According to Wikipedia the Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by several cities in Greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States.  It is always held on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s best-known road racing events. It is one of six World Marathon Majors.

The event attracts 500,000 spectators each year, making it New England’s most widely viewed sporting event. Though starting with 18 participants in 1897, the event now attracts an average of about 30,000 registered participants each year, with 26,839 people entering in 2013. The Centennial Boston Marathon in 1996 established a record as the world’s largest marathon with 38,708 entrants, 36,748 starters, and 35,868 finishers.

.Finishing the 2012 Boston Marathon.

I was never a runner, let alone a distance runner.  As far back as I can remember I had always dreaded long runs.  In the sixth grade, as one of the events of the President’s Physical Fitness Evaluations, we had to run a 600 yard run.  I remember how hard it was and how my friend, Harry, kept telling me during the run, “slow down Kent, you won’t make it to the end.”  Then, later in life, while on the college wrestling team, the coach always started practice by having us “run the golf course”.   I was never any good at long distance running and I really, really didn’t like it.  Running long distances was just too tiring (and boring) for me.

However, in 2008, all of that changed.  In the summer of 2008, we were going to Pamplona, Spain to “Run with the Bulls”.  In the early spring of 2008 one of my friends said to me, “Kent, we have to get in shape to out run the bulls in Pamplona so let’s go to Lincoln and run the half (marathon)”.  It was kind of ironic because even an Olympic Sprinter cannot out run the fighting bulls which race down the streets of Pamplona during the San Fermine Festival.   Running in the Lincoln (Nebraska) half marathon was actually a “just because it’s there” event.  The Lincoln Marathon is a popular event (15,000 runners) but I really didn’t think that it would get us in shape for anything.

How we managed to run 10 marathons and to qualify and run in 2 Boston Marathons (including the 2013 bombing) are documented in the book “Exploits of a Common Adventurer” by kent Irwin.