Every runner we knew was in the same boat: 3 weeks into quarantine, stir crazy, out of touch with their training partners, and well outside their comfort zone. We were desperate for an idea. With Patriots Day looming and the knowledge that the Boston Marathon wouldn’t happen till the fall, we wanted to find a way to replicate just an ounce of the enthusiasm we Bostonians usually feel on the third Monday in April. You can’t match the feeling of standing on the corner of Hereford and Boylston, but we wanted to see if we could match 1% of that energy. Suddenly, the phone rang.
Our friend Jason was on the line. “Guys, this sucks. I haven’t run with my club in weeks. I’m training like a maniac because I have nothing else to do…let’s get a bunch of people together online and run a marathon on Monday.”
It was a no brainer. We whipped up a quick website and put the word out. “Come all you homebound, restless runners yearning to race free.” The Quarantine Marathon Relay was born. 50+ teams and 240 runners from four continents opened up group texts, came up with silly team names, divvied up 26.2 miles between their runners, and inspired each other to socially distanced greatness.
With prizes for “Fastest Family”, “Funniest Team Name” and “Best Post Run Selfie,” competition was fierce. Fast runners teamed up with walkers. Track clubs recruited their fastest members. There were even a few brave enough to race the whole 26.2 themselves. All in all, it was a festival of sweat, camaraderie, and good cheer at a time when those things are hard to come by.
Looking back on it now a few days since final results were posted, it’s impossible not to be humbled and uplifted by this awesome showing of resilience and optimism from our global running community. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that even while we’re forced to hunker down at home in social isolation, as people we’re continually drawn to connect and support each other in novel ways. From Zoom beers with college buddies we haven’t talked to in years, to virtual races against strangers from countries we’ve never traveled, this strange period continues to offer amazing ways to build enduring community and relationships.
For now all we have is Strava and Google sheets (here’s a link to the race results if you’re interested), but we’re so proud of the runners who did their part to help people across the world connect in the spirit of hope and competition.
Now, on to the selfies!
Thank you all for showing up with optimism in your hearts and wings on your heels. This relay was better than we could have ever imagined!