PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTIN MOCCIA
Lynn’s Kristin Moccia celebrates finishing the Boston Marathon Monday.
By STEVE KRAUSE
BOSTON — And the heat goes on.
That simple sentence, and that nifty play on a popular song from the 1960s, pretty much summed up the 121st running of the Boston Marathon Monday.
As Lynn’s Karen DiLisio said, “the heat goes on.”
Regardless of how any of the local runners fared, the reviews were the same. It was hot.
“I learned — again — that I cannot run in the heat,” said Ellen Goldberg of Nahant, who said she struggled to finish in 5:17.43. “But I got through it. You just have to stay focused and see it through.”
“The first half of the race it was really hot, and by the time it got cooler, it was too late,” she said.
“I decided to save my pride and just finish,” said Lynn’s Jim Pawlicki, who still finished in 3:34:33, second among Lynners to Peter Gwilliam (3:28:35).
“I got calf cramps at mile 15,” Pawlicki said. “I tried to adjust to the warmth that that was forecast, and had to back off my pace.”
Goldberg, DiLisio and Pawlicki are vets. Kristin Moccia of Lynn is a newbie. And while she didn’t know quite what to expect, she feels her 4:41 was a great start.
Moccia, running to benefit Boston HealthCare for the Homeless, had family members and friends strategically interspersed along the 26.2-mile course for moral support — and it helped.
“I stopped a lot to hug family members,” she said.”I’d rather have that experience than finish 20 minutes faster. I felt good about it overall.”
However, she, too, was affected by the heat.
“It was tough,” she said, “especially the first 13 or so miles. Then, there were a couple of places where I caught some shade, and the tail wind did pick up.”
Kristen Holman-Jordan, a former Lynner who was running, along with her brother, Michael, for the Salem Boys & Girls Club, has run marathons … just not Boston.
“And,” she said, “there’s a world of difference. I ran out in Sacramento, and there’s no comparison between running in California and running in your home, and having people scream your name as you go by. It was just an awesome day.”
Allison Gwiliam, a physical therapist who works at New England Baptist Hospital, agreed with Jordan on running on your home course.
“Boston’s just different,” she said. “The crowds were really helpful.”
Gwilliam said the course is deceptive.
“It’s pretty much downhill until you get to the (Newton) hills,” she said. “Those are a challenge. But I was told by a lot of experienced runners to hold back. After mile 20, I felt pretty good so I let it go.”
Of course, she said, running Boston “can be very emotional and you have to stay focused.”
Linda Jenkins, also from Nahant, walk-ran the course in just over seven hours. She was running for Grab the Torch, an organization specializing in girls’ empowerment.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Jenkins, 63. “I was blessed to have the encouragement of my teammates and GTT’s David Aldrich (who gave up his number so Jenkins could run).
“The outpouring of support from family, friends, the Nahant community and the Village Church played a role in getting me to the starting line. I was energized by their support and I was determined to get across the finish line.”
There is a difference of opinion on whether some of the veterans will run again.
“I have a decision to make,” said Pawlicki, who completed his fifth race. “I finished about 20 minutes beyond what my qualifying time should be, and the cutoff is in September. I’m not inclined to run again before the Bay State Marathon in October, so this might be a good time to sit out a year and see what happens then.”
Not DiLisio.
“I pumped to go again,” she said. “This was my seventh, and I’m ready for my eighth. I’m pumped to train harder and do better next year.”
Goldberg, who completed her seventh Monday, isn’t sure what she wants to do.
“Oh, I just want to go a week without doing any running,” she said. “I don’t want to think about it.”