When Dwight ran his first marathon in Virginia Beach in 2007 he qualified for the Boston Marathon, but being the humble (and relatively inexperienced) competitive runner that he is he didn’t realise the achievement that this was. When developing his bucket list, the big American races, Boston, Chicago, and New York made the list. So, as with all races that require qualification, the road to the Boston Marathon will require a qualifying race.
We looked at a few different races seeking out one with a fast enough field to push him to a qualifying time, and after dismissing races in Texas and Colorado as not having competitive enough fields, we agreed on the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 24, 2016.
This race is big in size. It is also a race which commemorates the Oklahoma city bombing.
My job, once Dwight has completed an entry for a race like this, is to secure accommodation and begin our travel plans. Even reserving rooms in November was tough. Most of the rooms were already sold out. We ended up in a Marriot just under 5 miles from the start. We are hoping that as this is on the list of hotels provided by the race, that the shuttle for the race will drop by this hotel.
Dwight’s goal time for qualifying for Boston Marathon is 3 hours 5 minutes.
His marathon best is from his only ever marathon – 2:58:00.
Our hopes are high, but he always does best when there is as little pressure as possible.
Listening. Observing. Participating. Writing. Photographing. Reflecting.
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Anna Blanch Rabe is an Australian-born writer and photographer. You can follow her adventure on Not A Pedestrian Life, or Facebook. For more domestic things take a look at Quotidian Home or her previous website, Goannatree.
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