Palm Beach Roadrunners well represented at Boston Marathon

Editor's note: The writer is a 60-year-old Lake Worth Beach resident who flies his own airplane and ran the Tokyo Marathon before heading to Boston for this week's race.

BOSTON —  On race morning of the Boston Marathon, the quiet town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts was transformed into the epicenter of the running world.

Over 30,000 runners from every corner of the earth converged on the Athletes' Village, turning this tiny town into a sea of neon jerseys and nervous energy for its 130th running.

The air was thick with anticipation.  Most of us have worked for years to make it to this point. The cool bite of the Massachusetts spring, our school bus ride to the start, the long lines for the porta potty added to the anticipation.

The music over the PA was interrupted by the announcement that it was my time to head to the start.  The excitement at this moment was palpable and mirrored the racing pulses of the crowd.

The excitement reached its peak at the starting line, where the iconic blue and yellow paint marked the beginning of the 26.2-mile pilgrimage through Greater Boston. Under the gaze of the **"**It All Starts Here" sign, the starter’s gun triggered an immediate, adrenaline-fueled plunge.

Runners were catapulted down a dramatic 200-foot drop in the first half-mile, a steep downhill rush flanked by cheering locals who pushed us out of the village and toward the distant Boston skyline.

The Palm Beach Roadrunners, my partners in training for the last two years, brought 21 members to Beantown.

The Hopkinton roar feels a world away from where it all began: 16 weeks ago, whether standing on the humid, pitch-black asphalt of either Bradley Park or the Dunkin Donuts on Donald Ross Road at 6:30 a.m. While the rest of the world slept, we were out there chasing headlamps. This wasn’t the crisp New England air but a thick blanket of tropical heat that made every mile feel earned.

The cycle started "easy" at 25 miles a week, but soon the mileage grew like weeds in my Lake Worth Beach garden, peaking at grueling stretches of more than 60 miles.

My life became a repetitive blur of 4 a.m. alarms, sweat-soaked singlets, and the relentless pounding of the Lake Trail, of crossing the Lake Worth Bridge, running past the under-renovation Gulfstream Hotel. All to build the grit I’d need for a finish line I couldn't yet see.

Theodore Belloise ran his first Boston Marathon in 4:04:56.

Earning a bib for Boston is a ruthless numbers game. Meeting the qualifying time for my age (60) and gender only qualifies me to register for the big event.  Because the field is capped, the B.A.A. ranks every applicant by how much they "beat the clock," meaning my official qualifying time must be significantly faster than the baseline just to survive the cut-off.

For the 2026 race, the standards were tightened by a grueling five minutes across the board, forcing me to chase a mark that was more ambitious than I had imagined.

Even after I hit my mark, the anxiety didn't end until the "cut-off" time was announced. In recent years, thousands of runners who technically qualified were still rejected because they didn't have a large enough "buffer" (sometimes six minutes faster than their required time).

It’s a system that demands you don't just run fast, but that you outrun the collective speed of the entire global field.  It makes that final acceptance email feel like winning the lottery or an Olympic medal.

Dave Masterson ran his 7th Boston Marathon

Members of the Palm Beach Roadrunners hold their banner on the streets of Boston.

Dave Masterson, president of the Palm Beach Roadrunners who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, ran his seventh Boston Marathon.  He has completed over 70 marathons and wrote a book being released this summer: "Marathon 101."

“I enjoy the sport because it brings together the things I value highly,” Masterson said. “Those being friendship, fitness, travel, laughter and personal accomplishments. It’s a most fulfilling lifestyle to chase!”.

Masterson ran a time of 3:20:51 - 123rd in his age group of males 60-to-64.

Hannah Anderson, is a hairdresser and mother of three. The Lake Worth Beach resident started running with “PBRR” in 2020 after her first marathon.  To date, she has run eight marathons and two ultramarathons (50 milers).

“Running has been my therapy since I was 13,” Anderson explained. “It’s a great way to clear my head and, at times, just escape from the daily chaos of life.  Along with karate, it’s my main form of exercise. It sets an example for my children that it’s important to care for yourself, and no matter what stage in life we are at, we can continue to chase and accomplish goals.”

Hannah posted a 3:24:34 in Boston -289th in her age group.

Kevin Lanning, who lives in Jupiter, is a professor of Psychology and Data Science at Florida Atlantic University and he shows no sign of slowing down at 69.

“I began running after the pandemic and joined the Palm Beach Road Runners in 2022,” Lanning recalled. “At one level, I run because running evokes changes in brain chemistry that bathe me in positive feelings ranging from satisfaction to ecstasy, all accompanied by a sense of gratitude for loved ones and for the thousands of strangers who cheer as I run by. And I run because I can. At my age, this is not to be taken for granted.”

Lanning has now run eight marathons, including the New York Marathon for each of the last three years and the Boston Marathon for the last two years.

Lanning clocked in at 3:46:49 - 177th in his age group.

The fastest runner with the Palm Beach Roadrunners was Niki Desjardin from Juno Beach. An environmental consultant, she ran a 3:07:44 and was 52nd in her age group - female 45-49.

The PBRR women's masters team placed fifth out of 31 teams. Besides Desjardin, other runners in that group were Christina Rooney, Kelly Bruno, Rachel Bachmann, Kerry Houlette, Kim Dahlmeier, Nicole Foster, Hannah Anderson, Jennifer Pressley and Sandra Holahan.

The Boston course was a net downhill, but most of the that is in the first four miles.  Then it leveled out for the next eight miles, through the towns of Ashland, Farmingham and Natick.

By Mile 12, I can hear a low hum that grows into a deafening wall of sound. This is the Scream Tunnel at Wellesley College.

It was the loudest part of the race, where students lined the barricades for nearly a mile waving hand-drawn signs, giving high-fives, and commencing the legendary tradition of offering kisses to the runners as they passed.

The real test began at Mile 16 in Newton’s Lower Falls. After turning right at the Newton Fire Station, I faced four rolling hills. The final, and most infamous, is Heartbreak Hill at Mile 20, a half-mile incline that tested my resolve just as I was "hitting the wall.”

Descending into Brookline, I hit Coolidge Corner, where the crowds swelled and the historic architecture felt like a tunnel toward the city.

Seeing CITGO sign welcome sight for runners

At Mile 25 sits the massive CITGO Sign towered over Kenmore Square, near Fenway Park. Seeing that yellow and blue diamond was the ultimate welcome sight, signaling there was just over a mile to the finish.

The final sequence was a rite of passage: right on Hereford, left on Boylston Street. Turning onto Boylston for the last four blocks was a sensory overload. The Boston Marathon finish line in Copley Square, flanked by the ancient Boston Public Library and the Old South Church, was where the journey ended and the celebration began.

Running a marathon was a true test of grit and endurance.  I did get swallowed up by heartbreak hill and struggled the last six miles. My time of 4:04:56 was not my best but that is what makes this whole adventure so compelling.

Afterward, I always assess what I can do to improve the next time out; in this case, it will be Chicago on October 10. It will be my fourth major marathon that included a recent one I did in Tokyo.

Though crossing the finish line may have seemed like an individual accomplishment, it’s the passion, persistence, and camaraderie of my fellow Palm Beach Roadrunners that made my two-year journey a rousing success.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boston Marathon beckons for Palm Beach Roadrunners