Even running wounded, Rick Cooney is a force to be reckoned with. Although the Sechelt man wasn't sure he would be able to compete in this year's Boston Marathon because of a training injury, he still managed to complete the course - and do it in an amazing time.
Cooney clocked in a respectable 3:59 in this year's running of North America's oldest road race. And the icing on the cake was running alongside his Gibsons' friend Carl Green. Green, who had run in the marathon before, shaved a full two minutes off his previous time. He finished the race in 3:35. Both men were in awe of the spirit of the people of the Boston area.
"It's a very, very friendly city. If you even look like you're lost, you have three people asking if you need help," Green said.
Cooney agreed.
"The generosity of the people is just overwhelming," he said."
All along the marathon's route people lined up to cheer the runners on. Spectators handed out cut-up oranges, water, candy, fruit and just about anything else a runner needed.
"It's in their hand, you just take it. These weren't people who got paid for it," Cooney added.
For Cooney, the race was a dream come true.
"As a runner who has run for many years I was in awe of being there. It is the ultimate goal of any road runner," he said.He was amazed at the instant camaraderie and immediate friendship the race fostered among the runners.
Since 1897 the Boston Marathon has been bringing serious runners to the area, so perhaps it's not surprising that even the customs officers have no trouble recognizing the lean marathoners.
Race day is also Patriots Day in the U.S. On the Monday morning the runners gather in 333 buses of 60 people each. They go to the race site three hours before the race. Green, because of his prior knowledge of the proceedings, had recommended the pair bring sleeping bags and rest at the site until the race began. Once the time comes for the race to begin, "it's a race just to get to the starting position," Green said.
Cooney likened it to 20,000 people lining up to run a race from Roberts Creek Hall to the Roberts Creek School. The roadway leading to the race's beginning is very narrow and with that many racers, very chaotic. "I'm pretty aggressive. Carl just stayed right with me to get to the start," Cooney said.
The course itself is a series of undulations, more downhill than uphill, with only about four miles of flat area.And of course there's the huge number of, in many cases loud, onlookers.
"As soon as you pass the halfway point, it's wall-to-wall people," Cooney said.
At one point the course passes a girls' private school. There the noise was more that Green could take.
"The screaming is so loud it hurts your ears. I had to go to the other side of the road," Green said.
Another feature of the race neither man will forget anytime soon is the infamous Heartbreak Hill. Located just before the 21-mile point, the hill comes at a time when the runners have been going mostly downhill. The downhill motion is hard on a runner's quads, the large muscles at the front of the thighs. Once the runner comes to the hill and starts to run uphill the calf muscles bear the brunt of the work. According to Green at this point many runners become walkers because they haven't paced themselves properly.
Green had trouble with the hill his first time out, but this time was different.
"I ran up it with no problem at all," he said.
In fact, the repeat runner managed a much better race this time because he was able to maintain a good pace throughout. Because the day was a warm one, 25 C, by afternoon, many runners ended up going straight into the medical tent. Over 1,000 people dropped out when the heat overwhelmed them.
Next to the marathon, the pride of the Boston people rests with their baseball team. That same day the Red Sox beat Toronto and the winning pitcher, Curt Schilling, was at the finish line of the marathon to greet his wife, another finisher.
As far as Cooney's concerned, the race was all he hoped for and more. All he needs next time is to be healthy and for the airline not to lose his luggage. You can add insult to injury.
In the meantime, Beantown has another fan.
