Rosenthal Runs Boston Marathon

By: Elias Arnett
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As an official state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine, the day is observed to remember the opening battles of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord. It was a day in 1775 where thousands of troops put their lives on the line for the greater good of what we know today as the United States.

Now, it is a day where over 500,000 spectators pack the streets like sardines.

Patriots' Day, also known as the day of the Boston Marathon.

The 26.2-mile course that starts in Hopkinton and ends in Boston is an iconic trademark in the world today. It started in 1897, giving it the honor of the world's oldest annual marathon, with just 15 runners. Today over 30,000 people participate in it each year, where as much as 95 different countries from around the world are represented.

For Jeremy Rosenthal, IU Athletics Assistant Director of Media Relations, it was an event he dreamed of participating in, nine years ago.

Where it all Started

"I was born about an hour from Boston in a city called Worcester," Rosenthal said. "My parents were both from New York, but we moved to Indiana when I was three years old. One spring I went to the Boston Marathon, and being able to watch the race with a running background, that was very cool to see. Right then I realized that I wanted to run in it one day."

Rosenthal attended West Lafayette High School, where he started running track and field during his freshman year. He also played basketball, and used track and field as a good way to keep in shape.

During his time at West Lafayette, the notion of running a marathon never crossed his mind. He started with the cross-country team his sophomore year, but the idea of running 26.2 miles consecutively hadn't even been a thought.

"Honestly, after high school I thought I would run less," Rosenthal said.

He started to take the concept of being a participant in the Boston Marathon rather seriously after he finished the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, which was his first, in 2009. He didn't run his second marathon until 2014.

The Boston Marathon is unique, as it is one of the only marathons where participants are required to qualify. The time to beat was three hours and five minutes (around seven minutes per mile pace). Rosenthal ran 3:30 for his first marathon and 3:13 in his second marathon.

Any runner knows that the most daunting part of participating in a marathon isn't necessarily the 26.2 miles itself, but all of the training that leads up to it. Rosenthal realized that if he wanted to insure his dream of running through the streets of Boston on the third Monday of April that his training needed to be better.

Qualifying for Boston

"The Columbus Marathon was where I really decided I was going to be all in," Rosenthal said. "I had a friend that was going to coach me. I visited the nutritionist here at IU and the strength coach here at IU to seek expert advice. Around mile 24, I started really hurting. I asked myself, 'how much do you really want it?' My goal was right in front of me. I had 15 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon right in front of me, and I wasn't going to pass that up."

Rosenthal chose to run his qualifier in Columbus since it was rather conveniently on the same day that the volleyball team was playing a match at Ohio State. Therefore, Rosenthal knew he would already be in town, since part of his job is to travel with the team.

"After I finished the race and since it was under the 3:05 time frame, I was really happy," Rosenthal said. "When I got to the gym the team stopped warming up and came over to congratulate me. That was a moment I will never forget."

He had to wait a year to find out that he did indeed qualify for the Boston Marathon, since he ran the qualifier in October and registration is in September. His official qualifying time was 3:02:17. He ended up making it by 34 seconds.

Rosenthal knew that participating in the Boston Marathon was going to be a humbling experience, but there was still work to be done.

"On one level you want to go and enjoy the experience," Rosenthal said. "You know the Boston Marathon is the Mecca in running. You want to go there and take it all in, but there's a competitive element as well. You know some people have natural talent, but I'm a person that has very little. I've had to work incredibly hard to see results, and I think it's very fulfilling that way."

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The 121^st Boston Marathon

Rosenthal began his 26.2-mile journey in Hopkinton at 10:00 a.m. on Monday April 17. He said that when the gun goes off to start the race, he was flushed with emotions; mentioning that everyone knows the race is going to be incredibly difficult both mentally and physically, but when the gun first goes off your mind is almost at ease, as one realizes they are actually about to run in one of the most preeminent marathons in the world.

One thing that surprised him the most was the sheer number of spectators.

"There are spectators the whole way," he said. "They don't care if it's the elite runner or if it's a runner near the end of the race, they're cheering and enthusiastic for anybody that's there."

"There's young people, old people, five-year-old kids holding out their hands for high fives and giving out orange slices, so I really tried to embrace and enjoy the whole experience because it's such a unique event. I tried to soak it all in, and it was just an amazing experience."

And again.

"Just the number of spectators at times, it brought me to tears," Rosenthal said. "It was a little overwhelming with the atmosphere and the crowd and how into it all the people are. I think the people embrace it and they know how hard everyone works to get there. They know how hard it is to run the marathon, so it was just an amazing show of support from them."

There's a long-time tradition for the Boston Marathon where women from Wellesley College – which is located about halfway through the race – have cheered on marathon runners for decades. They make clever signs, many of which say kiss me and they line the course in what is called the Wellesley Scream Tunnel, which can be heard from almost a mile away.

"I'm there to enjoy the experience so you know I had to stop and get myself a kiss from one of the girls," Rosenthal sleekly said.

Rosenthal finished the race with a time of 4:07:35. This left him a little disappointed, as he wanted to produce better results. He mentioned that the heat might have got to him a little bit, as it was 70 degrees at the start and got hotter. The combination of the heat and hills made it difficult.

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After the Race

After the race Rosenthal was reunited with his family, who traveled to Boston to watch him run. He said it meant a lot of have them come and support him.

The Wednesday before the race was Rosenthal's birthday, and the volleyball team gave him a plaque with good luck messages, one reading "you've already won," and this was a message that Rosenthal took to heart.

"One of those messages was from our head volleyball coach, Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan," Rosenthal said. "I thought of it when things got hard. It said, you've already won and we're really proud of you."

After the race Rosenthal came back to his computer to see tweets of support from nearly the entire volleyball team and staff. He later learned that they had practice during the marathon, but would check on his progress at each water break.

Rosenthal stated that this probably wouldn't be the last time you see him participating in a Boston Marathon. He has his sights set on the Chicago Marathon in 2018, which could qualify him for either the 2019 or 2020 Boston Marathon.
It's no question that running a marathon takes an immense amount of dedication from an individual, but it also takes a great deal of support and encouragement.

"One thing I want to say is thank you and that I felt a tremendous amount of support from a lot of people and especially within our athletic department," Rosenthal said. "Within our media relations' staff, they were all incredibly positive and they told me they were following along the whole way. That meant a lot to me."

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