In mid-April, I went with my family to visit Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first time I’d been to the USA, so I was excited to experience for real what I’ve seen in countless films and TV shows.
🏃♂️ 26.2 Miles
The main reason we were going was the world-famous Boston Marathon. My Dad had entered and so we went to support him (as well as get an awesome family holiday somewhere outside of Europe).
The marathon was on Monday, so my Dad got up at around 5am to head to where a bus would take him to the starting area. We got up at a reasonable time and headed across town to around the 23/24 mile mark.
The weather was nice to start with, sunny and clear, and it started to heat up during the day (I even got a bit sunburnt!).
And so, we waited… Watched the disabled racers zoom past in their wheelchairs, watched the elite men & women – Olympic athletes shoot past, all the while clapping until our hands were sore.
We were following Dad on the official app – an app that tells you where certain runners should be based on their qualifying times. Around 30-40 minutes before he should have been coming past us, we noticed something was wrong. The app kept showing us that he was not moving. We wondered if it was just buggy – after all, it is just a prediction! But time went on and he still hadn’t come past. Eventually, my brothers ran up alongside the track back towards the 19-mile mark where Dad’s marker was to see if he was ok.
It turns out he was ok, but not running well. An existing injury, combined with the heat meant that he could hardly lift his legs! So he had to walk the last 10 or so km of the race. He did finish, though, at a time of 4 hours and 30 minutes (over an hour and a half above his expected time). While he was disappointed, he still finished in a very good time.
We made a sign showing support
Exploring the historic city
Boston has a key role and quite a few historical events, namely surrounding the American war of independence.
Over two of the days we were there, we followed the Freedom Trail – a walk around some of the notable historic sites in the city, from the site of the Boston Massacre, to Paul Revere’s house, and the Bunker Hill Monument. It was a great way to get to know the history around the city as well as seeing the central districts.
Take me out to the ball game ⚾
We couldn’t miss an opportunity to see the Red Sox play whilst we were in Boston. The game we caught was against the Baltimore Orioles, and while it was a fun time, with a great atmosphere and of course the food, the game was pretty disappointing. There were no big hits, and most points were gained through fielding errors. Still, it was an enjoyable time.