Running the Boston Marathon in the fall.

Last week I shared a little of what I’ve taken away from each marathon I’ve run…

Today we’ll take a look at some of the highlights of these marathons.

Every minute of every marathon has been a highlight, to be honest. But I’ll talk about a few things that stand out.

I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve been able to run these major marathons.

I wish I had done some of this when I was younger - I have said this before and I’ll say it again - I’m not sure how many more marathons my legs have in them.

But I’ll keep throwing my name into the lotteries and maybe I’ll end up running one of the international marathons and I’ll see a little bit of the world thanks to running.

But if I never run another marathon after Sunday, I’ll have a pretty good batch of good memories of the experiences.

Boston

The Boston Marathon will always hold a special place in my heart, and being able to run it twice is a life highlight. I had the unique experience of running Boston in October in 2021 - the delayed one, which was held in the fall instead of the spring. The foliage offered a different backdrop for the Boston Marathon than usual (see picture above)…and gave a preview of what the spring Boston is like. You always hear about all of the different places along the marathon route, but being able to experience them all as a runner is the best.

And I got to do that twice - once in October, and once in April. And it wasn’t until April rolled around that I got to see exactly how loud the Wellesley Scream Tunnel is, for example. How much more the crowds line the street. October was fun, but April was a PARTY.

And both times, I’ll never forget that turn down Boylston Street.

Chicago

It was cool to experience Chicago for the first time with my friend Kevin in 2023. I liked running Chicago, and I’m definitely looking forward to running it again…but I’ll tell you what was a really big highlight - I really liked spectating Chicago last year.

My experience with Boston and New York is to watch the race from one spot. In college it was by BU, in adulthood it’s been in Framingham for Boston. And when I go to New York it’s the little bit of the route in Queens where I watch.

But in Chicago, I watched Kevin at mile 3 or so, and then around mile 8, and I could have caught him around the halfway mark but the train was getting crowded so I jumped ahead to about mile 21 and then caught him at the finish. It was a really great way to spend the day, and the fact that I had a runner to follow gave me purpose. (And while I waited for him at each spot I had other people to track and keep an eye out for….some of whom I could spot and others I couldn’t.)

New York

I have talked about this before, but I felt great for the first 16 miles of the New York City Marathon. To be able to cruise like that through Brooklyn and Queens, and then into Manhattan, was pretty special.

And - this is no small thing - I got to see my family a little past the halfway mark. That’s been a highlight of a few marathons - New York, and both Boston marathons there was family to look for along the route.

One of my favorite moments was seeing that Kathy and two of our daughters had secured a great spot at about mile 26.1999 the second time I ran Boston. I didn’t need the boost at that point, but I was happy to see them. And then as I approached the finish line the announcer called out “John Sucich from Framingham” and I crossed the line that I’ve walked past so many times and it was amazing.

Crossing the New York City Finish Line was also pretty great, but I was feeling a little more beat up than I would have liked.

This weekend, I am going to keep reminding myself to soak it all in.

I’m sure I’ll come away with more highlights.

I can’t wait.