Local runners in yesterday's 112th Boston Marathon said they surprised themselves by running faster than they thought they would. Many also had the pleasure of knowing their efforts would benefit important charities.
More than 60 runners from Westwood, Dedham, Norwood and Walpole competed in yesterday's 26.2-mile run from Hopkinton to Boston.
Walpole resident Judy Conroy, 51, of Elm St. ran to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and finished the race in just under five hours. She said spectators this year were more encouraging than ever.
"I have to say I think the crowds were unbelievable this year. It really helps us run," said Conroy, a physical therapist who was running the Boston race for the fifth time.
Whatever their motivation, the more than 25,000 runners who stepped up to the starting line for the Marathon enjoyed good running weather, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s and humidity levels at 60-75 percent, according to the National Weather Service.
The day started out chilly and overcast, but by 9:15 a.m. it was 50 degrees at the Hopkinton starting line according to the Boston Athletic Association Web site.
This year, the sun broke through the clouds around 10 a.m., the start time for the elite men and wave one participants. Runners shedded layers of clothing, some dumping the extra-garb into trash bins and others tossing it into plastic bags held by volunteers. The clothes will be donated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
"Temperatures for this race were perfect," said Norwood runner Lucas Carr, 28, who ran to benefit the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and in memory of a soldier comrade who died in Iraq. "For a lot of the runners, the temperature made a big difference."
The weather yesterday was virtually the opposite of conditions last year when the 26.2-mile race was almost cancelled due to predictions of 3-5 inches of rain and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 30s, according to the Boston Athletic Association Web site.
"It was horrendous weather," said 49-year-old John Crehan of last year's conditions. The Westwood resident ran his fifth consecutive Boston Marathon yesterday in 3 hours, 54 minutes and 25 seconds. He raved about this year's conditions. "A lot of runners were talking about the weather and how it turned out to be so nice."
Crehan, who lives on Brookfield Road, questioned whether he had done enough training as this year's race neared. "I freaked out. I said, 'I don't think I'll go,"' he admitted. But Crehan surprised himself. "I didn't have any idea I would be able to keep it under four hours," he said.
Like Crehan, Dedham resident Nina Cammarata, 36, had a better race than expected yesterday as she finished her ninth Marathon in 10 years. Her time was 3 hours, 57 minutes and 23 seconds. "Today was surprisingly good for me," said Cammarata, a personal trainer at Future Shape, a Newton gym. "It's such a mental game, and I wasn't as mentally prepared as I would have liked to have been. But the sun came through and it warmed up. I got into it and surprised myself."
Local racers relaxed after yesterday's long haul.
Cammarata said she went to her son's T-Ball game and then to dinner.
After the Marathon, Conroy was lucky enough to get a 20-25 minute massage from a volunteer massage therapist working on Dana-Farber runners. When she got home last night, she soaked in a tubful of cold bathwater to combat inflammation.
The winner of the men's race was Robert Cheruiyot, who achieved the sixth-fastest time in Boston Marathon history. He pulled away from second place winner Abderrahime Bouramdane as they entered Newton Hills, reaching the top of Heartbreak Hill with a 27-second lead.
Dire Tune of Ethiopia beat Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia by two seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race.
Cheruiyot of Kenya and Tune each earned a recently enhanced prize of $150,000, the biggest in major marathon racing history.
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or at akivlan@cnc.com
