It’s 7:00 AM on April 16, 2012. While most of the world is angrily slapping their alarm clocks, dreading the Monday that lies ahead, a select few are waking up with the energy and excitement of Christmas morning. It’s Patriot’s Day in New England, or as the Boston College student would say, “It’s Marathon Monday.”
For those elite runners who train their whole lives to qualify for the Boston, or for those Boston College students who begin their marathon journeys in January with the University’s Campus School Marathon program, the day signifies a daunting task: conquering Heart Break Hill on mile 21 of the world’s most challenging 26.2 course.
For those not heading to Athlete Village in Hopkinton, MA to attach a bib number to their shirts, to hydrate before the trek, or warm up their quads and hamstrings, the day signifies a different kind of marathon.
Some would say that an athlete of a different kind, too, trains for the big day. Some would even say that these “athletes” have their own strategies for race day. No, they may not include packs of energy gels or carbo-loading (in the traditional sense, that is), but their plans-of-attack are often taken with just as much gusto and dedication as the Hopkinton bunch. Creative lax pinnies are ordered and set aside, the liquor store is raided, and all sorts of delicious fruit juices sit waiting in the fridge.
See, those not heading to the starting line are preparing to cheer on their passing friends and strangers at the top of Heart Break Hill (which sits at the height of BC’s campus) through the traditional day of marathon drinking.
The seasoned veteran of Marathon Monday on the Heights knows that the day must start with a hearty breakfast. Past successful years have included plates of omelets, home fries, and perhaps even a bagel to top it all off. The day officially starts, however, with that first sip of a mimosa.
However, not only spectators of the race take part in the debauchery. As the runners reach the top of Heart Break Hill, the BC students are there to greet them with red solo cups filled to the brims with Natty Light. And although runners are warned that the BC students will not be offering water or Gatorade, a few select runners eagerly grab the solo cups anyway and chug the warm beers proudly as they begin their final five-mile decent into Boston.
Even more? Those BC students who do decide to tackle the 26.2 and are truly “elite” runners finish the race as fast as they can only to hurry back to the Chestnut Hill campus to begin their celebration with one to many brews as proud friends shower them in love.
It is a New England tradition, a Boston tradition, but perhaps mostly, a Boston College tradition. A day so anticipated, so carefully thought-out, that many struggle to sleep the night before. When trying to explain the day to friends at other schools, tales told are often inadequate.
Voices are lost from one too many, “GO, GO, GO, YOU’RE DOING A GREAT JOB!”’s, livers take a brutal beating, and for many, 4:00 PM signals bedtime, only to reawake about three hours later in utmost confusion and a stomach begging for satisfaction.
Is it healthy? No. But some would argue, neither is running a marathon.