On April 21st, 2008, only a few short hours after coming in third at this year’s Boston Marathon, I was wheeling down the extravagant hallway of the Fairmont Copley Plaza on my way to meet several friends and family at the fancy pants hotel bar, The Oak Room. I bumped into Joan Benoit Samuelson on the way…we began a conversation about the race.

Just the day before, on April 20th, she had entered the Women’s U.S. Olympic Trial Marathon (also in Boston – it was a marathon double-header weekend) with a goal of running under 2:50. This would be her last marathon, on her 50th birthday. That day, she ran a 2:49 – success!

A week prior, when were both preparing for our races, we had again bumped into one another in the hallway of the hotel. Stories ensued, filled with mixed emotions and with confidence, layered over doubt, about this little thing, that little thing. The night before the race, I duct taped a note to her door. “Go get ‘em, Joanie. I will be thinking of you.” The following night, a note was slid under my door. “Your turn.”

At the Boston Marathon this year, I came in third with a time of 2:00:48. Third place. On the podium. First American. Not bad. No, not bad. But not first. Ahhh….it can be so painful to be an athlete who has tasted success, who has high expectations of herself, who loves the glory of a winning race. It seems so petty to be disappointed with third. But thank goodness our nation’s best athletes…our Paralympians…the face of disability sport to international audiences….want only to win.

After my race yesterday, when I bumped into Joanie, she didn’t seem to be worried or, to be honest, very sympathetic to my frustrations. “Well, it is the marathon, you know.” She wanted to impress upon me that…the marathon is uncertain. It can be uncharted territory. One thing being slightly off can lead to a dreadful showing as each imperfection is magnified by one mile passing after the next. A bad day in a 1500 meter race means finishing 2 seconds behind the pack. The same day in a marathon can mean a 25 mile sojourn, alone, with only the chilly, bumpy road to keep you and your thoughts company. The marathon is the most glorious of wins and the most tragic of loses. This….is why we love it.

Joanie’s success in her last marathon was preceded, as we know, by the most glorious of all glorious wins - her Olympic Gold Medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. What we hear less about were the second, third, and fourth place finishes that clicked by, unnoticed, each with a lesson learned and a sliver of character garnered. This is what the marathon does to us, how it forms and molds us into these crazy characters who thrive on drama and our dreams of unprecedented glory.

Too all of my friends and fans – we’ll be back! Stay tuned!

And - links to two articles in the Boston Globe and WCSN.com that came out before the race:

http://www.boston.com/sports/specials/marathon/articles/2008/04/18/winni...

http://web.wcsn.com/article/news.jsp?ymd=20080420&content_id=61911&vkey=...