(Sunday Paper, Year VI, Issue 42)

I was thinking about the term ‘dream come true’ this week.

It’s not often that I do something and describe it as “a dream come true.”

Running the Boston Marathon, though?

That’s one of the few.

It’s something I’ve thought about and wondered if I could do for more than 20 years.

And it lived up to my every expectation.

I never quite knew where to look for the cameras…but this one was obvious, on a riser that hung out over the course in the hills of Newton. (So I made sure it didn’t catch me walking.)

I will give you a quick rundown here and I’ll show you some pictures, since I got a batch from the marathon this week.

So I said it lived up to my expectations. What were my expectations? That it would be challenging. (Check.) That it would be cool to see so many people I knew lining the streets. (Very check.) That it would be an emotional experience. (Yup.) That it would be exciting. (Holy cow was it ever.)

I got so excited right off the bat that all my training went out the window. I told you last week, best-case scenario would be a 4 hour, 45 minute run. I did not best-case on Monday. (But I was within 20 minutes, which in the grand scheme of 26 miles [26 miles!] isn’t a whole lot.)

Seeing all those people in Hopkinton and knowing what lay ahead got me amped up - I came out HOT. Hopkinton is a big downhill to start and while I controlled myself from barreling down the hill I could not keep myself from a fast pace - I was running a 10 min/mile pace when I should have been running closer to 11 min/mile.

I knew I would pay a price later - I was running with someone I knew from training and was saying to him, “I’m going way too fast right now but I can’t adjust! It’s too exciting!”

I did pay the price before mile 16 - the last ten miles were a combination of walking and running.

But I had enough energy left to run up Hereford Street and turn left onto Boylston street and chug across the finish line. That last stretch was wild - people were screaming and it was echoing off buildings and it was exactly what I imagined it to be.

So here’s the deal - if you intended to donate to the Framingham History Center and haven't yet, it’s not too late, and I appreciate your donation after the race. Otherwise, I’m going to not do a traditional ‘Notes’ Sunday Paper section this week and I’ll just throw a couple of Boston Marathon pictures here to wrap things up.

Thanks for all the support these past 21-plus weeks.

I am for sure excited about running some half-marathons moving forward.

And I can’t say I’ve ruled out running more full marathons at some point. I do know I will not be putting my name into the lottery for the 2022 Boston Marathon.

The photos caught me fighting back tears after I turned onto Boylston Street. I’m glad they captured it - I got choked up just going to the expo on Saturday morning - I knew Monday would be emotional.