A 'MENTAL GAME' FOR LOCAL RUNNERS
LOWELL SUN
He finished 26,288th out of approximately 30,000 runners.
And Ronald Kmiec still produced one of the outstanding performances of the Boston Marathon on Monday.
The 76-year-old Carlisle resident finished his 46th consecutive Boston Marathon. Only Bennett Beach of Bethesda, Md. (52), Mark Bauman of Flushing, Mich. (50) and Dave McGillivray of North Andover (47) have run more consecutive Bostons than Kmiec.
“I’m feeling good, my feet aren’t,” said Kmiec, managing to joke on Monday afternoon.
Kmiec made it to the finish line in a time of 5 hours, 52 and eight seconds despite running on feet than began causing him pain about mile 10.
“It was painful for probably 16 miles. Every step was painful,” he said.
Kmiec said “it’s getting hard, it’s getting tough” to continue his streak, especially as he approaches his late 70’s.
In fact, Kmiec said his streak may end at 46.
“There’s a very good likelihood that will be my last one,” he said. Of course, he added, the streak won’t be over until “the fat lady sings.”
Last year, torrential rains and cold temperatures made it one of the toughest runs in the history of the Boston Marathon. Monday’s race was supposed to feature plenty of rain. Instead, runners were greeted with higher-than-expected temperatures and sunshine for much of the course.
Kmiec wasn’t the only local runner to keep an amazing streak alive.
Kmiec formed the Quarter Century Club in 2001 to honor runners who have finished at least 25 consecutive Boston Marathons.
Also extending their streaks were Gerard Ottaviano of Westford (36th straight, 4:58:54), Scott Graham of Westford (33rd straight, 4:16:25), Brian Crane of Townsend (31st straight, 4:25:20), Stavros Kanaracus of Lowell (30th straight, 4:43:13), Michael Kent of Billerica (29th straight, 3:48:10) and David Nerrow of Concord (26th straight, 3:49:02).
“Let me tell you, it doesn’t get any easier,” the 60-year-old Graham said with a slight laugh. “It was a lot warmer than people wanted.”
Graham had heard the weather reports of consistent rain. Instead, the sun was out from miles 9-24 for Graham, who took three cups of water at every mile stop — one he drank, one he poured over his head, one he poured down the back of his neck.
“We were expecting more rain. I ran a lot better last year than this year,” Graham said, despite the fact that it rained for the entire marathon last year and thousands of runners battled hypothermia. “At mile nine, I said, “It’s not working anymore. It’s time to go into survival mode. You’re out there and you’re like, ‘Why am I doing this again?’ But there’s a challenge, really.”
Top local finishers
The fastest local runner was Chris Gabrielson of Chelmsford, who crossed in 2:37:17. Seven other locals finished in under three hours. A tip of the cap to Pelham, N.H., which had three runners break that milestone — Humza Jafferji (2:51:26), Jacob Wormald (2:53:04) and Trent Fontanella (2:58:58).
The top local female was Erin Rielly of Burlington, who stormed down Boylston Street to finish in 3:18:20.
Amy Molloy of Chelmsford finished her 12th Boston Marathon in the last 16 years. The 39-year-old has plenty of experience running 26.2 miles. But she had one thought at mile 14: Could she find someone to drive her in to Boston?
“It was hot out there. It was not one of my prettiest marathons. It’s just a mental game. But then I got a little bit of a second wind,” she said.
She needed to run a 3:40 in order to qualify for Boston in 2021. Despite a rally, she crossed in 3:42:57.
The crowds, so diminished last year by the horrible weather, were back in full force this year, Molloy said.
“It’s amazing how much that can help you,” she said of the crowd support.
Former Wilmington High star Dan Vassallo once again shined on one of the sport’s biggest stage.
One year after finishing 10th overall, the Peabody resident finished 35th in a terrific time of 2:23:15. The 2003 WHS graduate was the 17th fastest American.