bill

“I just focused on trying to finish. The night before the race, the “right” thing to do would be watch action movies, but I found doing laundry and reading cases worked as well.” – Cyrus

“The race was tough due to the five miles of hills, but running into HBS fans along the way really helped. Amelia Alberghini and Tim Watson even ran in with me – they are great running buddies!” – Beth

Where did you get tired?
“I broke the race up in my head as two ten-mile runs, and a 6 mile “jog around the Charles.” Towards the end of the second 10 mile run, I realized my little mind game wasn’t quite going to work – first of all, the trail around the Charles is flat.” – Cyrus

How was the Heartbreak Hill?
“I had to just focus on looking straight ahead, because lying on a stretcher was looking much more appealing as the miles passed.” – Kate

“I am not sure how I got up Heartbreak. I did, however, have a vanilla power gel so maybe the secret sauce got me through.” – Erin

“Heartbreak Hill isn’t a big deal, but the twenty or so hills before and after Heartbreak are a killer!” – Beth
Overall?

“At Mile 12, Wellesley College, you got hit with a wall of sound. A thousand young women screaming at the top of their soprano lungs. It is difficult to describe, but was really amazing. You could almost feel the noise, it was so loud.” – Bill

“After the race, the food, snacks, and a hot tub at the Harvard Club made life just a little better.” – Kerry
“For my pre-race meal I had about five gallons of water, a Gatorade, and a power bar. Needless to say I also had several stops at the porta-pottie.” – Erin

“It was great to run a race when there were so many people on the course and back at school were cheering! It was also wonderful to run for such a worthy cause. Thanks to all the HBS support!!” – Kerry