Boston Marathon Report: Esayas Nida

Esayas Nida discusses his Monday at the Boston Marathon. Watch the video above, or read his report here:

Residence

Greensboro

Age

27

Finishing time

2:37:17

How he qualified

2:36, Tobacco Road Marathon, May 2021

Boston experience

First

Marathon experience

More than 15

How it went

"Nothing to do with the event at all. This is just my own mistake. A lot of people tell me, 'Don't go hard for the first half.' But, I went hard the first half just because it was very smooth downhill. I was lucky enough to line up on the first line. We pushed really hard. My first miles were like 5:30 and 5:29. It cost me dearly at the end; after mile 20, I slowed down very significantly. If that was not the case, I could possibly finish in like two hours and 30 minutes, because that was my goal to achieve this weekend. I have been reading about the Boston course, and my brother (Gebre) is highly experienced in Boston. He has told me, 'Don't go hard in the first half'; I fell for it (laughs). That's OK. I'm learning something in all of these events. So even though I feel fresh, I should hold back. I ended up finishing in 2:37. That's OK for a Boston Marathon, but that was not my PR time."

Those Boston Marathon moments

"That was a very, very remarkable moment that I've ever had in my marathon running career. Boston is just special. All of the people are so nice, from the airplane to the finishing line. The environment is just hospitable. This is my first (Boston) experience, and this is the best experience I've ever had. My friend from Charlotte (Jordan Webb); we've been training together, and that was his first, too. So he had a very good moment. I had a very special moment with the experience, the people, the course."

How he celebrated

"Boston is blessed with everything you are looking for. The best place to walk – after the run, of course. And the restaurants are just great. People are awesome. So we went to get food and hang out with friends. And my buddy from Charlotte (Jordan Webb) came with his mother and friends. My younger sister (Mekides Nida) was with us, so we had very significant fun. We celebrated really well. My brother stayed in a different part of Boston, so we didn't connect very much, just a quick connection. After the race, we had really good moments, celebrating our friends from Greensboro, Charlotte, Gastonia. There are a lot of friends from around the U.S., and we follow each other on Strava and Facebook. I'm so glad to see them here. We all share the same spirit, the same marathon spirit.  I cannot express my happiness right now."