On April 20, Nancy Kinner of Alba took part in the 119th Boston Marathon. It was the second time she ran in the event; the other was two years ago, when the terrorist bomb was detonated at the finish line shortly after Nancy completed her run.
"No one talked about the bombing or the trial [of the bomber] at all," she told us. "There was a feeling of solidarity with the runners and the fans in Boston. There was a big connection."
"The runners can't bring belonging to the start line, and there can be no bags, coolers or carriers near the finish line." The race was completed with no incidents
This year, some 32,500 runners started and 26,600 finished. Nancy's time was 4:04:11, about half an hour slower than her 3:41 of two years ago.
"The weather this year was a lot different," she told us. "It was rainy and considerably colder than two years ago It was 44˚ with strong winds - some gusts up to twenty miles an hour." However, she doesn't think the weather is the reason for her slower time. "It was hard for me to train this winter. I was not able to take long runs. I was not prepared as I should have been." "It was still a good experience. The fans lined the streets. They were right there. cheering us on. The fans were very dedicated. " She took note of one fellow who was playing drums to encourage the runners.
"No one talked about the bombing or the trial [of the bomber] at all," she told us. "There was a feeling of solidarity with the runners and the fans in Boston. There was a big connection."
"The runners can't bring belonging to the start line, and there can be no bags, coolers or carriers near the finish line." The race was completed with no incidents
This year, some 32,500 runners started and 26,600 finished. Nancy's time was 4:04:11, about half an hour slower than her 3:41 of two years ago.
"The weather this year was a lot different," she told us. "It was rainy and considerably colder than two years ago It was 44˚ with strong winds - some gusts up to twenty miles an hour." However, she doesn't think the weather is the reason for her slower time. "It was hard for me to train this winter. I was not able to take long runs. I was not prepared as I should have been." "It was still a good experience. The fans lined the streets. They were right there. cheering us on. The fans were very dedicated. " She took note of one fellow who was playing drums to encourage the runners.
Nancy says that Lisa Butler from Granville also ran in the Marathon, and finished only twenty seconds behind Nancy. "But I never saw her during the entire race.""
Nancy's husband Steve, their daughter Kristyn and son Dylan, and Keegan Beard accompanied her to Boston and watched the race.
Nancy wants to "thank everyone who wished me well; My family, my Rockwell's family [Nancy works in the office at H. Rockwell & Son in Canton], and the community. I want to thank my husband and kids and Keegan for standing in the rain for hours."
The family left directly after the race, and after a six hour ride they were home, but says, "We hit another thunderstorm in Binghamton so we couldn't escape the rain that day!"