The Boston Marathon!

Posted April 17, 2018 by Ashley Jackson

The Boston Marathon was yesterday and what a day for it! Being a new resident of the Northeast, I was not too keen on how big of a deal this was for the residents of Boston.  Of course, I have heard of the marathon, it is major, but being in the city to experience it first hand was a whole other thing.  Restaurants and bars offer free food and drinks to the runners, my local nail spa provided free manicures if you had a runner’s bib, and that’s what I noticed just walking down Beacon.

I have the pleasure of living only steps away from Beacon Street (not too great for studying- those cowbells are loud!), one of the last major stretches to the finish line on Boylston. First, the weather.  Holy moly. I am not a runner, but I can imagine this wasn’t the most ideal condition for 26.2 miles of running.  What I understand is the streets are usually full of people cheering on the runners, but with yesterday’s conditions, there were still so many people out with cowbells and cheering.  I happened to be in one of the less populated spots, so I made a point to go out and cheer these people on. I had the opportunity to run inside, warm up my hands, shake off the rain, and regroup, however.  It is amazing how the community comes together, conditions aside, to support everyone.  I imagined due to the horrific events five years ago this has created an even stronger community. The police and military presence made this all too real. However, it was a great comfort knowing these professionals were there to support and take care of the community.

Now that I am a Boston resident, it felt great to come together with Bostonians and people from around the country and world (!) to show support for these athletes.  I believe we had a student or two from Simmons who participated in this race as well. How amazing is that?

 Here are a few photos I snapped.  Desiree Linden! First American female to win in 33 years!