The Hubs and I ran the Boston’s Run to Remember Half Marathon on May 29th. It was one of the most organized, emotional races we have ever run. The Boston’s Run to Remember is a tribute to fallen law enforcement officers and first responders. And then being on Memorial Day Weekend made it even more special in this amazing city.
Travel Tip: Pack your weekend clothes in your check-in bag and your running clothes in a carry-on. The idea is that you will still have your running clothes just in case your luggage gets lost. It’s easy to replace every day clothes like shirts and underwear but impossible to replace your running shoes and favorite shorts for your race in 2 days! Plus you don’t need to open your running clothes suitcase until race morning.
Saturday was the expo! It was located at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center which was only about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. I love how you really don’t need a car in this city. Everything is within walking distances!
We grabbed our bibs, shirts, looked around and took all the runner pics that you normally do at an expo! It was a really nice expo with about 40 vendors.
They had a beautiful memoriam for the officers that died in the line of duty. Especially for the 2 most recent officers Police Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr. and Trooper Thomas Clardy. It was very moving. At one of the tables you needed to pick a coin that could be placed inside your medal. You could pick a firefighter, first responder or the police coin. I personally wanted all 3. But we decided to go with the police in honor of those officers.
Here's another packing tip! Don’t forget to pack 3 sets of running clothes. One for a hot race (70 degrees or more), one for nice running weather (50-65 degrees) and one for cold (anything under 50 degrees for me!)
I was all set to wear a tank top and light shorts but when I walked outside I turned straight around and changed into a slightly warmer outfit. The weather changed from 90 degrees one day to 58 degrees the next!
It was a perfectly overcast day with the temperature hovering in the low 60s at the start of the race. We totally lucked out! This race is amazingly organized with TONS of potties at the start, volunteers and a HUGE police force protecting us.
Flags were hanging everywhere with 10,000 happy, excited runners. Everyone got in the corral they wanted to run the race in and we started off in 2 waves. The super-fast and the not-super-fast.
Once we started we were just bombarded with spectacular views of the city. I wish I could have a camera built into my hand. The city views were breath-taking along the Charles River.
One of the coolest things along this course is in front of MIT in Cambridge. There you will find a long line of police cars with their lights on, facing the course. In front of each car was a police officer high-fiving the runners. I made sure to high-five each of them and thanked them for their service.
The race was super-supported with tons of water, Gatorade and port-a-potties. This race seemed to fly by and it’s definitely not because I’m fast. I remember looking at my watch the first time thinking, “wow, that was 6 miles already!?” And then we hit mile 10 and I was kind of sad it was almost over. This was another race I did not want to end.
We finished the race totally enjoying this course. I think I played with every single photographer on the course! I felt awesome at this finish except for one thing–I fell right before mile 1. UGH, I can hear my Mom say “Oh no, not again!”
In the beginning of the run, it’s pretty crowded. I stepped into a dent on the road and down I fell. Two nice runners picked me up and I was fine. I didn’t let it mess with my running mojo and thanked the universe and my kale and spinach diet for not breaking any bones.
I didn’t even notice my knees were bleeding until mile 7. Ha! After grabbing my medal and an orange, I headed to the medical tent and got a swab and 2 band aids. They were very nice there too!
Another great thing about this race is after you get your medal, re-fueling foods and drinks you end up right back in the Expo. Here we used indoor bathrooms, stretched and sat on a nice carpeted floors for a bit.

Boston’s Run to Remember Tips!
• Even though there are tons of port-a-potties at the race, get their early. Lines were long within a short amount of time.
• Really enjoy this course. Look up and see where you are running. But watch your footing!
• Look for the photographers! They take wonderful pictures and there are free downloadable images.
• Bring money or credit card in case you want to buy something at the Expo after the race.
• Bring band aids!

For more information and pictures, be sure to visit http://www.runandsmile.com/running/bostons-run-to-remember/