When thousands of Boston Marathon participants from around the world descend upon the city this weekend, they’ll engage in the usual rites of passage: picking up their bibs and exploring the Race Expo at Hynes Convention Center — with a pandemic-era twist of visiting the vaccine verification tent with vaccination card and photo ID in hand. And there is another time-honored tradition that these marathon hopefuls will undoubtedly honor: compulsively refreshing their weather apps.
But with warm temperatures and even possible rain in the forecast, local elite runner Rachel Hyland isn’t worried.
“On a great day, I think it would be really exciting to run a fast time,” Hyland, who teaches at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, told GBH's Morning Edition. “And if the weather conditions don’t allow for that, I’m really looking forward to competing on a course that I know so well.”
In fact, inclement weather might favor Hyland, who lives in Belmont and placed fourth in 2018’s contest despite pouring rain, low temperatures and a strong headwind. She also raced in 2012, when marathoners contended with extreme heat.
“You can train through anything, living in Boston in the winter when you have a race in April,” she said.
While training for the 2018 marathon, Hyland’s busy schedule as a high school teacher and track coach led to logging many training runs in sub-optimal conditions, including two long runs through downpours.
“Oftentimes I had no choice. I just had to run on a specific day at a specific time,” Hyland said. “I remember I was on the couch for hours afterward shivering. So I do think that I was well prepared for those conditions.”
Throughout the 2018 marathon, Hyland ran her own race in a second pack of runners, just behind the leading elites from all over the world. Shortly after cresting Heartbreak Hill, between miles 20 and 21 — where seasoned Boston Marathoners know the race truly begins — she started passing many of the world’s top runners, some of whom had stepped off the side of the road altogether. Among those she passed were Olympians and national champions Shalane Flanagan, of Marblehead, and Molly Huddle.
“I remember seeing them and not understanding — it just didn’t cross my mind that I could be in the top 10,” Hyland said. “Running by them was surreal, and I don’t think I really processed it until after the race.”
Crossing the finish line in a startling fourth position, Hyland thought back to the 2013 race, the year of the bombings. “I just never forget, and I can’t run down Boylston Street without thinking about that, and without thinking about all of the runners that have run there before me,” she said.
Three years later, and Hyland is set to race in another new position: as a mom, to her one-year-old son James.
Hyland ran in last year’s Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Atlanta at 27-weeks pregnant. She completed the first 13 miles of the race stride for stride with her fellow Boston Athletic Association runner and Williams College teammate Lauren Philbrook, a Hopkinton native who was also pregnant. While Hyland’s son won’t be on the course this year, he will be in her thoughts the whole way.
“Being a mother has been amazing for many reasons, but one of those is that it helps you keep everything in perspective,” Hyland said. “You can have a bad workout or have a teaching day that’s really challenging — like last year, teaching remotely with masks on at a new school during a pandemic. ... But having a beautiful healthy son to come home to, it puts everything in perspective.”
So, really, is she worried about a little rain?
“I love the marathon. I love the training for it. It can be a grind but when you find a lot of joy in running, it can be really rewarding to put in the training. And then on the day, you hope for the best weather-wise, and if it’s not the best weather than you just run to compete, and I’m really looking forward to that.”
Still, she admitted: “When you’ve done the training and you’re healthy, I think you hope for a nice day.”
