By Don Cuddy
Congratulations to all the club runners who competed in the Boston marathon this year. It was a great occasion. Although I had qualified I did not line up in Hopkinton that day and it had nothing to do with the events of 2013. I skipped it because I ran the 100th Boston back in 1996 when they opened it up to all comers (and there were 40,000 of us out there with no wave start). When I heard there would be 36,000 runners this year I decided not to repeat that experience and so I looked for an alternative spring marathon. There are plenty to choose from but I ended up in Amish country on April 12 for the sixth annual Garden Spot Village Marathon.
Garden Spot is a district in New Holland, PA which lies is the heart of Lancaster County, an Amish stronghold. The Village is an upscale retirement community and it’s about a seven hours drive from New Bedford. That Saturday dawned overcast and foggy but there was no wind and the temperature was close to 50F for the 8 a.m. start. There were 330 marathoners and around 600 more in the half. It was all very stress-free. Plenty of parking right on site, tons of volunteers and no traffic.
We went off on time into the rolling countryside and I took it easy at the start. I was surprised to see that a number of Amish had entered the races. The men wore their traditional outfit- long black pants, suspenders, shirts with long sleeves and the peculiar haircut they seem to favor. Both the 3.50 and the 4.00 pacers were young Amish men.
Around three miles, I wished I had a camera with me because on my left side was an Amish woman who had a lace kerchief on her head, an ankle length dress with puffy sleeves, a black pinafore and her running shoes. I’m in the middle with my homemade ‘A Dead Whale or a Stove Boat’ singlet and the guy to my right was sporting a superhero costume with a red cape and a big ‘M’ on his chest. Apparently he’s billing himself as Marathon Man and is an Australian. I’m pleased to report I dropped both of them.
Well, the sun rose higher and the fog burned off and then it started to warm right up. The hills didn’t stop but the scenery was very soothing. At Mile 11 you crest a hill and suddenly a panorama of grain silos, neat farmhouses and a patchwork of fields spreads out before you, a wonderful sight, and it just seemed like a Hobbit might appear by the roadside at any minute. Instead it was Dave Simmons from Fairhaven who was doing the half. He’d done it the year before and was back again.
Around the time the halflings turned back it got pretty quiet out in the rolling fields apart from the clatter of Amish buggies that rolled past at regular intervals. There were no cars about and you could hear the hooves coming from a long way off. The Amish gathered on their porches to watch the runners as we passed but there was no exuberance on display. They just went about their business. At one point I was paced by a man driving two mules that were pulling a wagon across his field. I also saw a man with a four-horse team expertly plowing a furrow. It was like emerging from a time machine.
By the time I got to the later stages I was pretty tired. It was 74 degrees and there is a killer hill lurking at Mile 21. It says “I conquered the hill” on the race shirt but I didn’t. I decided I was not going to walk and gritted my teeth. I was doing okay till a guy walked past me! When I got to the top I tried to run on but I was teetering so badly I ended up going sideways and then I had to walk for a hundred yards or so just to regain my equilibrium. The good news is that the final miles featured some gentle downhill running. I felt better at 24 than I had at 14 and I finished in good shape with a decent 4:04.
That’s when the benefits of the small race really kicked in. Everything was right there at the finish. The food tent had tables and chairs, no lines, omelets cooked to order, hot soup and oatmeal, milk shakes and all the usual things like fruit, yogurt chips etc. And then it was off to the pool and hot tub. My kind of race! Turns out I was second in my age group also and they are mailing me a medal engraved with my name and time. That’s a nice touch. This is a great race and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s also a nice destination. Lancaster County is a popular tourist area and is also close to Gettysburg.
Another option to the Boston marathon is the 5 miler in Lexington on Patriot’s Day. I went up there this year because it was the 100th running of this old New England classic. I left my home at 3.30 a.m. so I could witness the re-enactment on the Battle Green which starts at 5.15 a.m. with the famous rider galloping to Buckman tavern. That was pretty neat. Then there is a pancake breakfast, house tours and a movie to occupy the time until the race goes off at 10 a.m. After that there are bus tours and a parade in the afternoon if you care to make a full day of it. Coming home on Route 128 I passed beneath Route 16 and saw the marathoners overhead. I felt their pain but no remorse.