BOSTON — Alex McKinney has dodged cars, hurdled snow banks, slipped on ice and splashed through slushy puddles while training for the April 18th Boston Marathon.
Preparing for 42 km is never easy, but this winter has been particularly trying for runners, who have had to deal with record snowfall in the Northeast.
Before they can even think about challenging Heartbreak Hill, they’ve had to endure slippery sidewalks, icy inclines and frozen footpaths.
“There are certainly times when you have to be quick,” said McKinney, a 38-year-old physical therapist, who is preparing for his fifth run in Boston and 15th marathon overall. “I find myself thinking ’How high is that snow bank?’ in case I have to jump it.”
Some might be forgiven for thinking they’re in training for the Iditarod.
Sidewalks often remain unplowed, forcing runners to train on streets narrowed dangerously by massive snow banks. Even when sidewalks or streets are cleared, they remain slippery. Cars blast past, honking horns and sending frigid sheets of slush onto the runners. Piles of snow at intersections force runners to pause or stutter-step as they peer around them to check for vehicles. The severe winter weather conditions have some marathoners worried that an inability to train properly will affect their time on race day, April 18 — the first major marathon of the year.
“Last year, I finished in 3:13 and I want to take 13 minutes off that, but I don’t know if I will be able to do that,” said Christina Ardito, a 31-year-old insurance company underwriter from Niskayuna, N.Y.
She’s been soaked by passing cars and gone through an extra pair of shoes as she trains for her fifth Boston Marathon, and 12th overall.
“I’ve never seen a winter this bad since I started running,” she said.
Four-time Boston winner Bill Rodgers knows a thing or two about running in wintry conditions.
He won Boston in 1978 — just a couple of months after the infamous Blizzard of ’78 paralyzed the region for days.
He’s been running in New England winter slop all his life.
“I think all the New Englanders, Midwesterners and Canadians should be given a mile or two head-start for having to deal with this,” he joked. “The Californians and Kenyans and Ethiopians aren’t dealing with the same conditions as us.”
Rodgers is not running Boston this year, but still puts in about 80 km a week and runs competitively.