Boston

Andy left on Friday, April 16 for Boston. Since I was only 3 weeks away from my due date the kids and I were not able to go, so Mike and Erich, two of Andy's brothers made the trip with him. They arrived late Friday night. Holley, James and Grant had already been in Boston for a couple of days.

On Saturday they all headed out to pick up the guys numbers and bags for the marathon on Monday. Here they are, ready to go! Andy was number 1480 and James was number 3449.

This was the view from Andy's hotel room. Apparently that is MIT in the foreground.
Heading out from the hotel. You can see the Boston skyline in the distance.
A cute picture of Grant while waiting for the train.
The guys form of transportation while in Boston. It was just too busy and crazy to rent a car.
Andy, Mike and Erich at the Red Sox game Saturday night. It was apparently quite freezing cold and they did not stay for the whole game. (Especially since the Red Sox had to finish their game from the previous evening after it got rained out in the 9th inning with a tie score.)
Some views of Fenway Park.


This is Andy standing at the finish for the marathon a day before the event.
The official pace care for the Boston Marathon.
On Sunday they were able to see some sights around town. It was so busy, with so many people in town (think of around 23,000 runners plus anyone who comes to see them), that they rode the trolley tour but really didn't get off. (So you can imagine that a lot of the pictures were not great. I picked out a few.)

This is the Massachusetts State House.



Faneuil Hall and Andy's brother Erich.

The Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was first read.


A view of a Boston street.
Andy liked how the church across the street is reflected in this modern glass building.

The day of the race! This is some serious contemplation of upcoming events. Notice Andy's brother Mike in the background? He got food poisoning and was sick all night.
Ahhh, there is a happy face! Ready to run the 114th Annual Boston Marathon!
James and Andy meeting up at about 4:45 a.m. to make it to their 10 a.m. race.
A marathon breakfast.

And then from the hotel to the downtown area where they caught another bus so they could be transported to the starting line. (think of around 23,000 people all needing to get to the finish line!)
The race started at 10 a.m., but with the size of this race, and the way it is run (it is a straight line, not a loop) it was not possible to get many pictures on the actual course, but Erich and Mike managed to get a couple. Here is Andy (far right) getting close to the finish. He said he passed both of these guys that he is with here.
After they finished! Successful Boston Marathon runners! Andy finished in a time of 2:41:48 in 249th place out of 22,645 runners.

James finished in a time of 2:56:13 in 898th place.

Great job Andy and James!

Post race celebration dinner at Legal Seafood. Much deserved after months of hard work in preparation for this marathon.


Finally proof that Holley went too! Great shot of the Steller family.