April 16, 2007 – My road back to Boston went through Ventura

Lauren Padula

As a college student in the city, I made running the Boston Marathon for a charity team a before-graduation goal. On April 16, 2007, I checked that goal off the list, and in the process caught the marathon bug. 4:25:31. My very first marathon. I remember being in tears. Tears of accomplishment, yes; but mostly of pain.

Later that year I ran Chicago (4:27:15), and then work and life took me from Boston to San Diego. After taking a few years to settle in, I decided to make a push to qualify for Boston at the 2010 San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. I had the race every runner has nightmares about: I bonked at mile 16 and never recovered. 4:12:55. I was devastated. Maybe marathons weren't for me. And so I retired from marathon running.

April 15, 2013 - I was trapped in the middle of two exploding bombs

Stephanie Bland

This is my real life story.

I’ve never been so excited, so nervous, so overwhelmed as I was to be able to run the Boston Marathon, especially after having my baby just 3 ½ months earlier. I was so proud I could share this experience with my mom, dad, husband, and my beautiful baby boy Brady. I just kept thinking one day Brady will look back at say “Wow, my mom ran the Boston Marathon and I was there!”

The race was everything to me and more. Words cannot even describe the emotions I felt running through each town, with the cheers of the crowd on both sides of the race. Everyone was so happy, screaming and shouting with joy because we were running this remarkable race: High fives, signs, and people handing out water, Gatorade, oranges, and popsicles, just to help us. It was wonderful.

2013 - Running down Beacon towards Kendall, I was sure I would really make it...

Leah Dickerson

The 2013 Boston Marathon was my first marathon.

I got a bib at the last minute (about a month before) to run on the Team with a Vision, which supports the Massachusetts Association for the Blind. Luckily, I had been in training mode since December for a marathon that I didn’t make. Before Boston 2013, the longest race I had ever run was the 2012 Austin Half Marathon.

I was so nervous the morning of the marathon. All of my energy and focus was on finishing. I wanted to go as slow and steady as possible, I wanted to really enjoy the run and pass through the finish line.

2013 - Sharing a handful of moments that filled my heart with joy

Megan Hetzel

I’ve divided this post into two parts: the first will address yesterday’s tragic events at the finish line of the Boston Marathon; the second will share a few of the happier moments from the weekend because, frankly, I’m weary of reading about the sadness that now surrounds what was meant to be a euphoric, celebratory event. I’ve desperately needed a reason to smile, so, in an attempt at some shred of normalcy, I wrote up a quick race report that will hopefully make you smile, too. So, here we go…

I sat this morning at the airport in Boston in a sort of grief-stricken stupor, trying to wrap my brain around all that’s happened in the past 24 hours. I awoke this morning to the TV replaying that infamous clip taken at the finish line. I begged my Dad to turn it off. I’d seen it on loop all afternoon yesterday while I was holed up in my hotel room just a few blocks away from the explosions, and I simply couldn’t take it anymore. A work friend put it perfectly, “I was gonna call my feeling this morning a ‘bad news hangover’ and realized the better word for it is ‘grief.’” Exactly. I put on my yellow Boston Marathon shirt–runners from around the country are wearing race shirts in support of the victims–and headed to the airport. Outside our hotel were a handful of military personnel clutching assault rifles. When I arrived at the airport, the police debriefed me. It all felt like a horrifically bad dream.

2013 - "I became delusional around mile 20, barely finished, and ended up in the medical tent."

Katherine Hopper

I finished the Boston Marathon, I ended up in the medical tent, bombs went off, people were hurt/killed and nothing has been the same since.

It's been difficult to shake the images, memories, and sad feelings from my mind. The past week has felt a haze, it feels like my mind is stuck in quicksand.

The actual race has been the last thing on my mind since then.

Tough to stop thinking about the poor innocent folks who suffered as a result of these bombing suspects.

This marathon and aftermath was NOT about me, so I feel weird talking about it, but I'd at least like to share part of the experience from my perspective.

2012 – Dancer in a Heat Wave: Pain, Agony, and Distress on the Road to Boston

Kate Stanton

When I first set out with the intention of running the Boston Marathon for the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of my dear grandfather, I had some idea of the challenges I would face in my training and fundraising. Some, but not all.

Let's just say the next time a dancer tells you she wants to run a marathon, you should give her a hearty chuckle, accompanied by a very sarcastic “Well, good luck!” While many running enthusiasts regard routine stretching as a necessity for maintaining a functioning body, hypermobility (as they so kindly diagnosed me) is just about as detrimental as not stretching at all.

Without giving you the full rundown of ailments I acquired as part of my training for my first marathon, I’ll leave you with this image of former dancer turned long distance runner:

2011 - A "Once in a Lifetime" father - daughter run

Meaghan Ellis

The Boston Marathon course runs through everything that is special to me in Boston. It runs through Natick, where my mom’s parents live. It runs through Wellesley, where my dad’s parents live and where both of my parents grew up. In Newton it runs through the rowdy stretch of Commonwealth Avenue that is Boston College, my dream college-turned-alma mater. And finally, the course winds right into Copley Square, the center of my favorite city. My dad, aunt and I all ran our first marathon at Boston in 2011 and our entire extended family rallied behind us as we trained through that snowy winter. My cousin Jeff had tragically passed away at age 19 from a brain injury nearly a year to the day earlier, and my dad and aunt ran for Team Spaulding, where Jeff was treated. The cause was deeply personal for my family and added yet another layer of significance to the day.

Boston Qualified! 2014 – "...but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward!”

Lisa Johnston

My Boston Story is not complete yet. My Boston Qualifying story is. After seven marathon attempts, with my best time being 4:02, I had basically given up qualifying for Boston. I took a five year hiatus from running, had a couple of beautiful baby girls, and finally got back into running in 2012.

In early 2013, my best running friend convinced me to sign up for a 50k. When I got back into running in 2012, I had decided to “never run a marathon again,” so this was a long shot, but I accepted the challenge. A few weeks later, I decided that running a marathon would be a good “training” run for my 50k, so I signed up for the Potomac River Run Marathon.