“I said chocolate frosted, not chocolate glazed!” yelled Bill as he threw the Dunkin Donuts bag at his girlfriend, Erin, while riding in the van to the start of the race course. We just assumed he was stressed and anxious about our imminent longest run to date, 21 hilly miles. Four members of the HBS running team, Erin Thomas, Kerry Noone, Bill Russell, and Kate Attea, participated in the charity-organized training run in Hopkinton last Saturday. The run was preparation for the 26.2 mile marathon coming up in just two weeks.
While most of the (normal) runners were eating power bars and hydrating with Gatorade, Bill’s secret was chocolate frosted donuts and coffee. Hey – whatever works. Everyone definitely had their idiosyncrasies – Kerry had issues with not wearing cotton, her “Bodyglide,” and consumption of bananas pre-race. Erin strongly opposed breakfast and had issues with certain types of headphones. I was just plain cranky about imminent pain – fortunately I have an addiction to cliff gel shots and I am dependent on the student massage clinic in Cambridge. Bill was also psyched to be in a car full of women (He also seemingly increased speed and posture when running past Wellesley College – hmmm – a bit suspect if you ask me).
Everyone from the HBS running team is now officially prepared for the big day – well at least physically prepared – but half of the battle is mental. For the most part, the team is sick and tired of running – it has become a chore! Waiting for three more weeks is agony – we just want to get it over with! I, for one, am committed to retiring and turning to Power Yoga instead. But, having run marathons before, I know that as soon as I cross the finish line, I will be eagerly signing up for the next one because of the endorphin rush.
Running for more than 3 hours is rough on the mindset (or closer to 4 hours if you are me), so certain fears must be addressed. Namely, we need a cheering support group. So, we are officially calling all enthusiastic HBS’ers. Get out your bullhorns, pompons, and stereos – we’ll need some noise and some moral support on race day (a few beers and a tailgate won’t hurt either). The race is a lot of fun to watch, and we’ll definitely appreciate the crowd. Hope to see you there!
Lastly, thanks to all of you who purchased raffle tickets and congratulations to the new owner of the swanky Reebok Treadmill. We still need to raise a few thousand more dollars to reach our $12,500 goal, so please support our team and make a donation through quickpay at www.harbus.org/quickpay/marathonteam/.
