Some 30,000 people entered numbers in Monday’s 112th Boston Marathon.
Gill’s Taylor Washburn finished ahead of all but 111 of them.
The Northfield Mount Hermon School math teacher and girls’ crew coach traversed the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds. Despite the wind, cold and rainy conditions, his time was good enough for a 112th place finish overall.
Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi was the overall winner, posting a victorious time of 2:15:58.
For Washburn, who has been an NMH teacher since 2016, Monday marked his third time running Boston. He first ran the event in 2014, one year after the marathon bombing, and came back in 2015 with his fastest time ever in the event (2:36:07).
“I really felt strong, like I could race the second half of the marathon which is not everyone’s experience,” recalled Washburn of the 2015 run.
Washburn returned on Monday for his third attempt at Boston. The weather gods didn’t cooperate, but the 32-year old Princeton alum managed to complete the cold, wet jaunt in an impressive 6:03-per-mile pace.
“This year, obviously the conditions were memorable, but so was the camaraderie of the runners and the fans and the numerous shows of support and grit and resilience,” he offered. “The actual race itself was pretty good. It was hard to sit at the athlete’s village for three hours in the cold before the start, but once I was actually running, I warmed up pretty quickly and was mostly comfortable.”
Washburn said he settled into a pack of runners shortly after start, and the pack worked together off and on throughout the race. He said he wasn’t running at a particular pace, but felt pretty good despite the conditions.
“I wasn’t too concerned with my pace and mostly focused on finding a rhythm and trying to keep moving up through the crowd,” he recalled. “I was pretty surprised by my pacing, though, when I started watching the mile times, and decided to try to go for a PR. Ultimately, the lack of training miles and the cold got to me and I couldn’t hold onto the pace in the second half, but I felt really good about the run overall and my time was right in the range of the times I have run in the past.”
While he has successfully posted top-275-overall finishes in all three trips to Boston, Washburn said he doesn’t describe himself as a runner. A rower first and foremost during his high school and college days, he didn’t follow a specific marathon training plan leading up to Monday. He mixes up his training, often using the indoor rowing machine three or four days a week in addition to some cycling and other activities.
“Most of the year I run just a couple of times a week,” he explained, noting his training days usually begin around 6 a.m. whether its on the roads of Gill or in the gym. “I didn’t really shift my training focus to mostly running until a few weeks before Boston, though my aerobic endurance was good. I really look forward to training and so it helps keep me balanced.”
While the winning times were slower than in years past, largely due to the weather, Washburn said his diverse training regime helped prepare him. The results spoke for themselves.
“I think the cold and wind was a big factor for a lot of people. I was surprised it didn’t impact my time much, but in hindsight I think the way I have varied my training and the amount of cross-training I did was probably helpful in fighting through the elements,” he said.
Back on the NMH campus Tuesday, Washburn was busy with classes just one day removed from his Marathon Monday. He’s already looking forward to taking another trip from Hopkinton all the way through Boylston Street.
“It was really an amazing day to see everyone out there battling and doing it with smiles on their faces and lots of optimism,” he said. “Every year I am amazed by the people at the Boston Marathon and the job the city does. I’ll certainly go back again.”