BOSTON — On a beautiful, sun-drenched Patriots Day, 28,384 runners completed the 26.2-mile marathon course from Hopkinton to Boston. A women’s record of 2:17:22 was set by Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi. Her countryman, John Korir, ran the second-fastest winning time in Boston history, capturing the men’s crown in 2:04:45.
Five Outer and Lower Cape runners — Paisley Gavin, Michael Gosselin, Erin Milliken, Brian Lowry, and Laird Anthony — joined them in besting the course.
Reviewing marathoners’ experiences post-race is like comparing snowflakes after a storm — no two are alike. Each runner experiences Boston differently according to the sights and sounds they encounter on their way.
Gavin, 22, an Orleans resident who is a researcher for UMass, appeared as if she could run another 26 miles without blinking. She was a 5-foot, 11-inch bundle of energy and emotion as she described her trek to Boston, giving credit to the fans.
“It is the best thing I have ever done in my life,” she said. “The crowd was crazy. It was nuts.”
Gavin ran in memory of a cousin, Trevor Gavin, who died of a rare genetic disease, raising over $10,000 for the National Organization for Rare Disorders. When she finally spotted the finish line in the distance, she “thought of her cousin and of the journey,” she said.
That journey started a few months ago when she struggled to run three hilly miles in South Orleans and ended with her completing the storied Boston Marathon. “To go from that to finishing the Boston Marathon is incredible,” Gavin said. “It’s really a big moment for me.” She finished in 5:06:40.
Eastham’s Lowry, 58, crossed the finish line in 3:40:43, the fastest of the five local runners. He “was overwhelmed by the crowds,” he said, “who are so loud and incredibly amazing it makes all the runners feel like rock stars.” He had viewed a video of an earlier race to get a sense of what to expect, but it did not do justice to the intensity.
“It was insane,” said Lowry. “I use earbuds, and I couldn’t even hear the music.” He was running his fifth marathon but his first Boston. Less than 24 hours after completing the race, his legs were “still really sore,” he reported, but much less painful than the day before. He was experiencing increasing soreness in the last miles but held on until the finish line.
Anthony, 57, also an Eastham resident, had a completely different day than Lowry and Gavin, despite completing the course in 4:09:37, which still bested 25 percent of the field. “It was a pitiful display,” said a recovering Anthony with a hint of a wry smile. “My hamstrings locked up to the point where I couldn’t move my legs.”
Unlike Lowry’s aches, Anthony’s leg troubles started early, around mile 8 in Natick. He started walking near the Route 128 overpass, a point where the finish line in Boston is still a distant dream. He spent the remainder of the race willing himself to continue. “They shouldn’t invite me back,” he said, displaying a dry sense of humor at a humbling moment.
Still, there was reason to celebrate, as he posted what many would consider a respectable time on a tough course. “A part of me is proud that I was able to hang in and finish,” he said before slowly limping off in the direction of the medical tent with the assistance of a Boston Marathon volunteer.
Erin Milliken, 37, of Truro finished in 4:25:04, but her time was beside the point.
“One of my friends asked me after I finished if I was happy with my time, and I told her I didn’t know exactly what it was,” she said. She was running for Dana Farber in memory of her grandmother, Lilli. “Lilli” was written on her legs and arms, and she was bolstered by the crowd cheering her grandmother’s name.
“It was awesome, and I was surprised that people were amped up the whole way through,” Milliken said. “There really wasn’t a dead spot for the entire race.”
Asked if she would run Boston again, her answer was an emphatic “No.” She told a friend who had also run that she was “so happy we did it, and so happy we don’t have to do it again,” citing the toll that training takes on one’s body and the amount of work required. “I don’t know how people do it year after year,” said Milliken, who somehow found time to train despite a full-time job raising three young boys and a second full-time job for a clothing company.
Michael Gosselin, 65, who splits his time between Provincetown and Boston, completed his 15th Boston Marathon in a time of 4:16:32. Despite a time that was more than an hour slower than his Boston best, Gosselin was all smiles.
“I had a great time out there,” he said, standing a few yards from the finish line. “I retired last year and have been traveling the world and having fun. This is definitely part of the fun.”
Gosselin will be back at the starting line next year, having already qualified for the 130th running of the race.
