Running on the course Part 3...

I decided to run the 3rd 5 mile leg of the Boston Marathon route on Sunday. This section would take me from central Natick into Wellesley and to the edge of Wellesley Hills. It is a section of the course that has a few rolling hills. Nothing too steep though. But, it is the first real up hill climbs so far on my running of the course.

I got up early on Sunday to make sure I would be running with the minimalist of traffic. As people in our area know, drivers in Boston are not kind to pedestrians, bikers or runners. It is best to run before they are all out on the roads. Plus there are several portions of the Boston Marathon route that have no sidewalks. The good news was that most of the miles through Wellesley did have sidewalks.

I set out from the 10 mile marker heading east towards Wellesley. It was a nice level run from Natick center up until I started to approach the Wellesley College campus. The hill leading up to campus is not really too steep and I crested it easily. The only difference between hitting mile 12.5 on Sunday versus race day is that there were no screaming Wellesley co-eds cheering me on. In fact, the campus was very quiet. I don’t think the girls were back from Winter Break yet.

Wellesley College is a women's liberal arts college that opened in 1875 and is ranked the #4 liberal arts college in the United States in the 2009 U.S. News and World Report rankings. The college is known for the beauty of its 500 acre campus which includes Lake Waban, woodlands and open meadows. You can see some of it from the road as you run by. Some of Wellesley’s famous graduates are Madeleine Albright, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Katherine Lee Bates (author of the words to the anthem "America the Beautiful"), Nora Ephron, Ali MacGraw, Cokie Roberts, Diane Sawyer, Elisabeth Shue, Linda Wertheimer, and Madame Chiang Kai-shek (former First Lady of the Republic of China).

According to Runner’s World, “For 111 years, the women of Wellesley College have made spectating a sport. On Marathon Monday, it’s tradition for students to cheer on Boston Marathoners who race past campus near mile 13. Thousands of women line about a quarter mile of the course, motivating runners with hoots, hollers, high-fives ...even kisses. The so-called Wellesley Scream Tunnel is so loud, runners say they can hear it from a mile away.” I have to say, I am looking forward to that portion of the race.

From the 12.5 mile point, I headed into Wellesley’s business district. This also took me right past the half-way point. The last 2 miles took me into the Wellesley Hills neighborhood. When I hit the 15 mile mark, I turned around and headed back to Natick. It was really an amazing run. I had sunshine which made it seem like an easy run despite the cold. I ended up finishing in a time that surprised me 1:26:30 (8:39 per mile). I can only hope that I can feel that good on race day.