Postscripts about the Boston Marathon: Last week’s account of local runners’ performance on Patriots Day omitted longtime Amherst resident Nick Hopley. One of the area’s most experienced marathoners, Hopley, 57, finished this year’s race in three hours 10 minutes and 35 seconds. That time placed him 195th in the 55-59-year-old division and is well under the 3:30 qualifying time for his age group in next year’s marathon.
Running a qualifying time means you can submit an application for Boston, but so many people qualify in each age group that not every qualifier gets in. The Boston Athletic Association admits applicants in order of their times, starting with the fastest and working through the list. Hopley’s time is so far under the cutoff that he’s almost sure to get an entry number for 2027.
Besides clocking an excellent finish, Hopley recorded nearly equal splits for the course. He hit the halfway point in 1:34:10, then ran the second half in 1:35:55. The first half of the course includes a long downhill at the start, while the second half includes most of the uphills, so a difference in split times of less than two minutes indicates the progress of a runner who has maintained a very even pace.
John Korir, the overall winner, ran the first half in 1:01:50 and the second in 1:00:02, the faster second half being attributable to how the lead runners tend to let someone else set the early pace, saving themselves for a $150,000 kick — that’s the winner’s prize — in the final miles. Make that $200,000; Korir won a $50,000 bonus for setting a new course record.
Running Boston for the 17th time, Jeff Mish, 68, of Hadley this year joined a team raising funds for ALS research — and as a memorial tribute to his brother Greg, who died of that disease. More funds are needed; find Jeff on Facebook and you can see how to contribute.
Two weeks ago was the biggest marathon in New England. Tomorrow is one of the smallest, also one of the oldest: the Walter Childs Race of Champions Marathon. Now in its 62nd year, this race is one of the sweetest deals in all of marathondom. It’s six laps around the Ashley Reservoir, which means (1) you get to run in a beautiful setting with no traffic in sight; (2) the Greater Springfield Harriers, organizers of the race, need to set up only three water stations to provide runners with water 18 times along the way, and (3) your friends can watch you at six different points in the race without having to move a step.
Better still, you can enter this marathon at the last minute. If you wake up tomorrow thinking you’d like nothing better than a 26.2-mile trot around a reservoir in the woods, ignore everyone who tells you you’re out of your mind, get to the Holyoke Elks Club at 250 Whitney Avenue by 7 a.m., pay the $80 entry fee — Boston’s is $280 — and congratulate yourself on finding a race that didn’t sell its last entry spot six months before the race started.
You want something shorter? Also tomorrow are a pair of 5K races: the Runway 5K at the Northampton Airport and the Dandelion Dash & Mushroom Mile at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley.
The course for the Runway 5K is indeed the runway itself. No hills, no potholes. The race is a fund- and attention-raiser for Treehouse, the foundation that builds communities to support foster care and adoptions, young adults at risk of aging out of the system alone, and older adults. Starting time is 9 a.m.
To register in advance, see runsignup.com. If you’re just beginning to think about running for exercise, scroll down to the “Register today!” link and then click on “couch to runway.” There you’ll find intelligent instructions for starting a workout program one gentle step at a time.
The Dandelion Dash is a trail race (or walk), on the Hartsbrook School’s campus, 193 Bay Road. As the organizers remind you, “Please plan for lots of mud and uneven terrain” — which sounds like what you’d get if you were running a classic European cross-country race. Proceeds support the school’s programs in animal husbandry, climate education, sustainable agriculture and beekeeping.
The day begins with the Mushroom Mile, starting at 9 a.m. The 5k Dandelion Dash starts at 9:45. Registration is at runsignup.com, where you’ll find two “Dandelion Dash” entries — one tomorrow in Hadley, the other in Petoskey, Michigan two weeks later. I’d recommend both.
John Stifler has taught writing in economics at UMass and has written extensively for running magazines and newspapers. He can be reached at jstifler@umass.edu.