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A to Z Challenge: Day Fifteen – “O”

Retirement Reflections

‘O’ is for ‘Onslaught of Overwhelming Weather’ and ‘Once in a Lifetime Opportunities!’

Weather conditions at the 2018 Boston Marathon were oppressively COLD and WET.  Temperatures reached a low of 35F (2C) and were accompanied by non-stop pelting rain plus 25 mph winds. 2,300 marathon runners received medical treatment, many due to overexposure and hypothermia.

Despite this setback, Creighton completed the race in 3 hours and 28 minutes and 11 seconds. Not his personal best, but an outstanding time given the conditions.

This excruciating challenge made the victory that much more meaningful. It also (hopefully) made this a once in a lifetime experience!

Congratulations to Creighton and to all 30,000 runners. Very impressive determination, endurance and tenacity. Wishing all a speedy and thorough recovery.

Weather
Unfortunately, I do not have any shots of Creighton running (his bib number was covered…and many runners were a blur). The photos that I do have should give you a good idea of the running (and viewing) conditions.

 

 

Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

50 thoughts on “A to Z Challenge: Day Fifteen – “O””

  2. To think that the marathon runners in the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane this week were collapsing from heat exhaustion. I mean it is Autumn. It should be cooling down. To anyone running a marathon I can only look on with disbelief and admiration.

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    1. Hi, Linda – I join you in this admiration. As Creighton says, running makes him (and all other marathoners that he knows) feel alive. Successfully completing such an overwhelming challenge makes him feel even more so!

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  3. I have to ask, Donna. Did it bother you that the run went ahead in those weather conditions? I understand and admire tenacity, but when 2300 runners need medical attention, did the line between tenacity and foolishness get crossed?

    Congratulations to Creighton for an outstanding run.

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    1. Hi, Karen – Great question. Despite rain, snow, sleet or oppressive heat, the Boston Marathon has never yet been postponed in its 122-year history. This marathon is one of the world’s top six recognized races and is extremely well equipped for all types of emergencies. Most of the reasons that racers sought medical treatment at the race yesterday were quite minor. Like Creighton’s running mate from Singapore, most were treated and released and are now fine. At one point, Creighton considered dropping out but he figured it would be warmer to keep running! Marathon runners around the world always have my utmost respect and admiration.

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    1. Hi, Antoinette – This was Creighton’s fifth full marathon and he definitely plans to compete in more. As he lives in Singapore, and successfully completed yesterday’s race, he currently doesn’t have any plans to enter this particular marathon again. But he is proud of the experience!

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  5. Congratulations to Creighton and all of the runners! 3:28:11 is a very impressive time given the cold and wet weather conditions. Good on you for waiting outside in the rain to cheer him on.

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    1. Thanks, Natalie – I thought that the hard core fans who watched in the thick, pouring rain for over three hours, should get a small medal as well. Funny, Creighton didn’t seem to agree with this….but he was very appreciative for our endless support!

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  6. What a great accomplishment for all the runners under those conditions. I saw the winner on the news last night and just thought how strong you have to be to compete in that kind of weather. Kudos to them all!

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    1. Hi, Karen – I wholeheartedly agree that this is such an incredible accomplishment. Acts of heroism (both large and small) could be witnessed everywhere. The woman who won the race, had stopped early on to help a runner (whom she did not know) who was struggling. Awe-inspiring stuff!

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  9. Congrats to anyone who is crazy enough to want to run a marathon– and does it. Boston weather always seems to be iffy at this time of year, yet the race endures. Great that you got to see it.

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    1. Hi, Ally – You are right about the Boston weather. At last year’s Marathon the heat was sweltering. Creighton would have much preferred that. You just can’t predict it. I am grateful that I got to see it — even if it did mean being VERY WET!

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  11. A wonderful accomplishment – that marathon is one of the “big ones”! Has he considered the one in France that involves wine…that would be much more fun to be a watcher at. 🙂

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  12. Congratulations to Creighton and all the other runners! An amazing and impressive feat (and feet!) under those not-so-perfect weather conditions. Something he and you will never forget. Kevin & I watched part of the marathon on TV yesterday.

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  13. Congratulations to your son and to you two for braving that weather. We had the same kind of weather here,, lost our power and have been on a generator for two days now. However, I didn’t venture outside even once in it. Hope your intentional packing for this trip served you well!

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    1. Hi, Fran – The intentional packing was pretty good. I had a raincoat, rain pants, toque, mitts and warm fleece. At another blogger’s suggestion, I also had plastic bags and elastic bands to keep my socks and feet dry. There wasn’t anything extra that I needed…but there were a couple of items that I could have edited out further. For me, if I seldom wear something at home, I will not likely wear it on vacation (no matter how ‘nice’ it is)!

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  16. MANY congratulations to Creighton, Donna! And to all those who ran the race – an Ordeal for sure given the weather conditions. An awful lot who had to receive medical treatment… hope they’re recovering well.

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    1. Thanks, Susan – Many of the runners who sought medical treatment had showed symptoms of hypothermia due to the thick, pelting rain that would not let up. Eighty-one runners were taken to the hospital. It is my understanding that most of them have already been released.

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  18. We’ll done to Creighton, Donna. Running a marathon in any time is a wonderful achievement. Such a shame about the weather for both competitors and spectators but I love the buzz and the atmosphere of the runs. My first one of the year kicks off in May for the Mother’s Day Run. X

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  20. I thought of you out in those conditions. It’s bad enough running in bad weather, but in my opinion, spectating is even worse!

    We watched some of the race on TV and it certainly looked brutal. Kudos to your son. His time would be impressive in any weather 🙂
    I would imagine that it was really hard trying to stay warm and dry in the corrals for the few hours before the race even started. He certainly has bragging rights!

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    1. Hi, Joanne – Thank you for your warm and insightful comment. Yes, it was absolutely impossible for the runners to stay warm/dry in the corrals before the race started. As they needed to arrive and be positioned long before the race began, they were all soaking wet before even starting to run. You are right about bragging rights. The medals were on full display in and around Boston yesterday. It was wonderful to see!

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    1. That’s an awesome (and insightful) question, Laura. Richard definitely wished that he had packed a heavier coat….and hat….and gloves. Combined with my warm fleece and rain pants, the waterproof jacket that I took worked fine. Without full Fisherman’s Wading Gear there was not way around the cold and wet!

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  25. Thanks, Molly – I don’t think that I had ever experienced rain quite like that! It also significantly mixed up the final results for the runners. At the press conference with the top placing athletes, a couple of them were asked to introduced themselves…they were that unknown!

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