Long on pictures, short on words. Friday AM Goodbye, NY Passing by Plum Island. Think "Silence of the Lambs" Hello, CT! JJJ, I believe that's Mystic Island in the background. Submarine, anyone? New London, CT. All aboard! Catching Amtrak to Boston. Arriving at the apartment where I was staying. Friday afternoon/evening at the expo I was really excited to help out, and to meet CNYRunner! She is awesome! Also met up with Henrun and Marj, Ileneforward, mainerunnah, wa5yom, and Aamos. My first Boomer meetings of the weekend! Ileneforward and CNYRunner Aamos sporting a fine new doo, with CNYRunner helping her with registration. Saturday afternoon Children's Hospital banquet and meeting Amy. Getting a tatoo Decorating my shoes for good luck. Reading Curious George books and eating popcorn with Amy and her friend. Saturday evening This was the gathering that was graciously hosted by the Beers, at their daughter Amanda and SIL Nate's house. I was nervous about meeting so many people! It didn't take long to feel at home though. Thank you everyone! Saturday night at the Beers. This is the only picture I took. Name that bicep. Sunday AM The Olympic Trials What an incredible race! It was great to be able to share it all with so many people! Leading the way at mile 3 The followers Our top 3 finishers. The legendary Joan Benoit Boomer photos at the trials Holly and her DH Boomer godesses Flying Finn, PDR, Holly and Aamos Boomers and others. Kneeling is Max. l. to r. Hally, btb, GregB, Lorraine, ScottC, Leslie, Stumpy, Renee, wa5yom, Marj, Perchcreek, PDR, Henrun, WRFB, RobinT, ThePro. Back at the ranch after the trials for some snacks. That was fun! Thanks everyone for coming! Marj, Henrun, KevinF Stumpy, ThePro Hally, busiman Sunday afternoon Pasta dinner. We met up for the 4:30 seating. Again, what a great bunch of people and a great time we had. I have to commend the PBJ kids for being so well behaved! Great kids! Holly said a nice prayer before we ate, thanks Holly. It was a little breezy and chilly, so as a result we didn't hang out too long, which was unfortunate. The food was actually ok, as were the canollis afterwards! Before the dinner, I had the distinct pleasure of spending some quality time with deez4boyz in the North End, sipping coffee, shopping for canolli's, and having great conversations. Unfortunately I was so enthralled that I forgot to take any pictures! Thank you Denise for a nice afternoon! Seated: deez4boyz, btb, Holly and DH, wa5yom DD. Standing: wa5yom, PBJ with DW, DD1, DD2 and DS. Mrs. wa5yom. Monday morning Race day! Got a call from Twocat to let me know he wasn't going to run. My heart sank to hear that. You have a fighting spirit, and are a great guy, and I'll know you'll be back! Sorry we never hooked up, but we will in the future, I'm sure of that. Where I hoped to be in about 9 hours! I wonder how many people have their picture taken here? The mayor of the city of Marathon, Greece, giving a speech, and passing on the marathon torch. Race time! Heading down the initial downhill at the start. 50,000 legs This was the goal of the day. How many of these hands could I smack! My first Boomer encounter on the course! Dr. Dale! He was having a blast out there. Thanks for flagging me down, Dale! Getting updates on the game during the race! The procession continues! A VIP spectator. Name that baseball player. wa5yom looking real good! Thanks for the company, Tim! Ummm, not sure what this was all about, but I had to get a picture! But then the guy kept wanting just one more picture, and wouldn't let me go. I flew out of there.... I was tempted to try this. It looked like they were having a lot of fun! Handing out ice pops. The woman in pink had a thick, Boston accent. "Oice pawps! You goize rawk!" Translantion... Ice pops, you guys rock! You could hear the roar already! My next Boomer encounter! Perchcreek and Evanflein. Don't they look great? They were FLYING! It was a real pleasure running with you guys, thanks! Steve going for it! I don't know what all the fuss about these Wellesley women is? My Amy encounter at mile 13. My next Boomer encounter! PJH! What a really nice guy! I felt so bad that he was struggling out there. I hope you were able to find some enjoyment along the way. Thanks for letting me hang with you for a while, even though you were hurting. The warning sign... Ha Ha Ha! While trucking up one of the hills with PJH, look who comes speeding by! Holly! She looked and sounded great! I'm so happy to have gotten to run with you Holly! Our Boomer goddesses hard at work at the mile 20 water stop! Thanks for the support and the hugs! When I was at the mile 20 water stop, I heard that PDR should be along shortly, so I camped out for a bit! It was well worth the wait! How lucky am I to have seen PDR's encounter with DD Amanda and DSIL Nate! Great stuff here! I loved the yellow sign! It was referring to the Citgo sign, which is around the 25 mile mark I think. This one is for you, SteveP! The green carpet. Crazy BC women! The noise through here was deafening! PDR, ready to complete her journey! What a tough journey it was for her, being sick. This woman is gutsy, she never stopped once! After the race... The march of the baked potatoes. Thanks CNYRunner for that phrase! Our awesome deez4boyz, volunteering at the finish line with medical help, despite not feeling well herself. Thank you Denise! The PDR/WRFB reunion at the finish! PDR, WRFB, ThePro, doing their baked potato imitations. There were just too many wonderful things that happened this weekend to recall and mention them all. My apologies if I missed mentioning someone or something. If I did, it wasn't due to lack of significance of the event, but rather a lack of brain cells on my part. Everyone I met was so wonderful! Thanks for including me! My original plan for the race was to run with a friend of mine from Seattle, and together we were going to try to break 3 hours. Due to my injury, that plan got tossed out, which was my biggest disappointment from getting injured. On race morning, my ankle didn't feel to bad, so my buddy and I toed the line together, and I did get to run the first 5k with him. That was a great consolation, I was so thankful to be able to run at least part way together. Am I disappointed that my injury kept me from running the race I wanted to run? NO WAY! It was a blessing, and I wouldn't have changed a thing! Walking was the best thing that could've happened to me. Thanks Tet! It puts a whole new spin on how the experience is. Interacting with so many people along the way was just incredible. Many times I stopped to chat with people who would shout out their thanks for running for my charity. I lost more water in tears than in sweat, as I listened to story after story from people telling me how Children's Hospital has touched their lives in some way. No PR in any race has ever made me feel the way I felt during and after this year's Boston marathon. And then of course there were all the Boomer encounters along the way. I couldn't have asked for a better experience with all of you, getting to share what we all love to do. YOU GUYS RAWK!

Incredible pictures, Bob. We've got to get these archived somewhere. Thanks for all you efforts, pre-, during and post-race!

Thank you for this Bob, and for everything else. You will be back next year stronger than ever and we will get to meet I am sure. Wonderful journey you took us on. It's beyond running. Spareribs

Yes, tears here as well....that shot of PDR hugging her daughter especially, but you've managed to capture so much emotion here....beautiful report, Bob, and I am honored to have met you and shared some of this with you...

Name that bicep? Erika! Bob, outstanding photos; a really enjoyable journey thanks to you. I hope to meet you in person one day. Bill

Wow.....crying, laughing, remembering and overwhelmed.... THANK YOU! Karin

Where's the mop? That is the most wonderful Boston run or any other run that I've heard of. You were there fore everybody Bob! I want to thank you for all you did in Boston and special hugs to Amy! You not only soaked it all in but documented it so we can all soak it in with you. How special is that? Congratulations awesome Bob! Steve

Hi Bob, Even with all the wonderful reports from the Boston runners, this is the best! Thanks for capturing all the fun, excitement, and especially the emotion of the weekend and the race, and for sharing it here. You did so many wonderful and selfless things for so many people last weekend, starting with Amy. Thank you for being the caring person that you are, and for all that you do. Jay