April 20, 2009

Reason # 9 Why I Love Boston: Patriots' Day

*Image from Boston.com

Reason #9 Why I Love Boston: Patriots' Day

No idea what Patriots' Day is? Well, then you must not live in Massachusetts or Maine. I had no idea what it was when I first moved up here. It is a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the Revolutionary War battles at Lexington and Concord. It is also Marathon Monday, which quite obviously is the day of the Boston Marathon. On top of all that, the Red Sox also play an early home game on this day - usually an 11AM start - so that the end of the game coincides with the time the marathon winners are passing through Kenmore Square. Schools are closed, and some businesses close for the day as well, so quite a few people have it off. Others simply choose to take it off.

I've lived in three places in the area, all of which fall along the marathon route. There is such a fun party atmosphere in the air all day, particularly when the weather cooperates. Spectators line the streets, cheering the runners on, listening or watching the Red Sox game (lots of TVs out in lawns), and enjoying the day outside.

I would never in a million years run a marathon, much less the Boston version. That said, I love watching it, and I have a great appreciation for the sport. I love watching the graceful speed of the professional runners in the front, the seriousness of the wheelchair racers, and the determination on the faces of all the amateur runners. I especially love watching the older runners who don't let a little thing like age get in the way of achieving their mission. They are all inspiring.

Happy Patriots' Day!



Runners passing through Kenmore Square
Picture from Minuteman Park in Concord.
*Image from Wikipedia

2 comments:

  1. So are you off?

    ReplyDelete
  2. No. :-( Next year I should plan to take it, though.

    ReplyDelete

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