• Not a mathematical piece •
[1½ MIN READ]
Six combined Shawmont regulars and visitors got together in April to run four marathons in 15 days. Sounds like some kind of ultramarathon relay: Really it was just a few runners who seriously wanted company to keep them motivated for Jersey City, Boston, Gettysburg, and Big Sur.
Jersey City was 04’14’U (2 runners) and Boston was 04’15’M (1 runner). With ambitions middling to aggressive, the results were outstanding. Jersey City was one runner’s attempt at a BQ (Boston qualifying) time. That runner made the cut-off of 3:40 with 54 seconds to spare; despite 2 toilet breaks! Of course, time will tell if that JC runner makes it past the Boston Marathon lottery, but a BQ is a BQ!
The group’s Boston runner was happy just to finish, but that claim was just a way to temper expectations all around. Despite the heat, they vindicated themself [sic] phenomenally. They beat the qualifying time for AG runners 5 years younger. And still complained. The training buds were on the edge of their virtual seats watching Boston’s progress via the race app. Exciting was an understatement; even just watching a dot on a course graphic.
The last 3 runners did their share on 04’28’U at Gettysburg (2 runners) and Big Sur (1 runner). The tracking at Gettysburg wasn’t; but the tracking at Big Sur was nearly as thrilling as for Boston.
If you counted 6 runners across this entire narrative description, note that 1 ran 2 marathons (1 each at the beginning and the end of the series). Motivation is as much a social endeavor as psychological. As long as ambitions sit on the middling end of the middling-to-aggressive spectrum, the results should consistently remain outstanding.
-CtCloser (Calvinthe) “Negative Split or Positive Splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 5/18/24), Shawmont Running Club website, Ruminations by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Rumination with added caption.
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