NO SLEEP TIL BROOKLYN!

The 112th Boston Marathon was nothing short of excitement this year. Again this year I tracked the whole race from my computer and even got text message updates on my phone in case I missed anything.



The elite women's race was phenomenal. With 400 meters to go, the women were still sprinting elbow to elbow and the Boylston Street crowd - which included the only previous Ethiopian woman to win this race, three-time winner Fatuma Roba - was going wild. It was 26.2 miles pared to a 400-meter dash. Finally, Dire Tune eased away, taking one quick glance back, winning the race in a time of 2:25:25. And Alevtina Biktimirova knew she had no answer. Last year's winner, Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russion fell to a 9th place finish in a time of 2:35:37.
The elite men's race was taken by, no surprise, Robert K. Cheruiyot of Kenya in a time 2:07:46. Much faster than last year, but still a few seconds slower than the course record he set in 2006 (2:07:14). Which, if you were wondering, is SMOKIN FAST!

And the real reason I get up early on the third Monday in April every year...my local heroes.
From tiny Prince Edward Island, Scott Clark was the first finisher on my list of local latent, finishing in a time of 2:50:43, 15 seconds ahead of Lance Armstrong, who finished in a time of 2:50:58 in his first Boston Marathon. Following closely behind was Bryce Croll, from the UofT Tri Club who finished in an impressive 3:08:06. Tom Mungham from the little town of Barrie crossed the finish line in 3:20:19, followed closely by Gabby Riley, Acadia XC Alumni, in a time of 3:22:39. And my Dad, running in his 3rd Boston Marathon, finished in a very respectable time of 3:44:27.

I'll be running the Mississauga Marathon in less than 2 weeks in the hopes of qualifying for the 2009 Boston Marathon. And last weekend Mark walked across the finish line of the Waterloo Marathon in a time of 3:08, qualifying him for Boston. Tres tres exciting! Congrats to everyone!!!