Boston Marathon Report: Lisa Aponte-Wolff
Summerfield resident Lisa Aponte-Wolff recaps her weekend and day at the Boston Marathon.
Lisa Aponte-Wolff recaps her weekend and her day at the Boston Marathon. Watch the video above, or read her report here:
Residence
Summerfield
Age
51
Day job
Senior director, R&D project manager for a pharmaceutical company
Finishing time
4:00:50
How she qualified
RDC Marathon, 3:41, October 2021
Boston experience
First Boston Marathon
Marathon experience
Sixth marathon
How it went
"It was an amazing experience. It was my first time, so I didn't know what to expect. But it was well-organized. It was so fun. I went in with not wanting to race; I wanted to run it and just suck up the whole experience of the marathon."
The challenging stretch
"It's funny because they tell you, everybody tells you, 'don't start too fast.' And I felt I was going slow, but when I looked at my watch, I'm like, 'I'm going too fast.' So I tried to go slower. I was waiting for the Newton hills. Mile 16, OK, here we go. 17. That last hill, it was crazy. And when you see this sign, 'you conquered Heartbreak Hill,' I started crying. 'Yes!' I'm good to go now. I feel good. Let's race."
Moments that say 'Boston Marathon'
"The race is well-organized. We saw a lot of elites, all their presentation, everything they had. We were able to see Peres (Jepchirchir, women's champion), Edna (Kiplagat), (Lelisa) Desisa. We saw Joan Benoit (Samuelson). Bill Rodgers. It was great, so well-organized. We heard them talk, talk to the runners. It was well-organized."
Right on Hereford, left on Boylston
"I have to tell you, I was looking at my watch. I was like 'OK, can I break four?' I was like, 'Ah, let's see.' But when you turn on Hereford, I was so tired. I was like, 'You know what, forget it. Let's just do it.' And then all of a sudden you hear the crowd. 'OK, let's do this.' And you turn and you see Boylston in the end. I started tearing; it was so emotional. But it was a great experience. It was fun.”
How she's celebrating
"We are going to the Mile 27 party at Fenway. I'm taking my family and two of my friends that came over. We're going to meet and enjoy it. See what this 27-mile party is all about."