Ethiopia’s Teyba Erkesso ended up winning the women’s division of today’s Boston Marathon by a hair: a mere three seconds over Russia’s Tatyana Pushkareva. But when we saw Erkesso cruising past Newton’s 18-mile mark, she was far ahead of the rest of the elite women front-runners.
Long after the elite men, women, and wheelchair runners have passed, the fun of Marathon Day lies in cheering on the ordinary folks far back in the pack.
These runners aren’t racing the men and women next to them; their only competition is the nagging voice inside that whispers “Stop” and “I can’t!” The job of marathon spectators is to overwhelm that small, nagging voice with clapping, shouting, drumming, chanting, cow-bell ringing, and sign-waving.
The flip-side of that final sign read “Keep going,” and the boy holding it dutifully flipped between one side and the other as runners raced past. You can see more photos of marathon runners and spectators in this photo-set: enjoy!
Apr 19, 2010 at 5:56 pm
I should have photographed from your location. I was about 1/4 mile from the finish line along with everyone else so I didn’t get a good place to photograph from because of the crowds. Next time, right?
Apr 19, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Yes, I used to watch the Marathon from the finish line, which is an exciting vantage point in terms of cheering folks to finish, but it was always crowded.
We started at the intersection of Chestnut and Commonwealth, which is a popular place for families to greet “their” runners. We later walked down to Newton City Hall, which is a very popular (read: crowded) place for spectactors…but there were stretches along Commonwealth where there was plenty of room to sit or stand.
At several points as we were walking, in fact, the crowds were so quiet, we could hear the runner’s foot-falls beside us, which was kind of neat. It “almost” felt like we were in the race, just walking rather than running.
Apr 20, 2010 at 7:14 am
Great photos and I especially love the one of Teyba Erkesso – running through the air.
Apr 20, 2010 at 7:52 am
Love this! Great captures. That boy’s sign…
Apr 20, 2010 at 10:01 am
I’m glad you enjoyed these, Jean and Ivy. It’s always such a fun event to photograph, especially when the weather is cooperating.
Teyba Erkesso did look like she was running on air. We couldn’t believe how far ahead of the rest of the elite women runners she was, as if she were floating down the course.