Boston Marathon Report: Mitch Monroe

Mitch Monroe recaps his weekend and day at the Boston Marathon. Watch the video above, or read his report here:

Residence

Clemmons

Age

60

Day job

Missions director, Center Grove Church

Finishing time

3:40:14

How he qualified

Richmond Marathon, 3:27, October 2019

Boston experience

Sixth Boston Marathon, including one virtual

Marathon experience

19th marathon

How it went

"It went really well. The weather was perfect. We did have a little hiccup at first; we were a little late getting there. So we went into Wave 4 instead Wave 3. So that was a little disconcerting at first, but getting through the traffic, the people, wasn't real hard. The perfect weather helped a lot. You couldn't ask for a better day."

The challenging stretch

"I was running with a friend of mine, and we got to 13 and I'm not sure what happened but I got into the zone and I rarely get in those. It's just kind of a zone where you just keep going. I knew the hills were coming, and everything went fine. And I finally got up Heartbreak and my times were not falling off and I was really feeling good.

"I got maybe a quarter-mile past Heartbreak, and all of a sudden my quad cramped up. I had to walk just a little bit. And it eased up and I just ran through it. I was like, 'Not now, not now.' But ran right through it and kept on pace. It's been one of the best Boston's I've had yet.”

Moments that say 'Boston Marathon'

"It's always the people. It's always the volunteers. It's all the officials. They are so kind. They are they're so polite. You just have to ask, and they'll try to help any way they can.

"And that doesn't just go for the volunteers; it's the residents of Boston. You come up here and you fall in love with the place because everybody's just so willing to help, especially during a marathon weekend. It means so much up here. They congratulate you, and they say 'good luck.' It doesn't matter if they're officials or just the man on the street. It's a great time."

Right on Hereford, left on Boylston

"It really starts as you're coming under the overpass. You make that right on Hereford, and it's deafening with the people cheering and all. Then you make your left onto Boylston. You've got about 800 meters to go, so you've got about a half-mile of just three or four deep people.

"They call it the Super Bowl of marathons. That's the reason. That's where you need to slow down, and that's what I do, slow down and thank the crowd for being there. And they're thanking you. It's just a great celebration of what running is all about. That's why people want to be here."

How he's celebrating

"Tonight we're probably going to just find someplace really nice that's got a little salad or something, just a really light fare, and just kind of chill out and review what happened today. It felt good, but I really don't know what it looks like. So we'll see."