J-Mac: Running from Philadelphia to Boston

How many of us have had a dream, a goal, a shining fantastical moment that we hope will come true?  All of us have.  And if I can take a moment from my blog to get personal, let me share this.

This morning, my best bud Jeremy McNamara – my trivia teammate and long-time good guy – has a chance to claim that dream for his own.

In his spare time, J-Mac competes in triathalons and marathons and Ironman competitions, and he’s quite good for his age group.  So good, in fact, that he now has a chance to compete in one of the golden competitions of the running world.

This morning, J-Mac will compete in the Gore-Tex Philadelphia Marathon.  And if he can finish the marathon with a personal best time of 3:05 or better, he would qualify to run in the 2017 Boston Marathon.

Yeah.  If J-Mac can run like Rocky Balboa through the streets of Philadelphia, running along the Delaware River and Fairmont Park and the Schuylkill, and if he can finish with a time of 3:05 or better, he will earn a spot to run from Hopkinton to Kenmore Square.

All it takes is one run.  26 miles and 385 feet.  And then he can achieve a spot in the Mecca of long-distance running.

He can do this.  I know him.  He’ll keep running until his shoes fall apart or his legs give out.  I have all the faith and confidence that he’ll complete this task.

Right now, as this blog post is being written, J-Mac is at the starting line.

You got this, J-Mac.  Get the cheesesteaks now…

And six months later, you can feast at Kenmore Square.

Good luck, bro.

And let me repeat…

You got this.

UPDATE: J-Mac hit the 10K line with a time of 42:43.
At the halfway mark, he clocked in at 1:30:25.
He reached the 30K line at 2:08:03.
And he crossed the finish line at 3:02:28.  Hello Boston!!