- April 25, 2024
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They all enjoyed their first ever Boston Marathon, and they all finished. That’s what matters most to Flagler County Runners Shawn Dortch, Todd Mellow, Jessie Magee, Tess Wamhoff, Karen Zawislak, Bob Hamlin and Carrie Meng. Mellow, whose only other marathon helped him qualify for Boston, set a personal record by two minutes.
And, if you tracked these runners along their 26.2-mile journey, you greatly assisted them.
Pull quote: “During the race, we’re all gonna say we’ll never do this again. But, within an hour after the race, we’ll be signing up for the next one. The runner’s high is real.”
TODD MELLOW
“When you cross one of those (timing) mats, you know you’re sending them (family and friends) a message, and that makes a huge difference for runners,” Magee said. “Sometimes, the people tracking you are more important than the people cheering on the course.”
The runners acknowledged that the course was much tougher than they expected. Although they had trained on Flagler's bridges, they didn’t adequately prepare them for the downhill training they needed for Boston. Some of the locals suffered muscle cramps, spent time in the medical tent and had to completely abandoned their planned pace, but they all eventually met up at the finish line to congratulate each other on such a historic feat.
As tough as Boston was, are they ready to run off into the sunset? Of course not.
“During the race, we all probably said we’ll never do this again,” Mellow said. “But, within an hour after the race, we’ll be signing up for the next one. The runner’s high is real.”
Throughout the race, Magee says the city showed an extraordinary amount of support for the runners,
beginning at the airport.
“Running through the towns was really special,” she said. “I think I slapped 1000 high-fives. The crowd can tell when you are fading, so they’ll yell your name even louder. They yell for you like they've known you your whole life. The kids get excited if you take their orange slice or cup of water; they all want to give you something to help you.”
If the city love and run experience wasn’t enough, the group of seven enjoyed a shakeout run on Sunday with accomplished American long-distance runner Shalane Flanagan, who holds numerous U.S. records.
Not all is gained after a marathon. Due to the physical demand required, feet may never look the same, and skin irritation quickly builds in other areas, among many other things. So, is a marathon worth it? According to Meng and her group, it definitely is.
“It’s almost a badge of honor for the runner, when you have callouses and missing toe nails,” she said. “But, it’s all worth it, once you cross the finish line.”
