Boston "Ultramarathoner" Jon Western.Foto: David Hashim
TOPSFIELD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Completing the Boston Marathon is a huge accomplishment.
Running it twice in one day is almost beyond comprehension.
But that's what seven members of the Trail Animals Running Club did.
Long before the sun came up on Patriots' Day, the runners started at the Boston Marathon finish line in Copley Square and ran the 26.2 miles to the starting line in Hopkinton.
Then, later that morning, they ran the official race, completing the 52.4-mile ultramarathon 'Boston Double'.
Topsfield's Jon Western didn't get through the long, arduous day unscathed. "I have this pretty bad blister on my pinky toe," he said after the race. "This is probably what's causing me the most pain right now."
Western said the experience was 'different' and a bit disorienting considering the way the runners started their double-marathon at the finish line at 3 a.m. and ran in reverse. "Especially once we got out of Boston, the lights sort of disappeared, and we were in the dark. It was silent, very strange not to have any crowds around you. And it was also strange to kind of see the different landmarks in reverse and going down Heartbreak Hill instead of up."
After a short break, Jon and the six other runners headed back the way they came, returning to Boston.
Jon was asked if he'd do the double marathon again. "Ask me a week from now," he laughed. "I'll probably say yes, but right now, my legs hurt, I'm tired, and I need to eat. But maybe!"
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojas.bsky.social) reports.