The Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots’ Day the third Monday of April, is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious road races. With close to 30,000 competitors and a million spectators cheering runners on, it is a must-do for any marathoner, including UNE staff member Daniel Gooch.
Competing in the Boston Marathon has been a dream of Daniel’s since he started running as a teenager. And 18 months ago he decided to take the plunge and try and qualify for a start in the 122nd Boston Marathon.
In order to qualify, Daniel had to meet time standards for his age and gender. He chose the 2017 Gold Coast marathon as his qualifier, however on the day the race didn’t entirely go according to plan. He hit the proverbial wall at the 26km mark but fought through it and managed a qualifying time of 03:18.
“I was overall very disappointed in that experience but I reassessed my plan and then intensified my training program for both body and mind,” Daniel said.
In preparation for the marathon, the Gooch family headed to New York to acclimatise (and have a bit of fun) before setting off to Boston.
Race day started early with temperatures hovering around 2 degrees Celsius (felt like -8), strong head winds with gusts up to 52km/h and driving rain. Records showed it was the worst weather conditions on marathon day in more than 30 years.
Daniel was bussed out to the course at 7am and then stood around until 10.25am when the starters’ gun for his wave sounded.
In spite of the brutal conditions, Daniel ran a great race at a very consistent pace. He completed the marathon in 03:07:04, less than an hour behind the winning time of 02:15:58, finishing 2,849 overall and 197 in his division. A personal best!
The Gooch family are now continuing on their vacation across the USA for another few weeks before heading back to Australia and UNE.