leftover boston pics

(at pre-race pasta dinner with fellow marathoner bill coffey, of chicago, the direct descendant of a revolutionary war soldier i once wrote about)

(chris and me on our way to the hopkinton buses the next day, 6:30 a.m.)

(hopkinton-bound flotilla, boston common, 7 a.m.)

(in line for the bus; impeccable and good humored organization all around, kudos BAA!)

(off to war)

(athletes' village, at the hopkinton high school)

(handing over my belongings, to be returned to me in copley square)

(in front of my corral, #23)



(the sound of so many feet on the asphalt sounded like soft applause, the road cheering us on)

(american favorite kara goucher who would come in third, in tears)

(no wide-mouthed waxy paper cups for the elites; i wore a bib of spilled gatorade for much of the race)

(the modern marathoner; i called into the office every 5-6 miles; link to the audio slide show in previous post)


(the crowds were unlike anything i've ever come across; we were rock stars for the day)

(aside from frenzied cheers, people doled out sponges, wet cloths, lollipops, orange wedges, pineapple slices, cheese cubes, even beer and pretzels; others held up the latest score from the red sox game)



(the religious nuts were representin', too)


(inspiration)






(a bu contingent)


(female leaders; salina kosgei, left, would win)


(deriba merga on his way to victory)


(turning up hereford street, my final dispatch)

(almost there)

(hope it's me she's cheering for)

(4:20.05)


(the cairns of copley square)


(home at last, and five pounds lighter)

photos by alonso nichols, andrew reed weller, kalman zabarsky and dick taffe