An Okotoks runner didn’t kiss off tradition at the world’s most famous marathon.
“At Wellesley College you can hear the girls screaming and there are signs saying ‘Kiss Me’” Tristan Janusc said. “I stopped just so I could give a girl a kiss on the way by. It’s one of those things in Boston and I wanted the whole experience.”
He didn’t do too much kissing along the famous Wellesley Scream, he turned in a blistering time of 2:51:02 at the Boston Marathon on April 16, but he had images of being right up there with the premier runners, like eventual champion, Yuki Kawauchi of Japan.
The 36-year-old Janusc was in the first wave not too far behind the premier runners. He had toiled with the ideas of sprinting to get out with the leaders and grab a few seconds of fame.
However common sense caught up with him.
“Because I was in wave 1, corral 1, I could potentially run out in front and lead the race for the first mile,” Janusc said with a laugh. “But I chose to abandon that style because when I got to the starting line it was so cold and I didn’t want to spend half the race walking – and getting hypothermia.”
He said the temperatures were around 5C and at times the rain “was coming down in sheets across the road and it was a pure headwind – not exactly ideal racing conditions.”
Despite the weather, this was Boston.
“This was almost a bucket-list item – I was just going for the experience,” Janusc said. “I could have a 2:45 or 3:15 and I wouldn’t have been surprised.
“I slowed my pace down a bit near the end just to enjoy myself. I high-fived a few people.”
Dwayne Gillies of Okotoks was tackling Boston in what was just his third marathon.
“It was definitely a humbling experience – the legend of the race,” the 57-year-old Gillies said. “It was a little overwhelming, especially the weather.
“It would have been nice to experience with the birds singing, but it was still awfully nice to see the finish line.”
Gillies finished in a respectable time of 3:43:32.
“I consider myself a relatively inexperienced runner and I wasn’t prepared for the conditions as far as clothing and things like that,” Gillies said. “I am still very satisfied with my time.”
He qualified for Boston in the Vancouver Marathon last May.
“After Vancouver, I said I was retiring,” he said with a laugh.
“Marathons are tough. They are tough to train for, you have to put a lot of miles in. But since I qualified for Boston, I said I am going to this.”
How about doing it again?
“I feel like I left a little bit on table, so I don’t know for sure if I will ever run Boston again,” Gillies said. “Right now, I am just relaxing. It takes a lot out of you.”
His favourite experience was running down Boylston Street with less than a mile to go.
“I did a little research and it said to really enjoy that last stretch on Boylston,” Gillies said. “You have fans screaming, you feel like a bit of a rock star. It feels pretty good to go down that homestretch.”
Eighteen-year-old Heidi Frehlich completed the Boston Marathon some 22 years after her father Craig.
She did dad proud, finishing Boston in 3:17:29 – just slightly off her goal time of 3:10.
“I was on pace for it for most of the marathon and then near the end the weather finally caught up with me,” Frehlich said. “It was still a personal best by about six minutes. I am pretty happy with my race.”
She said the weather put a damper on the experience.
“I feel like I have a very different experience than people in previous years,” Frehlich said. “I couldn’t really experience everything around me because the weather was so crazy. I just had to focus on finishing the race.”
After the finish, she didn’t go for the traditional Sam Adams beer. Not only was she too young but also she had to hit the books.
“I went back the hotel to study for my exam on Wednesday,” said Frehlich, who is in her first year at the University of Toronto.
The 2017 Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School grad said she felt the exam went well.
The married couple of Burke and Niki Doyle finished Boston in 3:28:4 and 3:34:42 respectively.
To see the full results of the Boston Marathon go to baa.org
