NESN's Tom Caron on his first 9k

Better than they thought?

It was definitely better than I thought. A gorgeous day, great atmosphere, and so many powerful stories from veterans and their families. I was hoping to post something close to a 9:00 average mile, and I finished averaging 9:13. I’ll definitely take it. I know one of Jenny’s goals was to beat me. I didn’t list beating her as a goal, but since I did beat her I have to say it made the day that much more enjoyable!

Out on the course, there were a couple of times where I fell in alongside someone who really helped me pick up the pace. Especially a soldier who was running with a 5 ft flag staff and became my drill sergeant over the last mile or so. Without him I would’ve been dragging!

The only thing that was worse than I expected was a stomach virus that crept up the night before the race. Didn’t feel that good during the run, and got much sicker over the next day or two (my fitbit must’ve thought it had been lost… there wasn’t a lot of movement after that.)

Overall, it was a great day. I’m definitely planning on doing it again next year. I know Jenny is vowing to be a speed demon next time, so I’ll have to start training early!