When the weathermen were wrong about yesterday's forecast of heavy rains and strong winds, no one could have been happier than Kathleen Loughlin '07 and Kevin Sieff '07, who were competing in the 111th Boston Marathon.
"The weather wasn't as bad as predicted," Sieff said. "In the beginning, there was a light drizzle, and the wind wasn't bad. Towards the end, the temperature dropped, and the wind picked up, but it wasn't as bad as we expected it to be."
The day before, marathon officials had distributed handouts announcing a Weather Alert and Advisory for Participants in order to prepare runners for what were predicted to be the worst weather conditions in the marathon's history. Athletes were warned that the expected mix of heavy rainfall, severe wind and low temperatures would increase their risk of developing hypothermia.
But the runners were in for a nice surprise. "The weather held off for us, which was incredibly lucky, considering what they were predicting," Loughlin said.
Nevertheless, the cold temperature, light rain and wind did take their toll on Loughlin, who completed the marathon in 3:34:57.
"I wanted to run it in 3:30, so this was a little slower with the weather conditions, and the course was a little tougher," she said.
Sieff finished with a time of 3:06:52. "I'm okay with it, considering the conditions of the race," he said. "I ran the first half at a 6:40 pace, which was a little too fast. I had to slow down with eight miles left, at Heartbreak Hill."
Heartbreak Hill is the final hill of the course, which begins in the rural town of Hopkinton, Mass., and ends at Copley Square in Boston. Both Loughlin and Sieff agreed that the supportive crowd encouraged them during the final sections of the race.
"When I was hurting, what helped was the great fan support and having two great friends pulling me along," said Sieff, who was accompanied for the last 10 miles by Pat Clark '07 and Nick Neely '07, members of the men's cross country team.
Loughlin also said she appreciated her friends' support, thanking all the Brown fans who came to Boston. Many of her friends were waiting at the start of Heartbreak Hill to cheer her on, and like Sieff, Loughlin was paced by friends Elizabeth Bird '07, Alex Brown '08 and Becky Crossin '08 for the last half of the race.
"I was really excited to see them," Loughlin said. "It was awesome because I'm used to running with people, and this would have been a long time to be by myself."
Loughlin and Sieff also had to thank years of preparation for their strong performances yesterday. For training, Loughlin's approach was to "just run as much as you can." Sieff echoed her sentiment.
"It's important to run six or seven days a week," he said. "Runners can do 50 miles a week to 150 miles a week, depending on how serious they are. I run between 60 and 70 miles a week."
According to Sieff, training intensifies during the weeks before a marathon. "The most important part is to do a few really long runs before," he said, specifying distances between 17 and 21 miles.
This may seem like a lot to people unaccustomed to running such long distances, but for Sieff, the strenuous training and competition are worth it.
"I've always been an obsessive distance runner," he said.
Loughlin had a more specific goal in mind going into the race. "I wanted to run the Boston Marathon before I graduate," she said. "Obviously, this was the year to do it."
