Make no mistake, we love running (and women's running clothes) & we can't wait for the Boston Marathon

Coeur has several of our amazing Ambassadors racing the Boston Marathon on Monday. They are all fantastic runners and (most importantly), they are thoughtful, compassionate and amazing women. We've asked them to share the journey with us.  Here's an update from Melissa.

Car packed with gear

Melissa all packed up for the trip to Boston

Prior to arriving in Boston today, we stopped in Hopkinton. I had been disappointed in 2012 when I couldn't locate the "it all starts here" sign, prior to the race. It was just too crazy before the start, and we didn't have time after the race. So, it was important to me to go there this year. The fencing was set up and they were getting the start  clock set up when we arrived. We only spent a few minutes here but I got my pictures with the sign.

Boston marathon start line
She made it to the "It all starts here" sign this year

From there, we headed to Boston. I did not want to drive the race course, but just take the freeway. We drove downtown, but with the Thule box on the truck, we couldn't fit in any of the garages, so we parked the car at the hotel (not the Harvard yard) and took the subway in.

The expo was packed. I liked the new location (from 2012) because it was right by the finish line. We saw the intersection of Hereford and Boylston St, which is the final turn towards the finish as we walked to the expo. Chills! So exciting. The vibe was really positive the whole time going through the cattle corrals roped off to get to the bib pick up. We were moving most of the time. The expo was a bit nutty. We didn't shop long but I got a silver necklace with a 26.2 in the shape of a B from Endure. I know it sounds funny, but on my road ID, it says, "Endure to the End", so buying an expensive necklace for a marathon from a company called "Endure" made me want it more. We also got an ornament from Long's and ate a ton of Cliff bars and cereal.

We went outside and walked along the course to the finish line. We saw the two memorials, and that was hard. Especially because I hadn't really talked about it with my kids and they kept asking questions. They wanted to know about Martin, the 8 year old who was killed. It was strange because the memorials are right by where everyone is smiling and having pictures taken with the finish. My friend Stuart told me to run for freedom, and that is what I will think about running through that stretch.

We walked through Boston Common and then took the subway to the North End for our Italian dinner with a friend of mine from college. We competed gymnastics together at OSU and she lives outside of Cambridge. Then off to Mike's Pastry for some famous cannoli, which we are back in Boston Common. We saw how chocolate was made in a shop outside the Old North Church (ground from the beans, so chocolate really is a vegetable, right?), and sampled drinking chocolate (and bought a container to take home).  We couldn't go in the Old North Church (1by land 2by sea), due to Easter services. We also walked on the old cobblestone streets of Acorn Ln. Very cool!

That's pretty much our day. It was busy and a lot of the pictures aren't on my phone. Ryan has some on his. The Hopkinton one is the most iconic from my phone, and I got a picture from the same spot as Katie.

Melissa

 

 

Reginald Holden