The Boston Marathon is held each year on Patriot’s Day.

I’m sure you’re wondering why I am writing about the Boston Marathon on a photography blog. Running is one of my other greatest passions besides photography and I want to share that with you. I think having multiple passions is great and everyone should find things they love, especially things that can help you be healthier and happier. 

Personally, I love running for many reasons but the top two are clearing my head and being able to eat more. I am not a fast runner and I’ll never be competitive but it doesn’t matter. I love racing and am a strong middle of the packer. I compete with myself. I want to be better than I was before, to get a little faster than the last race. To run further than I’ve run before. 

So far, the longest I’ve run has been 19 miles. 

I’ve trained for a marathon but never ran one. I hope to change that in 2018. I know I will never run the Boston Marathon unless I raise enough money for a charity. I just don’t have the speed to make their cutoffs. Boston is kind of like the Stanley Cup finals of running. Everyone wants to do it but only select few can make it. The cut-off times to qualify are tough. If I keep my current speed I can maybe qualify when I’m about 75 or 80. 

Boston Marathon started in 1897 with only 15 entrants, all men. Today the race hosts over 38,000 runners. The marathon is run on Patriot’s Day, which is a holiday in Massachusetts and held on the third Monday of April (4/16/2018). 

What about the women??

Women were not allowed to officially race in the marathon until 1972. In 1966, Bobbi Gibb registered and ran. Ant That didn’t stop Kathrine Switzer. She ran the marathon in 1967, despite the best efforts to keep her off the course. Fellow runners surrounded her and protected her when an official tried to pull her off the course. It just amazes me that only 52 years ago people believed women weren’t strong enough to run a marathon. It’s really not that long ago in the grand scheme of things. Women now make up almost half (approximately 45%) of all runners.

But why Patriot’s Day?

The marathon is based on the route a Greek messenger ran and then collapsed, during a war. Americans compare the Athenian/Persian war to the American Revolution. In 1897 the Boston Athletic Association wanted to hold a race patterned after “the games in Athens” and the Boston Marathon was born. 

The runners in that 1897 race, fifteen young amateurs, bore little outward resemblance to the minutemen whose journey they symbolically retraced. But alongside each runner rode a uniformed militiaman, providing lemons, water, and wet handkerchiefs, as he followed the paths used more than a century before by militia converging on Boston. – From The Atlantic

The Boston Marathon is an American tradition meant to honor our history.

Find further reading and some great photos from past marathons here.

A cool infographic all about the marathon can be found here. 

What is your favorite way to clear your mind and/or stay healthy?

Running is a great way to reduce stress. Get five ways to reduce stress and relax more here.