Racers Pick Boston

“Racers pick Boston,” said Des Linden to ESPN’s Bonnie Ford in an interview after her gritty and historic win.

We couldn’t agree more. Marathon Monday tested its competitors to the core. Extreme weather throws even the most carefully laid plans out the window, forcing runners to listen to their bodies, trust their gut and just race. It’s what makes this sport special, and what keeps us coming back, year after year.

Boston 2018 marked the first anniversary of the Trackhouse and what a birthday it was. From Thursday to Tuesday 285 Newbury Street was packed with athletes - from local runners who join us every week at run club workouts to international runners who joined us from Denmark, Japan Australia, and more. It was thrilling to see so many athletes with diverse backgrounds come together at the Trackhouse, united by their common passion for this sport and Boston’s legacy of excellence. The energy was palpable. This race, this weekend and this city are totally unlike any others. It’s a privilege to get to play a small a part in it.

Over the weekend we traded course insight and lamented the weather. We played sports psychologist and gear stylists. We played trivia. We watched in awe as Des and Yuki executed perfect races and then hustled to serve hot chocolate and get towels to chilled finishers. We cheered as Nate Schienbein and Cate Barrett charged up the stairs, soaked to the bone and still breathing hard from the race, to capture their First To The Trackhouse titles. We stamped 500 finishers posters and gave out more than 2,000 race packs. We made 20 round-trips in the Tracksmith Trolley between the Trackhouse and Race Expo.  Linden & True Coffee made their debut at the Eliot Lounge and caffeinated hundreds of runners pre and post race, including Des herself so … it’s gotta be the coffee, right?

We drank a lot of beer. No final tally.

Thank you for helping us celebrate our favorite weekend of the year. We’ll see you here next April?