A runner from Kleefeld nearly missed the start of the race before pulling off his quickest marathon time ever in Boston Monday.
Jeff English was one of nearly 29,000 runners to compete in the Boston Marathon on Patriots' Day, in what he says were ideal weather conditions. He qualified after completing the Fargo Marathon in a time of 2:54:16 last May. For English, this was his first time running the historic Boston Marathon.
"(I) toyed around with it for the last couple of years and decided to commit," says English.
English officially found out in September that he had qualified and then started training in late December. With the cool spring this year, English says he ran a lot of miles on the treadmill and completed only one long run outdoors.
As mentioned, English nearly missed the start of the race. With the Boston Marathon being a point-to-point race, the competitors are bused to the start line 26 miles from downtown Boston. English says there was a handful of buses where the driver missed the turnoff to the start line. Unfortunately, English was riding one of those buses.
"I thought I would have had a lot of time at the starting line, and I think I maybe got there about two minutes before, based on some factors outside of my control," he notes. "Once the race settled in, it was fine, but it was a little touch and go to get there. I was just happy to make it."
English says running the Boston Marathon was unlike anything he has ever done before. English says anyone who knows him, knows he lacks patience. Yet, with 29,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators, the event is the ultimate sea of humanity and English says you have to kind of just go with the flow.
English says prior to Monday, the largest race he ever ran had a field of about 2,000 runners. Then came Boston, where you are never not running alongside someone else, and where crowds line the entire course cheering on the competitors.
"It's a really uplifting experience," he says. "Nothing like I've ever experienced before."
English, who trains with Greg Penner and Arete Endurance based in Steinbach, says he entered the race feeling good and without any nagging injuries. He says he knew he was capable of running the 26.2 miles in under two hours and fifty minutes. English ended up crossing the finish line in 2:51:17, a personal best.
"Kind of hard to complain with that," he says. "When you add in kind of the excitement and the personality that a big race like this would have, it was a great day."
English crossed the line in 2,488th place.
"It was a pretty wild experience," he says. "(I'm) used to running on mile roads alone and then all of a sudden you are with 30,000 friends, so it was a pretty neat experience. The day went pretty well."
Even though it is a race you have to qualify for, English says the Boston Marathon brings out two different types of runners. There are those who are committed and focused and able to block out their surroundings in order to run the quickest time possible. But English says there are also those who are clearly there to take in the sights and sounds and enjoy themselves along the course. English admits that had he allowed himself to lose focus and take in all that is Boston, he probably would have been okay with that.
English says because of all the miles he ran indoors this winter and spring, it was difficult to know exactly what he was capable of.
"Greg Penner has been a great help to me to get the best out of what I have to offer and so I felt pretty good going in and happy with the result today for sure," he adds.
English says it was also great to have the support of his wife in Boston, as well as some friends who were there. He also knew a couple of the other runners on the course.
So, what is next for English?
"I don't think that far ahead," he says. "I think my next race is the Father's Day 5 km with my son. That's going to be a little bit more my pace I think for a while."