004th Too Slow for Boston Marathon Results

004th Too Slow for Boston Marathon Results

Place     Name                      Time   Distance

1	John Love................	9:19:20	26.28
2	Keith Mundis...........	9:18:59	26.28
3	Carol Earles...........	9:07:27	26.28
4	Eric Johnson..........	7:36:20	26.28
5	Love to Run Donna......................	7:13:42	26.28
6	Joe Sinclair.............	6:21:37	26.28
6	Silvana Temblador	6:21:37	26.28
8 (10)	Jennifer Ralston.....	6:16:01	26.28
9 (11)	Eddie Vega..............	6:15:57	26.28
10	Daniel Lieb..............	6:07:39	26.28
11	Rob Hall...................	6:01:41	26.28
12	Bill DuBois..............	5:01:03	26.28
12	John Somerindyke.	5:01:03	26.28
14	Cody DuBois...........	4:58:01	26.28
15	Rich Holmes...........	4:45:40	26.28
	Walter Ogelsby.......	5:05:47	17.52
	Shannon Plesh......	2:15:29	13.28
	Aiden........................	DNF	4.38
	Alex..........................	DNF	4.38

Photo Album Link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94982735@N04/sets/72157633262308502/

Race Recap

In light of the events at the Boston Marathon and the nature of our event, I find it necessary to make a few points about our race before getting into the details of the 004th TSFB Marathon.

Our event does poke fun at the exclusive nature of Boston, but we do so with the utmost respect for those who organize, support, and participate in the Boston Marathon. We are all part of the Marathon Community, and our hearts go out to them. In our own way, we want to be a part of the Boston Marathon, even if only in parody. The BMS subscribes to the theory that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery. In our own way, we run TSFB every year to honor the Boston Marathon.

The story of the day was John Love's long-awaiting journey to victory. Many of you may not know his history with the TSFB, but it is interesting. 2011 was the first year we had more than one runner, and John participated. We didn't have an official start time, so it was difficult to tell where people would place as they finished. When John completed the marathon, it appeared as though he would be the winner. Instead of making him wait around for the others to finish, I went ahead and awarded him the trophy, winner's medal, and the money. As it turned out, Tim Albertson would finish in first place. We discovered this just as John was leaving, and he volunteered to return the money and the winner's medal. In an attempt to right the wrong, I offered him a free lifetime entry for him and two friends. John is an amazingly gracious person, and he has always been a big fan of the race (he reluctantly accepted my offer the first year, but decided in 2013 that he wanted to continue paying the entry fee). He made the TSFB shirt that he and Daniel wore at the 2013 race.

So, in 2011, he finished 2nd. He came back in 2012, only to come in second to Ed Masuoka, a determined runner who embodied what TSFB is all about. John came back in 2013, determined. Having come in second each year, he came to win. His friend, Keith Mundis, was with him every step of the way, trying to hold off Carol Earles, who came within 15 minutes of making John a 3-time 2nd place finisher. As he finished, John pointed to me and noted noted that he'd finally gotten his win; it had been long-awaited and hard-fought.

We saw some of the absolute best out of runners on Sunday. Love to Run Donna, who had completed the double, kept going back to keep Carol company. Eric Johnson refused to leave until the last runner finished. Runners cheered each other on, they shared, they were thankful; they were Marathoners.

In true marathon form, we started 10 minutes late. As we did, we had a moment of silence for Jeremy Becham, Trinity Cho's late father. Trinity was the first runner to register, but she was unable to attend because of her father's passing. It was meaningful and somber, but the mood quickly returned to a goofy one.

I especially enjoyed having the Diehard runners from when the series was located in Boone. Walter and I enjoyed my ridiculous attempts to sort out the technological improvements to the race, which was ironically recorded on the live feed, as I had forgotten to mute it.

Joe, Silvana, and Daniel, who had been at the first BMS marathon with more than one person (the 1-2-3 Marathon), were there for my last one.

Eric, Love to Run Donna, Joe, and Rich also completed the Double (we held the Nag Test Marathon on Saturday; a parody of the Gansett Marathon). Rich seemed content with coming in dead last each day, and was generally unopposed.

John and Bill challenged him for most of the race, but manged to stay ahead of him in the end. Another embodiment of the TSFB spirit can be found in Bill Dubois. Unwilling to accept that the race was closed, he stubbornly pushed until he got in. In this case, we admire that quality (I mean, there's a stubborn donkey on the medals). Additionally, he got his son Cody to complete his first marathon. For those of us who enjoy the Marathon experience, it is a privilege to pass that on to someone else, and it was an honor to witness.

True to form, Daniel Lieb tested the rules (all in fun). 90 feet from the finish, he took a break, while John and Bill encouraged him to get his ass across the finish line. Daniel even stopped to do some bird watching during the race, which is strictly forbidden (again, this is all in fun).

Daniel, Jennifer, and Eddie ran much of the race together, adding their own unique flair to the race. I sent my phone out with some of the runners so they could take pictures on the course, and when it came back with this trio, I got some pretty random shots (I got some pretty random shots from John and Bill too). After Daniel returned my phone, I noticed that Jennifer wasn't with them anymore. So, I checked the phone and noticed that Jennifer had run into a friend and ended up pushing a stroller for part of the race (she asked that the two kids be included in the results as DNFs).

Eddie, who had attempted to run a barefoot marathon in Antarctica, and who was still recovering from it, shed his shoes for several miles, even with all of the pebbles on the course.

Rob, who seemed to have enjoyed some of the silliness posted on the website and on facebook, pointed out some rules that I hadn't remembered. I always assume that nobody reads the rules, but it was fun to see that someone actually had.

We even had a Satellite Runner from Rhode Island. Shannon Plesh completed the half marathon distance and sent me mobile updates which were included in the live feed. She also seemed to enjoy the facebook silliness.

And that's really what the race is all about; a marathon made more bearable with some silliness, humor, and good company. So, we'll mark this as another win.