Another Great Time at Steamtown

I ran this year's Steamtown Marathon too and it was a whole lot of fun. From the boom of the cannon that set us on our way, all the way to the finish line, people were cheering and having a good time. I was pretty chilly (temperature was probably in the 40's or lower), so I thought I was going to freeze my butt off. Once I got warmed up though, I peeled down to my running shorts and let the legs go free. The weather was cloudy for the most part, with only a few sunshine moments, but that didn't take away from the gorgeous scenery. With the newly turned leaves showing their beautiful colors, I found myself very content just looking at the trees along the way.

The best part about the race, though, were the people along the streets. Bundled up in jackets, they watched and cheered as us crazy bare-legged runners went by. All along the way I heard "You're doing good, hang in there" and "You're doing awesome, keep it going." It was great, because they were just as excited as the runners about the race!

My expectations going into the race were not that great. This was my third marathon and I had trained much more for the other two. With school work and all, I was limited to 4 days of running a week, if that. But I went in just wanting to have a good time, and run the best I could. Even though it was painful, especially after about 18 miles, it was well worth it. With 2 miles left I was surprised to see that I was running my best time yet. With new-found vigor I raced the last two miles, ecstatic about my PR. My time was 3:10:19, 9 minutes better than the Steamtown I ran last year. It was kind of heartbreaking, because I missed qualifying for Boston by 19 seconds, but I have a lot of years of running ahead of me. I recommend this race to anyone who loves a nice small town feeling, I know I'm going to be there next fall.

--- Brett Bovee