My son, Luke, had a blast running his first marathon on Monday with his cousin, Charlie. However, I found out later that the jokester also did a reenactment of my first official Boston Marathon in 1973.
I was 18 and almost dropped out of the race for the second year in a row.
The History
I dropped out of the marathon the prior year (1972) on the hills. My grandfather told me he would be back the following year to see me run. Sadly, he passed away two months later.
In 1973, I almost dropped out again. I sat down on the sidewalk, defeated. Then I realized I was at mile 21.5, in front of Evergreen Cemetery. That’s where my grandfather is buried. I was in front of his tombstone!
It occurred to me that Grandpa had kept his promise, and I had to do the same. I picked myself up and finished my first Boston Marathon, just like Luke did last Monday!
What a character that kid is… and I love it!
The photos below are from my children’s book “Dream Big.”
