So every year 1000 people get together and do something crazy. Let's go to Boston and do a marathon with a bunch of weight on our back. Sure. Before the … MORE
So every year 1000 people get together and do something crazy. Let’s go to Boston and do a marathon with a bunch of weight on our back. Sure.
Before the Boston bombing this used to be in synch with the Boston Marathon, but is now held the day before due to concerns about bags. I get that, but it sure is a shame I never got to do it the old way.
The course changes every year, and this year was an out and back through three wonderful towns: Bedford, Lexington and Concord. Let me tell you, these towns brought it! While there were four official aid stations stocked nicely with basic chips and fruit, there were basic medical supplies as well, which I appreciated greatly even though I brought my own out of habit. All of the volunteers seemed so invested you would have thought they personally were the race director out there filling in the key position which would determine failure or success of the production. There was no phoning it in, which played well considering how we wouldn’t be able to either. Sign of a classy production. In addition to those four, people had set up a handful of impromptu stations as well and everybody was having a blast being there. This was an all-day event for a lot of spectators based on all the supplies they brought out to tailgate.
While the trails connecting the towns were nice and the scenery was beautiful, what really stood out for me was these towns and after my first pass through them on the way out I was really looking forward to the repeat on the way back, even though I was pretty sure most of the energy would be gone since I am a back-of-the-packer. I couldn’t have been more wrong. When I made it back into Bedford people were still tailgating in parking lots along the route and cheering on the ruckers or tending to any medical/gear issues they had. Around mile 20 is where I said goodbye to where I met some great people who let me play with their dog on a break while I was reminding myself how much I like half marathons. I’d been reminding myself of that for about 7 miles at that point since passing mile 13 and nursing an ankle injury, but as I trudged back into Concord I was met with all the fanfare of a winning quarterback. People dining al fresco were raising their glasses to me and cheering me on. I was offered probably a half dozen drinks, nearly every car was honking as they passed me with several drivers stopping to roll down their window and give me words of encouragement. Enough so that I passed 14 people in the last couple miles because of the fire they lit in me. Considering how spent I was with 31lbs on my back, that says a lot. That said, I PR’ed up there with a faster time and heavier weight and I want to see if I can do it again. Just maybe not next year. I may need longer to recover.
It was also the best pizza I ever tasted at the end. Thank you Bertucci’s.
As I would expect from a crowd of vets/military and first responders, my fellow ruckers were wonderful, with everybody helping out where they could in order to motivate people when they hit their personal wall. It was very much a “we do this together” thing and every DNF was a punch in the gut (about 11% of the starting number if preliminary results stand). No shame though, and if any of you are reading this, none of us think any less of you. Just wish we could have shared that pizza with you at the end. There was a lot of suck out there. If you have to ring the bell you have to ring the bell. No shame in knowing where you stand. For those who were injured and DNF’ed. I hope you go back. I know I am. If we get to share the course again I’d consider it an honor.
The swag: Nice tech tshirt and plenty of other branded swag for sale, but let’s be honest, we’re all there for the unicorn.
My only gripe is there’s a lot of standing around time in the morning, and with everything wet with the dew, it would have been nice to have some warming tents or bonfires or something to stay warm around while we were waiting on everybody to get weighed in and the various speeches given.
Please login to reply to this review.
Chasing a unicorn
So every year 1000 people get together and do something crazy. Let's go to Boston and do a marathon with a bunch of weight on our back. Sure. Before the … MORE
So every year 1000 people get together and do something crazy. Let’s go to Boston and do a marathon with a bunch of weight on our back. Sure.
Before the Boston bombing this used to be in synch with the Boston Marathon, but is now held the day before due to concerns about bags. I get that, but it sure is a shame I never got to do it the old way.
The course changes every year, and this year was an out and back through three wonderful towns: Bedford, Lexington and Concord. Let me tell you, these towns brought it! While there were four official aid stations stocked nicely with basic chips and fruit, there were basic medical supplies as well, which I appreciated greatly even though I brought my own out of habit. All of the volunteers seemed so invested you would have thought they personally were the race director out there filling in the key position which would determine failure or success of the production. There was no phoning it in, which played well considering how we wouldn’t be able to either. Sign of a classy production. In addition to those four, people had set up a handful of impromptu stations as well and everybody was having a blast being there. This was an all-day event for a lot of spectators based on all the supplies they brought out to tailgate.
While the trails connecting the towns were nice and the scenery was beautiful, what really stood out for me was these towns and after my first pass through them on the way out I was really looking forward to the repeat on the way back, even though I was pretty sure most of the energy would be gone since I am a back-of-the-packer. I couldn’t have been more wrong. When I made it back into Bedford people were still tailgating in parking lots along the route and cheering on the ruckers or tending to any medical/gear issues they had. Around mile 20 is where I said goodbye to where I met some great people who let me play with their dog on a break while I was reminding myself how much I like half marathons. I’d been reminding myself of that for about 7 miles at that point since passing mile 13 and nursing an ankle injury, but as I trudged back into Concord I was met with all the fanfare of a winning quarterback. People dining al fresco were raising their glasses to me and cheering me on. I was offered probably a half dozen drinks, nearly every car was honking as they passed me with several drivers stopping to roll down their window and give me words of encouragement. Enough so that I passed 14 people in the last couple miles because of the fire they lit in me. Considering how spent I was with 31lbs on my back, that says a lot. That said, I PR’ed up there with a faster time and heavier weight and I want to see if I can do it again. Just maybe not next year. I may need longer to recover.
It was also the best pizza I ever tasted at the end. Thank you Bertucci’s.
As I would expect from a crowd of vets/military and first responders, my fellow ruckers were wonderful, with everybody helping out where they could in order to motivate people when they hit their personal wall. It was very much a “we do this together” thing and every DNF was a punch in the gut (about 11% of the starting number if preliminary results stand). No shame though, and if any of you are reading this, none of us think any less of you. Just wish we could have shared that pizza with you at the end. There was a lot of suck out there. If you have to ring the bell you have to ring the bell. No shame in knowing where you stand. For those who were injured and DNF’ed. I hope you go back. I know I am. If we get to share the course again I’d consider it an honor.
The swag: Nice tech tshirt and plenty of other branded swag for sale, but let’s be honest, we’re all there for the unicorn.
My only gripe is there’s a lot of standing around time in the morning, and with everything wet with the dew, it would have been nice to have some warming tents or bonfires or something to stay warm around while we were waiting on everybody to get weighed in and the various speeches given.
Amazing event in historic Boston
The great thing about this is you get a Boston Marathon finisher medal. BAA partners with the Tough Ruck for fund raising. The course is relatively flat and you go … MORE
The great thing about this is you get a Boston Marathon finisher medal. BAA partners with the Tough Ruck for fund raising. The course is relatively flat and you go through historic Concord, Mass. along Battle Road through Minute Man National Historic Park. The scenery is amazing, the aid stations are plentiful and it’s a very fulfilling event.
One caveat is that you must agree to raise funds which goes to The Military Friends Association. So each rucker has a minimum