race day sunday

once a year, a week or two before the boston marathon, the pub at the end of our street sponsors a five mile road race. they block off our street to traffic and it serves as the home stretch/finish line for the race. there's a big party for racers and race enthusiasts in the pub parking lot. they have food, booze, a dj, and the boston police dept. gaelic whatever-you-call-more-than-one-bag-piper players. it's loud and fun, and when the weather's nice people line our street or have brunch on their balconies and cheer the runners as they head for home.

it was a little chilly, low fifties or upper forties. beebs bundled up.

the first of the racers come, uh, racing down the street.

"go! go! go!"

snuggle, snuggle, snuggle!

more racers make their way to the end of the line.

this guy got to sit down the whole time! cheater!
kidding, kidding...

it usually takes about an hour and a half for everyone to run by. this year the leader was way out in front. about three minutes or so after he ran by, the packs got a little bigger. if most people run a casual eight-minute mile, you would figure it takes those folks about forty minutes to finish the race. factor in having to wait in a crowd to even cross the starting line and you're looking at a forty-five to fifty minute run. on the speedy end that's about a 26 minute run for the leader, and on the not so speedy end, well, i saw people ambling to the finish about ninety minutes after the leader went by. it's nice because it's a community event, so there's some healthy competition. but there are also plenty of people who enter and run with their friends of family, and are doing to it to support local charities and for the party at the finish line, which runs, ahem, late into the afternoon.

it was cool but sunny- ideal race weather.

ideal face weather.