Soggy conditions didn't dampen spirits

HOPKINTON -- Crammed inside tents set up at Hopkinton Middle School and lying on swimming pool rafts, cardboard boxes, plastic tarps, and anything else they could find to stay dry, the huddled masses looked more like refugees than runners.

Those who were at Athletes' Village bright and early yesterday morning preparing for the start of the 111th Boston Marathon were fleeing precipitation, not persecution. A confluence of events -- a nasty April northeaster and the Boston Athletic Association's decision to move up the marathon's start time by 2 hours -- led to a soggy and windswept beginning to the race. While runners were dampened, their spirits were not.

When the elite men and first wave of qualifiers crossed the start line at 10 a.m., rain was spitting down as many mugged for television cameras or hardy spectators.

Kyomi Parente of New York City was among the first two dozen or so runners to arrive at the school to prepare for the start. She plunged through the wind and rain at 6:45 a.m. with a pair of plastic bags (courtesy of her hotel) taped to her feet to protect her running shoes.

"It's my sponsor," joked Parente, when asked about the Residence Inn by Marriott "running shoes" she was sporting.

Parente was running Boston for the eighth time, but given the early conditions, no one would have blamed her if she had just stayed in her hotel room.

"Oh, no way," Parente said. "I've been training for this for 12 weeks."

Among the most prepared for the weather was Margaret Mountain, a first-time Boston Marathoner. The 25-year-old from Wexford, Pa., arrived with a blue inflatable pool raft in hand. Unfortunately, she arrived after 7 a.m., when the first wave of runners flooded into the tent, and was struggling to find a place to put the raft.

"Maybe I'll swim or float or raft down the road," said Mountain, who was determined to complete the 26.2-mile course.

Mountain said the inclement conditions had turned many runners into fast friends before they even reported to the starting line. "What's that saying? Misery loves company," she said.

Keith Wiley of Chicago said he had run in worse conditions.

"LA in 2000, it was a monsoon," said Wiley, a veteran of 17 marathons who was running Boston for the fourth time. "You just have to grin and bear it and tough it out."

According to the BAA, heavy rain threatened runners only once before -- in 1970. But it was the headwinds that concerned runners the most. Wiley was already dreading the thought of tackling Heartbreak Hill.

Christina Chavez, a first-time Boston runner from upstate New York, said she was adjusting her finishing goal of 3 hours 40 minutes. "Now, my goal is just to finish," she said. " Three-forty, that's probably not going to happen. That's OK. I'm here."

Chavez said she briefly considered not running, but quickly dismissed the notion after a call home.

"I called my Mom, and back there it's snowing, school is closed," she said. "They're dealing with a blizzard. So compared to that, this is pretty good."

Not a single runner polled said they seriously considered pulling out because of the foul weather, but 2,449 never picked up their bibs, according to BAA spokesman Jack Fleming. (There were 20,638 official starters.) The crowd of spectators seemed thinner at the start as well, although volunteers were out in full force.

But regardless of the weather, the Boston Marathon is still an alluring event for distance runners.

Brian Wilk of Fremont, Mich., awoke at 3:30 a.m. to the sound of wind and rain pounding against his hotel room window. He couldn't go back to sleep. That may have been attributable to his excitement as much as the weather.

"I've run every day for the last six months for this race," Wilk said. "I'm ready for the rain. I'm here and I'm going to run it."