Maybe I'll see this guy in Boston ...

So a new world record for the marathon has been set. Haile Gebrselassie finished the Berlin marathon in 2:04:26, which works out to a 4 minute and 45 second pace ... every mile, for all 26.2 miles.

Wow.

In comparison, when I finished the Columbus Marathon, my time was 3:37:34. Haile could have almost lapped me.

I saw some Kenyans running in the Parkersburg half marathon, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. The men I saw running were at least 30 seconds slower than Gebrselassie, and they were still unlike any athletes I've ever seen in my life.

le sigh

Perhaps I'll see them at the Boston marathon this spring. I should be thankful I qualified (barely ... 3 minutes isn't a lot when you're talking about 26.2 miles. One more port-a-jon and I would have been out), but honestly, running with such a talented field is intimidating. I don't know how I'm going to afford to go, and I don't know how it's going to fit in with school (last year it was on a Monday ... why?), and I who knows if I'll actually stay healthy and injury-free while training, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Honestly, how often do you get a chance to do something like run in the Boston Marathon.

I guess only as frequently as you get your butt off the couch and run. Hmmm ... it IS pretty nice outside right now ....