Throngs of spectators lined streets from Hopkinton to Boston yesterday to cheer on the participants of the 105th Boston Marathon. Once the runners entered Commonwealth Avenue, though, the crowds became even more pronounced.
“This corner [of Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue] is great,” said Celine Mainville, of Jamaica Plain, a runner in the past five marathons. “After this, it’s slightly downhill from here for the rest of the race, and there’s no spaces in the crowd. There are been people on the sides for the entire race of course, but here is where they really go nuts. The crowd just pulls you along no matter how tired you are. It’s a very cool feeling.”
Mainville wanted to see the marathon from the other side for a change, said said, but added that she wants to run again next year.
This marathon was the third that Boston College senior Elizabeth Dombobaly has watched.
“My roommate is running, and two of our friends jumped in and joined her,” she said. “But this is also such an exciting event in Boston anyway. All the support from the crowd is great, there’s no negative cheering at all.”
Crowds were also strong at the infamous Heartbreak Hill, the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue at mile 22 that is the breaking point for many runners. A banner at the bottom of the hill read, “You Are Suffering in the Footsteps of Legends.”
“Heartbreak Hill was the toughest part of the run for me,” Mainville said. “You’ve been running for 22 miles, and now you have to hold back as you’re coming down this hill. All that pain in your legs that you’ve been keeping back suddenly comes out, and your quads get fried.”
However, Heartbreak Hill did not seem to deter many participants this year. Many runners stopped at the first aid station for a drink, a trip to the lavatory or a chance to massage their aching muscles, but then continued on their journey.
“Very few people are dropping out,” said spectator Margaret Higgins, of Malden. “I think if you’ve made it to the 22nd mile, you’re not going to stop now.
“I come out to find faces I know in the crowd of runners,” Higgins said. “You’ll always see someone you know or maybe someone from the local news. Lisa Ling from ‘The View’ was running earlier.”
Higgins said she will definitely be back next year.
“I’ll be watching, of course, not running,” she said. “Those people are crazy.”
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