One Week Until Boston

A week from today, 20,000 runners will set out from Hopkington, making their way through eight towns and Heartbreak Hill (really three of them) on their way to Copley Square. I only ran the Boston Marathon once, in 2003, and it was the most dispiriting running experience of my life: I did the first half in 1:28; the second half took over two hours. Not fun. One of my running goals is to return to get my revenge. FreddyBeachPete is getting ready to take it on; Kathy is shaking off IT band syndrome and a multitude of injuries; and Lance (perfect name for this kind of thing) is running his first Boston after just missing qualifying a few times. And there are so many others. The week before a race sucks: lots of aches, nervous energy and doubts. The good news, via George Sheehan, is the pigdog awaits, somewhere after Natick:

Those hills and the hills beyond will will challenge everything he holds dear, his value system, his lifestyle. They will ask for nothing less than his view of the universe.

George kinda took this stuff a little too seriously. But it is a great test.

Story links: One on niche social networks and another about ad agencies hiring "digital czars."

5.75 miles, 45:32