One of the perks of going to Boston College is that our campus sits right on mile 21 of the world famous Boston Marathon. A huge number of BC students run the marathon every year, and this year the Her Campus BC team is proud to announce that four of our own will be conquering Heartbreak Hill! Sophomores Kelsey Damassa, Marye Moran, and Kathryn Saphire, along with freshman Alex Machetanz, are all running with the Campus School team, and are our Campus Celebs for this week!
Each of the girls had their own reasons for running the race, and each has had different backgrounds in running. Kelsey started running as soon as she got to BC as a freshman has done three half marathons so far. Marye, on the other hand, has never done any actual major races, aside from smaller 5Ks, and explains that she ran cross-country in middle school, but always got last place in all of her races. One thing that all four girls were in agreement on was the once-in-a-lifetime tradition for BC students of running the Boston Marathon. Kathryn explains, “Running a marathon has been on my bucket list for a while, but watching the Boston last year on my first Marathon Monday pretty much sealed the deal for me. I was so inspired!” Not only is running the marathon a huge accomplishment, but Alex pointed out that it also comes with a lifetime of bragging rights!
Kathryn gets inspired and cheers on the runners on Marathon Monday 2011!
For anyone thinking about running a marathon, the training process can be very intimidating. Marye says, “Running into Boston, which I’m usually too lazy to even take the T to, sounds really intimidating. I’d sometimes get nervous before runs, but once I got going it surprisingly wasn’t bad.” Aside from the intimidation factor, many of the girls emphasize how much of a time commitment training is. Alex describes how a long run can take up to three and a half hours (extremely casual…), and this ends up taking a huge chunk out of the always-important Sunday workday. It can be hard to stay motivated throughout the process, and Kathryn expresses that they’ve been very lucky with the mild weather this winter, since ice and snow usually deters motivation. That’s not to say that training has been ideal; Kelsey states “soreness has become pretty normal. Foam rolling is my best friend.”
Runners descend Heartbreak Hill on Marathon Monday 2011!
With the race only a few days away, the excitement is building! Alex explains, “The Boston Marathon is the premier marathon in the US, so all of the runners must be enormously proud and excited.” Our HC girls seem to think that the BC runners have it the best, because they will have the support of their friends and the whole university once they conquer Heartbreak Hill. Of course, I had to ask them what their plans were once they immediately finished the marathon, and they all unanimously agreed some sort of feast would be on their agenda, followed by endless slumber.
We at Her Campus BC are so proud of our girls for taking on the most famous 26.2 miles in the country. We can’t wait to cheer you on at mile 21- good luck!