The dark skies above the city served as an unfitting backdrop to the ecstatic runners and fans of the Boston Marathon.
The day started out clear in the early morning hours to the afternoon. The élite runners finished the marathon before any rain fell. Caroline Rotich placed first among women, and Lelisa Desisa won in the men’s group. Marcel Hug and Tatyana McFadden both finished first for the men’s and women’s wheelchair group respectively.
As noon passed, the finish line became darker and gloomier. The beautiful thing about the marathon is that there are always groups of runners crossing the finish line throughout the day, so the mood never changes. But the rain started to come down, and bystanders looked nervous for the ones they cheered for as well as uncomfortable themselves.
The onlookers only cheered loudly when they saw the ones they rooted for, but in their stationary moments, they stood there impatiently. One woman with a sign dedicated to her friend held the piece of cardboard close to her, hiding her face behind it so she would be shielded from the on-coming rain drops.
Once finished, runners and their families marched away from the finish line to the Boston Common. The runners sported their licensed Adidas Boston Marathon ponchos.
Any photos and family hugs were taken at the finish line, but once runners reached the Common, everyone looked ready to check-out for the day. Everyone still had big smiles on their faces, one runner who was changing out of his running shirt yelled across the Common to a friend: “It sucked, but it was awesome.”
All the runners looked thrilled … wet, but thrilled. One person trekked through the crowd seemingly displeased. Maria Johnson, a runner from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stood under a tent in a poncho, visibly displeased.
“Last year, 2014, it was only, like, sixty-three or sixty-five degrees,” said Johnson. “So it was not deathly warm, but it was better. It was the wind that did me in for the last three-to-five miles. I ended up with a random blister problem, my feet are soaked, so by the end my feet were on fire plus they felt like they weighed extra heavy because I was so tired after putting weight on my feet.”
Talking to Johnson, she seemed like her brain was still running down Boylston Street. She appeared fired up about the day as a whole, looking out from under one of the many tents at different runners entering the area.
“I’ve had a bad streak lately,” said Johnson. “I have ran marathons in Columbus and in Philadelphia this year. I ran cross-country in high school, so I am in different marathons and races all the time. Today was bad, I feel accomplished for finishing, but my time was not what I wanted at all.”
Johnson said she hopes to return to Boston next year and wants nicer weather. She dipped her head under the hood of her poncho and gingerly paced off with the rest of the herd of finished runners.
The Boston Marathon appears to have returned to the prestigious race where the headlines are about the runners. Every runner has their own story, and this year they all were given a unique one from Mother Nature.
