I've run 33 marathons since 2007. I finished my first at Marine Corps in 5:17:03, my 3:36:35 PR in Chicago 2012 and my slowest in 7:11:46 at Walt Disney World in a walking aircast with broken sesamoids (not my smartest move, but my bedazzled boot was a crowd pleaser!). My favorite marathon was Boston 2017 because I ran side by side with my identical twin sister. The most rewarding part of my marathoning journey was becoming a volunteer race director for the Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon in 2014. Giving runners the opportunity to achieve their marathon goals filled me with joy. Cheering for runners in an inflatable T-Rex or Air Dancer costume is another way I love to participate.
The Boston Marathon has thousands of stories to inspire you. If you were a runner, volunteer or spectator and wrote a recap, please share your link in the comments (posted after approval) and we'll add your link to our list of recaps.
90+ Boston Marathon Recaps (listed alphabetically by blog or website)
So proud of my twin for being part of the Boston Marathon in almost every role possible ... as a spectator, a volunteer, a qualifier, a charity runner, and an assistant race director for the Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon helping to give other runners the opportunity to become Boston Bound.
In a week I hope we will be celebrating running 26.2 miles together without any expletives, but certainly some tears. Love you and proud of you, Malinda.
Freudian slip? Somehow I put Leah's name on my bib!
Unfortunately, putting Leah's name on my bib did not help me run as fast as she did at the Chicago Marathon. I know I ran my best, but I am disappointed that I failed to qualify for the Boston Marathon (BQ) on my 10th attempt on Saturday, March 12.
Unofficial finish time: 4:00:23
A lot can change in 1/2 mile splits
Incapacitating stomach pain and nausea overwhelmed me after mile 20 and it took every bit of strength I had remaining to keep running (or walking) towards the finish line of my 20th marathon.
I admit that I contemplated giving up my goal to BQ, but I just can't stop chasing that unicorn. I have one last chance to BQ at the Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon on Saturday, September 10 and I will train my best so that I don't hit "the wall" again.
Did you run, cheer or volunteer during the Rock 'n' Roll DC Marathon, Half or 5K? Tell us about your experience (or share you link to your recap) in the comments. Comments will be posted after review.
30 #RnRDC Recaps
(updated 4/1/2016)
Listed alphabetically by blog or website
We are excited to support Medals4Mettle - a national non-profit organization that facilitates the gifting of earned marathon, half marathon and triathlon medals to children and adults showing mettle or courage while dealing with difficult challenges.
Donors are welcome to share the story behind their earned medal(s) and why they want to donate.
Information gathered from those donating medals helps Medals4Mettle gain a clearer sense of their support base and may help obtain corporate sponsorship dollars in the future.
To donate your medal(s), please clean your medal(s) and remove the ribbon(s).
Medal4Mettle ribbons are attached to the donated medals before they are given to the recipients.
If you live or work near Philadelphia, you can drop-off your medal(s) at any Philadelphia Runner store.
Medals4Mettle is a non-profit organization founded in 2005. Medals4Mettle facilitates the gifting of earned marathon, half marathon, and triathlon finishers’ medals from event participants to children and adults dealing with chronic, debilitating or life-threatening illness. We do this as a celebration of the human spirit, knowing that while our medal recipients may not be out on the race course with us, they are fighting in the race for their own lives. Over the past 9 years, Medals4Mettle has presented over 45,000 medals to deserving children and adults.
Medals4Mettle is a different kind of charity that does not seek to compete with other charities for valuable dollars. It is our mission to work with established charitable organizations to increase exposure and expand education by providing runners and triathletes with a simple way to gift their medals to others. It is also our hope that this will provide athletes with the opportunity to get to know their recipient or a charitable cause, and learn more about the disease or other problem that they have faced so courageously. Only a fraction of marathon runners run for a charity and Medals4Mettle believes that the simple gifting of a finisher’s medal is a subtle but effective way to introduce the concept of charitable running.
Yes. Medals4Mettle is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations made to your local chapter or through our website are tax-deductible. Donations of money are always needed to help offset the costs of manufacturing ribbons, distributing and awarding medals to recipients, chapter promotional materials, and ongoing shipping and administration costs of running the organization. Our chapter coordinators are all volunteers that coordinate medal collection and distribution, so your monetary donations truly go towards supporting our medal gifting program.
Where do I send my medals?
Medals4Mettle has 60 chapters in the United States as well as several chapters in other countries. To find the chapter closest to you, visit http://www.medals4mettle.org/chapters.html/If you do not have a chapter in your state, medals can be sent to our headquarters in Indianapolis, IN. Please note that many of our chapters have drop-off locations at local running stores, or may pick up medals at local race expos. Contact your local chapter coordinator if you have any questions.
How should I send the medals?
If at all possible, we ask that you remove the ribbons before mailing. Please wrap the medals in bubble-wrap or paper to help prevent damage in shipment. If you are sending a large quantity of medals, we recommend that you use USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes; this tends to be the cheapest as you pay one postage rate regardless of the weight.
We also encourage you to tell us about yourself and where the medal is from to provide us and M4M recipients some background on you and your gift.
What kinds of medals do you accept? Medals4Mettle accepts only earned marathon, half-marathon, or triathlon medals.
In the spirit of fostering philanthropy, we also accept any medals earned by children who wish to donate their medals to other children.
Can I send you my old trophies or awards from other sports?
We appreciate your donated race medals, however please do not send badges, pins, patches, stickers, plaques, ribbons or trophies as these cannot be used. Only the medals noted above are accepted.
I am a race director and I have extra medals that were never given out. Can I send you those?
We ask that only earned race medals be sent in. One of the most important parts of our program is that the medals presented were donated by athletes who earned them and wanted to pass them along to someone who they felt needed them more. Please do not send extra/unearned medals or medals from a race that was cancelled.
What happens to the medals I send you?
,Medals are presented to children and adults, either in hospital settings, group settings, or on an individual basis. The medals are presented to those who are fighting serious life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, or who are facing lifelong debilitating illnesses. The medals are theirs to keep. We do this at no charge to the recipients, hospitals or groups we work with.
I want to help Medals4Mettle but I don't have any medals. Are there are other ways I can help?
Yes! Any of the following would help us greatly:
1. Wear our tech shirt during your races. Donate $35 or more and we'll send you our tech shirt. For more information, visit: http://www.medals4mettle.org/donate.html
2. If you are a blogger, writing a blog post about our organization helps spread the word.
4. If you are part of a running or tri club, hold a group collection for Medals4Mettle.
5. If you work for a running/cycling/athlete retail store, offer to have a medal collection box at your store.
6. Volunteer your time. You don't have to be an athlete to be involved! We have volunteers and chapter coordinators from all walks of life. You can volunteer with your local chapter, or form a chapter in your area if there isn't already one.
