Boston Marathon 2012 Deferment, Breakfast with Joan Benoit Samuelson and lunch with Desiree Davila

So, I flew to Boston on Saturday, with this little e-mail zinger From the Boston Athletic Association waiting for me when I arrived:

"Those who have only trained in a cooler climate and who may not be acclimated (for at least the last 10 days) to warm weather running conditions should also consider not running.... 
This will not be a day to run a personal best.  If you choose to run, run safely above all else. Speed can kill."

Needless to say, I had not trained in weather anything like the conditions which were forecasted for the Boston Marathon Monday 4/16/2012.  The thought of slogging 26.2 miles in 85+ temps did not sound very appealing and certainly the possibility of death was also not appealing.  So, I strongly considered taking the deferment to the 2013 race that the BAA was offering.  On Sunday, the day before the race, I woke up and I ate in the hotel breakfast room. Olympic gold medalist, Joan Benoit Samuelson and her daughter sat at the table next to mine.  However, I just gawked at her and did not venture to say anything.  It's always a dilemma when I see a celebrity whether to respect their sphere of privacy or be intrusive.  Anyway, after chickening out and saying nothing to her,  I headed over to the Marathon Expo at around lunchtime.  I picked up my bib and tech shirt.  I then walked over to the Runners World booth, and got to see future Olympian Desiree Davila who was on some sort of panel discussion.

Desiree Davila at the 2012 Boston Marathon Expo

After listening to Desiree talk for a few minutes, I went to the Boston Athletic Association's booth.  There I talked to a BAA official about what the deferment process was.  He explained to me that I simply needed to pick up my bib and then not cross the start line.  They would e-mail me in a few weeks with the details of registering for 2013 with a guaranteed spot reserved for me.  With a forecast for Monday now near 90 degrees, my mind was made up, I would return to Boston in 2013, for another attempt at the race when temps would,  in all likelihood, be more reasonable.  So, I slept in on Monday, then turned on the television and watched the female and male leaders finish the race on the local broadcast.  After they had finished, I wandered down to the finish line to watch the real runners cross.

If you have never been in Boston for the Marathon weekend, it is incredible.  The whole city is full of what seems is only marathoners.  The bright orange Boston Marathon jackets were seen on at least 50% of the people wandering the streets and almost everyone was talking about the race and the weather.  The pilot of my American Airlines flight back to Chicago also made an announcement congratulating the finishers, because I would say 80% of the passengers were wearing marathon garb.  I hope to be one of those finishers in 2013.