A Nor’easter Blows – Shu Sanatani writes on the harsh 2007 Boston Marathon

While VFAC had a strong showing at the record-setting Sun Run, a small but determined group watched the continuous local weather updates in their Boston hotel rooms. The rain was torrential outside on Sunday April 15, 2007, and the winds were picking up. Gusts up to 50 miles per hour were expected for the next 24 hours. On the morning of April 16^th, the weather for the 111^th Boston marathon remained the top local news story (the Virginia Tech story had not broken yet) with flooding, rain and gusts of wind. The temperatures with the wind chill were a paltry 3-4C in the morning. The race had been filled with over 23,500 registrants but about 10 per cent chose to stay away, or were kept away, by the conditions.

The new 10AM start time seemed unfortunate given the ongoing storm. Nonetheless, it was business almost as usual and the buses began their pilgrimage to the town of Hopkinton for the start of the race. The athlete’s village tents were battered with rain and winds, while people waited on a muddy field to use the port-a-johns. The obsession with the weather provided a unifying purpose and a nice distraction from the usual time goals and splits. However, by the time the elite women started at 9:35, the conditions were improving. Apart from occasional gusts of wind and intermittent rain, the weather settled, giving way to ideal Vancouver-esque running weather for much of the midday.

The greatest hazard, apart from the alluring downhill start, was the layers of clothing and garbage bags that were being shed in the first few miles of the course. One man ran by in shorts and sheer black nylons – not tights – while others stuck doggedly to their singlets. Despite the weather, the girls at Wellesley College could be heard from a mile away. More children than seen during the entire Vancouver marathon were in each of the small communities the historic race winds through, exchanging orange slices for “high fives”. For any one who has run up Prospect point or the Spanish Banks hill, Heartbreak hill is hard to spot (I had to ask someone if we had passed it).

The constant headwind may have affected the elite runners more than the general masses and their times were slower this year compared to last. The winning woman’s time was 2:29:18. The winning man’s time was 2:14:13, about 7 minutes off his preceding year’s record winning time. VFAC participants included Ernest Hawker, with even splits to run a 2:57:54, Shubhayan Sanatani (2:58:43), Brian Kuchinka (3:23:19) and Walter Kwan (3:37:58).

It’s definitely a spectacle that’s an important stop in the marathoner’s travels. And the weather will always be the unknown.