Scenes from Boston Marathon 2011. Photos by BU Photojournalism Program photographers and multimedia journalism students.
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BU News Service reporters are stationed along the race route. Follow our live coverage here. Use the comment link below to join the conversation.
Credit: Arezu Sarvestani, Emily Greenhalgh
By Kathleen Morrison
BU News Service
Around noon this Patriots’ Day, many Bostonians can be found cheering on the thousands of runners taking on the 26.2 miles of the nation’s oldest annual marathon. But at the same time, another group of sports fans will be hoping to see a runner complete just 360 feet – a Red Sox player rounding the bases after hitting a home run.
A grand tradition continues today as the Red Sox face off against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays at 11:05 a.m., in the only morning game out of approximately 2,400 Major League regular-season baseball games played each year.
Patriots’ Day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Reenactments of key moments and battles from the beginning of the American Revolution take place all weekend long.
However, the historical reenactments of Patriots Day have been eclipsed by the Boston Marathon – this year celebrating its 115th race. And if the marathon is king, its prince is the annual game at Fenway Park, drawing spectators away from the water cup- and banana peel-strewn race route to spend the morning drinking beer and singing, “Sweet Caroline.”
The Red Sox played their first Patriots’ Day morning game in 1903, three years after they were chartered into the American League and six years after the first Boston Marathon.
At the time, two baseball teams called Boston home – the Red Sox and the National League’s Braves. The two teams alternated years hosting a home game doubleheader on Marathon Monday, until the Braves left Boston in 1953, leaving Fenway to the Red Sox, who have hosted a home game every Patriots’ Day since.
There have been other changes throughout the century-plus history of the game, including the switch from a doubleheader to a single morning game in the 1970s and alterations in the starting time of the game, but since 1988 it has remained constant at a single home game starting at 11:05.
Although the game pulls some attention away from the race, the two events are not mutually exclusive. After the game, peanut and cracker jack-filled fans pour into Kenmore Square to join the marathon crowd. In years past, the game let out just in time for spectators to see the elite runners sprint through Kenmore, but over the years games have gotten longer. These days baseball fans should expect to get out in time to see the major wave after the elite group.
Staff and members of the team training for the marathon pose in front of Hope House after a recent run. (Photo: Ashley Lisenby/BU News Service)
Mixx, on the corner of Brighton Avenue and Chester Street in lower Allston, is a frozen yogurt spot that Joshua Warren, 25, likes to visit frequently. He fits so well into the urban setting of Allston’s college scene with his plaid short-sleeved shirt, jeans and flip-flops that one would hardly guess he is a budding marathon runner, much less one who trains with members of Boston’s homeless community.
Warren is the Resource Development Director for Directing through Recreation, Education, Adventure and Mentoring (DREAM), a mentoring program for Boston’s youth.
With a yellow notepad and pen in place, looking as if he is conducting an interview, Warren leans forward in his bright yellow seat to eat spoonfuls of cheesecake-flavored yogurt topped with granola and other healthy toppings from the serving station. He looks intent on not only devouring the treat, but also sharing his unique training experience leading up to the marathon.
“I actually started running this past summer. I had never run before,” says Warren. Before he set his sights on running he says he enjoyed rock and ice climbing.
However, he is not facing his latest adventure alone. He found some of his biggest supporters in members of Back On My Feet (BOMF), a Philadelphia-based program aimed at helping the homeless through running with a chapter in Boston.
South End resident Jess Galer's training regimen for the Boston Marathon includes working out and eating pizza. (Photo: Matt Goisman/BU News Service)
By Matt Goisman
BU News Service
Every Friday, in preparation for the next day’s long run, Jess Galer, 29, eats cheese pizza from Emilio’s Pizza & Sub Shop, down the street from her apartment in Boston’s South End. It’s part of her training regimen for the Boston Marathon.
It might seem like an odd thing to eat when training, but Galer’s emulating Dean Karnazes – the pizza-eating ultramarathon runner who once ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days.
The morning of the run, the 5-foot-7-inch, 160-pound Children’s Hospital pharmacist from Fennimore, Wis., eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Then, she dons her training gear. First come the black crop pants from Lululemon Athletica, whose “Luxtreme” fabric is designed to quickly wick away sweat. Then she puts on two or three layers of shirts of varying length (she likes sleeves that end in thumbholes) so she can stay warm or cool as necessary. The innermost layer is made of Nike’s Dri-FIT fabric (also designed to wick); the outermost layer is pink, aqua or teal. Last come Brooks “Adrenaline” sneakers, white, blue and gray, size 9½ wide.
She stretches, then she goes.
On Saturdays she usually trains along the Boston Marathon’s course. These Saturday runs have been building incrementally since she began her training 18 weeks ago. Her first Saturday, she only went five miles.
A view from the line at the annual marathon pasta dinner. (Photo: Kate Brown/BU News Service)
By Brooke Wenrick
BU News Service
As locals and visitors poured out of the Government Center T station on Sunday night, they were greeted by a scene only seen once a year: Carbo-loading in City Hall Plaza.
“Are you here for the pasta party?” and “Ask me about the pasta party!” volunteers shouted on the eve of the 115th running of the Boston Marathon.
City Hall Plaza was flooded with marathoners dressed in 2011 Boston Marathon black and green wind breakers, volunteers, tourists, police, and families, there to witness and participate in the Boston Athletic Association’s annual Pre-Marathon Pasta Dinner.
“We’ve been directing people since 2 p.m.,” said Kiley Workman, 21, a senior at Wellesley College. “Every year there is a huge volunteer campaign at our school. We set up the dancing, the pasta, everything.”
As the girls of Wellesley pointed foreigners and locals alike to their correct destinations, Big Apple Circus performers entertained runners in line for a pasta dinner. Clowns played with kids and juggled toys, possibly calming some pre-race jitters.
“This is my first time running Boston, and only my second marathon ever,” said Stephen Harris, 19, from Las Vegas. “I hear it’s a tough course. I’ve heard horror stories, but more pain equals more fun. There’s something about suffering with other people, even ones you don’t know, that creates a lasting bond.”
But if one thing is clear, it’s that not everyone is running under the same motivation.
“My wife is due with our first child this August, so I figured this was the best time for me to run. Plus, I’ve never been to Boston,” said David Haubenschild, 30, from Wisconsin. “I’m most nervous about my time. I’ll finish with either overwhelming joy or complete disappointment.”
Kelley Moodie's fundraising page for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
By He Qian
BU News Service
“My freshman year in college, my dad was diagnosed with cancer; my sophomore year in college, my mom was diagnosed with cancer; my junior year in college, my aunt was diagnosed with cancer, and my aunt actually passed away in November,” said Boston University student Kelley Moodie.
Moodie, a senior studying marketing and advertising, will be running in the 112th Boston Marathon to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team (DFMC).
“I started to run as a way to clear my head, as a way to forget about things,” Moodie said about the challenges that her family has recently faced.
She ran her first half-marathon in 2009, and has so far run two others. This is her first time running a full marathon.
On Moodie’s personal fundraising page on the Dana-Farber website, there is a picture of a woman, in her mid-forties, sitting on a huge sofa with a blanket on her lap, smiling serenely with three cats surrounding her – that’s Moodie’s aunt.
Moodie wrote under the picture: “I am running in memory of Nancy Pollinger and in honor of everyone I love who has battled cancer.”
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By Josh Mellits
BU News Service
Brookline Police Detective Cheryl Molloy is running the marathon to raise awareness for Prader Willi Syndrome, which affects Julia Morrison, 10. (Photo courtesy Morrison family.)
After Brookline Police Detective Cheryl Molloy ran the Boston Marathon in 2001 and 2003, she thought she would never run it again. But, she’s tying up the laces once more this year – this time, for a cause.
“I turned 40 and thought I would run it again,” Molloy said, “but I said I would never run it again for no reason because, ‘Wow, look at me, I’m so great.’ That and two dollars and two cents will get you a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. And I watched people run it for charities, a lot of people run it for cancer research, and things like that.”
Molloy is running for a lesser-known condition. She’s raising awareness for Prader Willi Syndrome, or PWS, a genetic disorder that results in chronic appetite, low metabolism and other developmental issues. It’s a cause close to her heart because 10-year-old Julia Morrison, the niece of Brookline Police Officers Jennifer Paster and John Canney, has suffered from PWS since birth.
When Molloy told him she was going to run, “I teared up,” Paster said. “She’s always been a good friend, but to me this is just above and beyond what I could expect from any of my friends. It’s humbling.”
The Prader Willi Syndrome Association of New England holds fundraising events, including an annual walk in June. Although Molloy is not officially affiliated with the organization, she sees the marathon as the perfect platform to inform the Brookline community about PWS.
View Running the Marathon for Charlestown in a larger map
By Molly Ford
BU News Service
For the 14th consecutive year, the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club has assembled a team that will take on the grueling 26.2-mile Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18.
The 2011 team consists of 16 volunteers, from Boston, Florida, and some who live as far away as San Francisco. The group includes club alumni, staff, and other benefactors.
Derek Gallagher, athletic director of the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club, is participating in his 15th Boston Marathon this year. Over the years, he has raised $35,000 for the non-profit organization. He also tries to foster unity on the team. This year he designed distinctive t-shirts and jackets featuring the Boys and Girls Club logos for the team to wear on race day.
Each team member is required to raise a specific amount of money before race day. Greg Jackson, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, anticipates that the team will raise close to $40,000. Jackson handles fundraising for the marathon team and tracks each runner’s donation total.
Because the team includes people from all over the country, each individual is responsible for their own training leading up to the marathon. Some have been dedicated to intense workout routines for several months, while other team members seem to be fairly confident in their natural running abilities, Jackson said.
Fundraising events such as the marathon run support the club, which provides a facility for children to socialize and allows working parents to leave their children in a safe environment during the work day. Other major events that support Boston area clubs include annual golf tournament and the Battle of Bunker Hill Road Race.
Some of the money that is raised will be used for summer programming, including sports clinics, arts and crafts camps, dance lessons, and other activities for teenagers. In 2010, the summer program at the Boys & Girls Club served almost 4,000 youth and provided employment for hundreds of teens, who worked as counselors-in-training and interns.
Out of the 10 Boys and Girls Club locations in the Boston area, the Charlestown and South Boston clubs are the only ones that have marathon teams this year.
