2011 - "I mean I only had nine seconds to spare..."

Alan Smith

Running the Boston Marathon was not my goal as a runner. I didn’t start running with that on my mind. I was a tri-athlete in 2008 and had completed several sprints triathlons, Olympics, and one half Ironman.

I wanted to do a full Ironman before the age of 50. To do that, I had to be able to run a marathon, AFTER swimming 2.4 miles, and riding a bike 112 more. I could do the first two stages of an Ironman but the 26.2 mile run afterward was something I would have to work on.

From some of my cycling friends, I had heard about Kenneth Williams: "Koach," as most runners know him. They said he was a marathon guru so-to-speak, and could help me if I wanted to train for a marathon. I contacted him and scheduled a visit. Soon afterwards, I sat down in Koach’s office to discuss training for a marathon. A discussion of "the greatest marathon" came up, and while sitting there, I began to think how great it would be if I could run the Boston Marathon someday.