Beth Ann and I headed to Derry, New Hampshire to take part in the Boston Prep 16 Miler which is put on by the Greater Derry Track Club. Beth Ann asked if I would run with her today and I was of course, glad to do so.

The course itself has been described by many as being one of the toughest courses in the area and those folks would be correct. There is a great many hills mixed into the race as you go up and down scenic country roads in chilly New Hampshire. At the starting gun it was a balmy 18 degrees which made for some chilly temperatures and some extra layers of clothes being needed.

For the most part, the support along the course was quite good. Ample water, Gatorade and some Gu packs were distributed along the course. The volunteers all seemed quite glad to be out there helping, except for one peach who left a bad taste in my mouth.

One downside of the race was the failure to live up to race expectations. The race website advertised that all runners received a tech shirt, however, the shirts were tee-shirts, not technical shirts. This is pretty bad especially given the price of the race and is a cheap corner to cut.

That said, running with Beth Ann was great. Though at times she would tell me to just “go on” I committed to running with her. For all that Beth Ann has been through in the past year inclusive of two months of hospitalization due to preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome and delivering our daughter early many people would simply hang up their running sneakers and give up. But less than 6 months after all of this, Beth Ann is out there training for a marathon and is not just my hero but should be an inspiration to any runner or someone thinking of taking up running.

With that, nice job out there today Beth Ann! Just like you needed my encouragement on a couple of those uphills, there is so much more that I could not do without you!