Silent Blade

Silent Blade ran in the 26-mile Boston Marathon on April 18 for the first time, and completed it with a time of three hours and 13 minutes. Prior to running in the Boston Marathon, he ran in a series of races as part of his training regimen such as the HURT100 (100K/100 mile race) on January 17, 2011, Honolulu Marathon on December 11, 2010, and the Xterra World Championship half marathon trail run on December 5, 2010.

“Boston was great with the cheering crowds and perfect weather. It was about 40 degrees in Boston, and then it warmed up to about 55 during the race,” Silent Blade said. The weather was the perfect conditions to break the world record, which was done that day (2:03hr) by Geoffrey Mutai from Kenya.”

SAME TIME, DIFFERENT COURSE

Recently, Silent Blade ran in the Honolulu marathon and ran the exact same time, which is his personal best. Although his race times were identical, the courses were not. The Boston marathon is known notoriously for its downhill beginning followed by a grueling uphill trek.

“The 400 ft. gradual downhill run from the start to the 16 mile mark was very fast paced, which expended more than normal energy, so many people fell out after they hit the wall at mile 21 which is known as Heartbreak Hill,” Silent Blade explains. “When approaching the last leg of the race, six miles through Boston downtown, the course leveled out and the cheering crowds made finishing comforting.”

To view the Boston Marathon course, click here.

THE RACE EXPERIENCE

Silent Blade's 7:23 minute mile pace for 26.2 consecutive miles was exhilarating up until mile 21 when he started to suffer by "hitting the wall" a term used to describe breakdown with symptoms of cramping, extreme soreness, and disillusions. But the spectators and runners kept spirits up which helped make the experience inspirational, spiritual, and memorable. Silent Blade comments on his experience. "The energy from the fans and girls screaming from Wellesley College was more than enough to make you feel like a rock star! The cheering crowds, enthusiastic kids, and partying college students along the race course, time flew by too quickly. Before I knew it, I was at mile 21 and hitting the wall. My hips and quads felt pretty shot until I saw a female runner with "Sally Meyerhoff" printed on the back of her shirt. Sally was a friend of mine who had just qualified for the Olympics but had died one month before the Boston Marathon from a biking accident. It was spiritually uplifting to know that somebody else ran the Boston Marathon in commenoration of Sally."

ABOUT THE BOSTON MARATHON

The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. The Boston
Athletic Association manages this American classic, which is sponsored by John Hancock Financial Services. The Boston Marathon has distinguished itself as the pinnacle event within the sport of road racing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and method of gaining entry into the race (via qualification). The legendary Boston Marathon course follows a point-to-point route from Hopkinton to Boston, and is certified per the guidelines set forth by the IAAF and USA Track and Field. (http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/event-information.aspx)

Additional Information:

·http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/results-commentary/results-search.aspx

The first series of races started with the Xterra World Championship 21K Trail Run.After finishing part of the year as a triathlete, that season ended with the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Hawaii and my running season started with the December 5, 2010 Xterra Trail Run.My training started in October with a couple of very long trail runs uphill, downhill, and over beaches. My typical training run would be a three and a half hour trail run in the afternoon to early evening. My route would start with a 3 mile run on the beach then up a 1,600 foot switchback and a 10-mile run on the flats before descending 3 miles.This route was my most challenging route especially at sunset because I would find myself running in the dark.

On race day, this year’s course was even harder than last year’s course with more rolling hills and a slightly longer course.I finished this grueling trail run in 1:38:24 with a 7:37 minute mile average pace just a half a minute behind Melanie McQuaid, an Xterra World Championship triathlete.I had improved my overall time by seven minutes and also had not fallen into the ravine caught on XterraTV cameras from the previous year. This year somebody else had fallen into the ravine caught on XterraTV and later viewed at the post race dinner.

I just survived the Xterra World Championship held in Maui on October 25, 2009.The 27-mile course of unyielding terrain is like no other.The course starts with a one mile open water swim with 550 people packed like sardines, my swimming goggles got kicked twice, next a 20 mile mountain bike ride climbing up a mountain from sea level to 1,400 feet with sections covered with softball size lava rocks causing me to crash twice, and finally a 7.5 mile trail run over hills, through sandy beaches, a spooky forest, and over lava rocks.Qualified competitors from more than 20 countries and 40 states, Olympic veterans, pros, and amateurs alike gathered together for triathlon's toughest off-road endurance challenges in the world.After four years of training, qualifying, and challenges, such as a broken finger, mechanical bike problems, and sponsorship, I reached my goal, survived, and exceed my expectations.