Boston Marathon: Touring Boston (Part 3)

Selfie at the Boston Marathon Finish Line

For those of you who don’t know, my greatest passions—aside from my kiddos, of course—are the following: running, travel, good food, and art. This means that whenever I travel abroad to run a marathon, I must fill my tummy with the best food the city has to offer (although I didn’t get to do much of that on this trip!) and I absolutely can’t go home without paying a visit to the city’s museum (lest you forget I’m a graphic designer when I’m not running LOL!)

With only six-days for the trip, with one day blocked out for the marathon, I essentially had 5 days to tour the city, while also familiarizing myself with pre- and post-race logistics (i.e., learning how to get to the starting line without being late for the race AND learning how to get back to my hotel after the race with as little walking as possible!)  

Here’s where I went and all the fun I had on my own on the days leading up to Boston Marathon:

BOYLSTON STREET

The famous Boylston Street is where the finish line of the Boston Marathon is located.  Conveniently enough for me, this was a few minutes walk from my hotel. I strolled on Boylston Street quite often dropping by the finish line more than once.  On the times that I went to the finish line, the area was filled with runners from all over the world hamming it up for their cameras before the big day.

Heading back from the finish line, I chanced upon a young lady sobbing at the side of the road being comforted by family and friends. I later learned her name was Rebekah Gregory DiMartino who had to have her leg amputated after she was hit in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.  It was an intense and emotional scene as most of our runners sat around her and later applauded her for her strength.  After the race, I saw Rebekah again on the news.  She ran 3 miles with her prosthetic leg and emotionally dropped to the ground in tears when she reached the finish line.

BOSTON MARATHON RUNBASE

Located at the 26-mile mark of Boston Marathon on Boylston Street, Boston Marathon RunBase is a running store with everything about Boston Marathon in it.  It’s the first of its kind in the U.S. The store contains all the official merchandise of the marathon, a model of the Boston Marathon course, and even an interactive screen that shows the course, participants (you can search all participants from the first Boston Marathon in 1897!), and top finishers.

BOSTON COMMON

Boston Common is the oldest park in the country and it is where the famous Freedom Trail begins.  It is also the site for the bus pick up and baggage deposit and claiming for runners of the Boston Marathon.  I went here twice practicing how I should get here from my hotel on marathon day.  (Note to those running marathons abroad: Always practice how to get to the race venue before marathon day!)  First time, I walked all the way from my hotel which took 15 minutes.  Second time, I took the subway which took less time and, more importantly, less energy!  Needless to say, I took the subway on marathon day.

BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN

The Boston Public Garden was the first public botanical garden in America. It is right beside Boston Common.  It has a lot of rich greenery, a lagoon, monuments, fountains, and even swan boats.  I loved this garden especially on weekends when families strolled and played at the park.

BOSTON DUCK TOUR

First thing I did upon arriving (after claiming my race kit, of course!) was to hop on the Boston Duck Tour which I had pre-booked weeks before from Manila. This was highly recommended by a TBR Dream alumni and I was glad I made the time for this. (Thanks Kat!)  On the duck tour, we got a fun historical tour of the city on the road and on water!

QUINCY MARKET / FANUELI HALL

I met up with Kathleen, sister of TBR Alum Ken Mendola, for lunch at Quincy Market. Quincy Market is a historic market in downtown Boston with rows of food stalls, restaurants, and retail stores. The center reminded me of one of my favorite places in London, Covent Garden. We had lunch there and walked around for a bit, but I had to rush back to the hotel because I wanted to rest before the marathon the following day. Bitin, but glad I got to visit and smell the food! LOL.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON

I visited the museum the day after the marathon. I called it my Active Recovery workout LOL.

Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. Wow!

Previous: Boston Marathon: The Race Expo (Part 2)
Next: Boston Marathon: Pre-Race (Part 4)

Thank you to Gatorade for sponsoring my Boston Marathon adventure. Thank you as well to my other sponsors: Unilab Active Health, Fitness First, Specialized, Peak Form Manila, Otterbox, and Oakley.