2 Aggie runners to run in the Boston Marathon
If Utah State University Physical Education major Andy Lund’s shoes are any indication, he’s ready to run the Boston Marathon. Lund was sporting Adidas “Boston” running shoes yesterday, four days before he plans on running.
Lund, 25, and fellow USU students Dustin Williams, Robert Boyer and former volleyball player Heather Black, will fly to Beantown this week to compete in the 26.2-mile race Monday.
“Philadelphia’s the closest I’ve been,” Lund said.
The closest Williams has been to Boston is New York.
The experience will be especially sweet for Williams, a 22-year-old exercise science major from Arco, Idaho. The day after he learned he would be going to the Marathon in late January, he suffered a severe ankle sprain playing church basketball.
“It was a high-low week,” he said. “I was a bit frustrated for a day or two.”
The ankle still feels somewhat week, but Williams said it doesn’t bother him when he runs. He said the injury has been easy to care for, since he’s a student trainer for USU Athletics.
Because of conflicting schedules, the four USU marathoners haven’t been training together. They will not travel together, either, though Lund and Williams said they plan to meet up once they arrive.
Lund, Boyer and Black qualified for the marathon based on their times in the Top of Utah Marathon in September. Williams qualified in the St. George Marathon in October.
Ironically, Lund and Williams first met at the finish line of the Top of Utah half marathon two weeks before the main event. Lund beat Williams by a half a second, but ever since then they’ve been friends.
Boyer and Lund have known each other since attending Mountain Crest High School together. Boyer was on the Mustangs’ cross country team while Lund played tennis. Williams was on his high school’s cross country team all four years.
To train for the marathon, both Lund and Williams have run 20-milers in the last week. Some days Lund goes for distance; other days he goes for time – the most important thing is “getting the mileage down,” he said. Lund’s 20-mile route took him from Porcupine Reservoir to his home in Providence. Williams chose Sardine Canyon through Wellsville and Mendon back to Logan.
Most of the funding for his trip is coming out of his own pocket, but Lund said his employer, Spence’s pharmacy, did make a small contribution. King B Jerky of Idaho Falls gave Williams a partial donation for a uniform and running shoes.
The day of the marathon is called Patriot’s Day for Bostonians, Williams said. As part of the activities, the Boston Red Sox game in Fenway Park begins at 11 a.m. while the marathon gets underway at noon in the town of Hopkinton, Mass. By scheduling the events in this manner, the baseball game gets over right about the time most of the runners are making their way into downtown, he said.
Both USU runners are excited about making the trip.
“This will be the Spring Break we never had,” Lund said.
For Williams, the road to the Boston Marathon has been a long one. As a 12-year-old, he ran in a fun run. When his mother asked him which distance he wanted to run, he said he wanted to do the 10K because it was longer. He earned a gold medal in that race because he was the only participant his age. He said ever since then the hobby he’s enjoyed the most over the years has been running.
Lund said he remembers coming in last in a couple of races when he was younger and had second thoughts about continuing to run.
“I’m running this one strictly for fun,” he said. “I’ve got to do it while I’m young and dumb.”
Lund said school and work have kept him from training as much as he would have liked.
In a field of approximately 20,000 runners, Williams said his goals are: No. 1, to finish and No. 2, to finish within three hours – all depending on the weather and how hard he pushes himself.
Lund said he hopes he can come back from Boston saying, “Rejoice we conquer,” just like Pheidippides did in the first marathon.