BOSTON — A small group of adventurous athletes will set out in the dark, early hours of Marathon Monday to run the course in reverse – from the finish line to the starting line – before taking a short break and competing in the traditional race.
“Double Boston” has been an informal event among a handful of runners for several years.
But this year, Mount to Coast, a company that makes long-distance running sneakers intended for some of the world’s most challenging races, is sponsoring a group of seven runners from Trail Animals Running Club who will take on Double Boston.
Kathryn Zioto, Justin Hetherington, Jon Western, Maria Chevalier, Dave Desnoyers, Brendan Morgan and Bill Dittman will start out on Boylston Street in Boston and finish their first 26.2 miles in Hopkinton.
The runners will then head to a house rented by the footwear company to eat, shower and recharge for a couple hours before taking on the standard course.
“People are like, ‘You’re out of your mind,’” Hetherington said of the reaction of many to Double Boston. “My family and friends, they all just think I’m a maniac, but they know that by now.”
Hetherington has run three Boston Marathons as well as several ultramarathons. But this endeavor is entirely different.
“I’ve never started a race this early. We’re starting at three o’clock in the morning. So, that means I’m waking up at 1 a.m.,” Hetherington said. “It’s cool, because there’s that kind of to-be-determined uncertainty aspect of it. It’s exciting and scary.”
Instead of her usual training of one long run a week leading up to the Boston Marathon, Zioto has been doing one long run followed by one medium-distance run to prepare for running on tired legs.
“Boston’s a net-downhill course, which means that you’re mostly running downhill along with one hard hill section,” Zioto said. “So, a lot of the Boston course, you kind of cruise along. I think when you flip that on its head, that means that a lot of the course will be running uphill – the majority, actually.”
Zioto, who has two small children, runs to work to squeeze in workouts.
While others may not understand the thrill, Zioto said her loved ones are not surprised by her desire to tackle yet another endurance feat.
“I think people that aren’t familiar with ultra-running might think that it’s really unnecessary, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” Zioto said. “Accomplishing something you’re not sure you can do is one of life’s great joys.”
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