Friday Features: Union trio makes runners' pilgrimage to Boston
By Maurice Patton
For a runner, the Boston Marathon is the pinnacle – an unforgettable experience, and one that you can’t wait to experience again.
Union University assistant cross country coach
Beth Wilson is proof of that, and so are Union cross country runners
Bailey Bell and
Audrey Hazlehurst.
Wilson ran in the April 20
th event, for the second time in as many years, while Bell and Hazlehurst made their debuts in the 26.2-mile race.
“Ask any runner: The Boston Marathon is like the Wrigley Field or the Fenway Park of running,” Wilson said. “It’s not the biggest, but it’s the most historic marathon. If you’re a competitive runner, it’s on your list of things to do. Even if you don’t run it, just the qualifiers – it’s nice to be able to say, ‘I qualified for the Boston Marathon’.”
Wilson initially qualified for the 2014 event by meeting the required time at the Loonie’s Midnight Marathon in Livingston, Tenn., but her motivation for Boston was to help the event overcome the tragic bombing that had taken place the year before.
“I wanted to go and be a part of it, the solidarity among the running community,” she said. “The experience was amazing.”
Wilson, who ran a 3-hour, 9-minute time in 2014, battled an injury and tough weather conditions in the more recent race and finished at 3:38.
“Last year, I was very focused on racing, I had a goal I was training for and I was pretty in shape,” she said. “This year, I fractured my pelvic bone in January and had to take quite a bit of time off. I’d only been running four weeks when it was time to run Boston. I decided to go and run it, but enjoy it for the experience and soak up the crowd and the atmosphere.”
Bell and Hazlehurst, meanwhile, were picking Wilson’s brain and preparing for their first Boston run.
“I think the bombing had something to do with it,” Bell said of his decision to participate this year. “But more than that, I’ve always dreamed of running it, having heard of it and having several friends that have run it. It was kind of the right time.
“Just to see a city rally around a race and take such pride in their city is something I wanted to experience. Something like (the bombing) could be such a crushing blow to a city and a race. Their slogan is ‘Boston Strong’ and they live that out. I think the bombing made the race stronger and the pride for the city stronger and I think it makes people want to come run the race and experience that support.”
In cold and wet conditions that were the toughest in recent memory, Bell ran a 3:01 after qualifying at the Andrew Jackson Marathon with a 2:55.
“We got rained on – poured on – from Mile 9 to the end, with a 25 mile-an-hour headwind,” he said. “It was a challenging day, pretty brutal conditions, but the atmosphere and the ambiance of the race was incredible. The streets were packed for 26 miles. To see a whole city just shut down to cheer on people (that) they don’t know to run 26 miles … It was a great experience.”
Boston was the fourth marathon for Hazlehurst, who as an 8-year-old watched her mom run there and has wanted to do so since. She qualified with a 3:06 at the Kentucky Derby Marathon and ran a 3:11 at Boston.
“There were people lining the whole way, all 26.2 miles,” she said. “That was different from the other marathons I’ve done, and I know that helped me. Toward the end, there was so much energy in the crowd, it motivated me to go faster. I’ve never felt so good at the end of the race. The crowd gave me that energy.
Wilson isn’t sure if she’ll run a third Boston Marathon. Hazlehurst hopes to, but her focus is on pharmacy school over the next three years. Bell has no doubt.
“I don’t know if it’ll be next year or years down the road, but 100 percent, I will run it again,” he said.
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Past Friday Features
11/07/2014 - NCAA Leader Chloe Richards Finds a Home at UNA.
11/14/2014 - Revival of a Rivalry.
11/21/2014 - VSU's Margaret Stauffer Finds Strength in Team, Family.
11/28/2014 - Union Off and Running.
12/05/2014 - UWA Coach Ray Stanfield Pushes Cross Country Teams to Top.
12/12/2014 - CBU Men's Basketball Making Noise.
12/19/2014 - Dickey Says UWG Football 'Right on Schedule'.
12/26/2014 - Youngsters Lead UWF Women.
1/02/2015 - UAH's Owens Rebounds From Car Crash With New Appreciation for Life, Basketball.
1/09/2015 - Freshmen Building Base for Lee Women's Success.
1/16/2015 - UWA's Chad Toocheck Overcame Addiction Lows to Reach Highs on Field.
1/23/2015 - Basketball Court at Delta State Named For a 'Legend'.
1/30/2015 - Shorter Basketball Coaches Celebrate Milestones Victories.
2/06/2015 - Union Outfielder Unfazed by Physical Challenges.
2/13/2015 - VSU's Courtney Albritton Rewriting Record Books.
2/20/2015 - Campbell Leaves 'Mark' as Union Women's Hoops Coach.
2/27/2015 - UNA's Spehr Leads From 'Down Under'.
3/06/2015 - Title Hopes For DSU Boosted By Triple Threat.
3/13/2015 - UAH Coach Les Stuedeman Lifts Chargers to Softball Greatness.
3/20/2015 - "Snow" Start Sidelines CBU Early.
3/27/2015 - Shorter's Ayana Walker Runs Her Way Into History.
4/03/2015 - Impairment Doesn't Slow West Florida Swimmer.
4/10/2015 - Early Lessons Boost UWG's Tyler Gunnin.
4/17/2015 - Delta State Football Hopes (Spring) Practice Makes Perfect.
4/24/2015 - 'High Energy' Fernando Gonzalez Helps Pitch UWA to the Top.