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2002 BOSTON MARATHON
KR Style by Carol Goodrow
Winners 2002: Rodgers Rop and Margaret Okayo, Kenyans
Can Young Kids Train for the Boston Marathon? | From 26 to 46 (Years Not Miles), Dick Beardsley at the Boston Marathon | Thank You to the Kids on the Course | Hibiscus Marathon Team
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YOUNG KIDS We all know that young children should not run marathons and of course the Boston Marathon would not allow a young child to enter, but TRAINING can start early. If you are a young child, here are some things you can do.  1. Run with your friends. You can stay together and pretend that you are the lead pack; running stride-in-stride, keeping each other company and motivating each other to keep running. This year's winner Rodgers Rop did the same. When he finally took the lead, he still felt a need for running with a friend. He motioned many times for Christopher Cheboiboch to join him. Rop trained with buddies and he wanted to race the same way.  2. You can learn to love hills by running downhill a lot! To do well at Boston you need to run down lots of hills. Most people think running downhill is easy and usually it is, but not at Boston. There are just too many long downhills and runners' leg muscles react in strange ways to this course, especially if the runner hasn't learned to love hills.  3. Practice eating oranges while you run to stay hydrated and energized. Oranges are the perfect running food; moist, full of Vitamin C, natural sugar, easy to suck on and the peels are organic, so if you have to toss them, they will biodegrade. While running Boston, oranges make you feel loved, for the people who hand them to you want you to succeed. You can tell by the look in their eyes.  4. Practice running uphill! Kids can get ready for Heartbreak Hill. After you run lots of downhills, you can run uphill and then run down again. If hills are fun when you're young, maybe they'll be fun when you're older too.  5. Develop a fondness for new T-shirts. Everyone who runs Boston gets a cool tee. On the odd years it's blue and on the even years it's yellow. This year is 2002, an even number and the tee is YELLOW! You get an official tee whether you finish the marathon or not. You just need to sign up. And there's more ways to get good Boston gear. If you are a volunteer (and young kids CAN volunteer) you get a Boston Marathon jacket. If you are 'press' you get one too. 6. Learn to read and write. There are lots of books about running for sale at the Boston Marathon Expo and if you ever win the marathon and become famous, you may have fun signing autographs.  7. Drink water before and after you run and if you're running a long time, drink a little during your run. Water is the perfect drink to keep you hydrated. Train with water and get used to how much your own body needs to run comfortably.  8. Plan what you'll do with that medal someday. If you cross the finish line, you receive a medal, no matter how long it takes you. You just have to get across that line. Will you wear it? Will you keep it on a shelf? Will you keep it in a treasure chest? It's important to plan for this for you'll always want to keep that Boston Marathon medal.  9. Learn to be a friend. It's not fun to accomplish anything without friends or family to share your happiness with you. The best way to have friends is to be a friend. And be happy for others too. This year our world record holder Catherine Ndereba was very kind to Margaret Okayo when Margaret won the race. Catherine hugged Margaret, then later said that she was happy for her and also for their country of Kenya.  10. Run down more hills. The kids' drawings on this page are all by Mrs. Goodrow's last year and this year's students in this order: "Lead Pack" by Matthew "Down the Hill" by Katelyn "Eating Oranges" by Ashley "Up the Hill" by Austin "Favorite T-shirt" by Kyle "Water" by Ashley "Medals" by someone who forgot to put their name on the paper and the teacher can't remember who that is "Being a Friend" by Eric "BIG Hill" by Leon The photos of Rodgers Rop and Margaret Okayo, 2002 Winners of the Boston Marathon, and Amby Burfoot signing autographs at the 2002 Boston Marathon Expo are by Carol Goodrow. Amby was the 1968 winner of the Boston Marathon. |
I ran Boston once. It was not as easy for me as it is for many, but I promised my schoolchildren that I would cross the finish line and I did. I got a medal even though I had a very slow run that day. I'm not quite sure where my medal is, but I'm going to look for it right now. Email goodrow@infionline.net. We would love to hear from you!
