Wasilla runner completes the Boston Marathon

MAT-SU - For a long distance runner, there is not much that can top the Boston Marathon. It's the dream race for those who spend their free time circling the indoor track and storming the pavement of their neighborhood.

For one Wasilla runner, competing in the Boston Marathon is now a dream come true.

On April 17, Wasilla's David Johnston was one of 23,000 runners to compete in the 2006 Boston Marathon. It's the most prestigious long distance race in the United States, and an event that every participant must qualify for. An avid runner since he was a child, Johnston earned the opportunity to participate in the Boston Marathon by posting the event's qualifying time during the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage last summer.

The 36-year-old Valley runner finished the 26-mile marathon in 3 hours, 39 minutes and 32 seconds, putting himself in the top-third of the 23,000-runner field.

Johnston said he once participated in a fun run in San Francisco that included more than 50,000 runners. But, even as a veteran of numerous races in and out of Alaska, he'd never competed in anything that remotely resembles the Boston Marathon.

&#8220I'd never been in a race so competitive - a race with that many thoroughbreds,” Johnston said. &#8220It was a little bit overwhelming.”

Not even taking into account the talent level of the athletes, Johnston said the mere number of runners in one event was amazing.

&#8220It took me three-and-a-half minutes to get to the start line after the gun fired,” Johnston said. &#8220And I was in the top quarter of the field. Pretty wild.”

And that was just the number of competitors. The fans stretched as far as the eye could see, Johnston said.

&#8220I've never see so many people,” Johnston said. &#8220For the whole 26 miles, people are shoulder to shoulder. You get into the city, and people are 10 deep.”

For the first two miles of the race, Johnston said he couldn't really run freely. And at no point during the race was he not amid a crowd of people.

&#8220When I finished, there were 10 people right there with me,” Johnston said. &#8220It never thinned out.”

When Johnston scanned through the results after the race, he saw that a few of the runners he knows from Alaska were just seconds apart from him at the finish line. But he never saw them during the race.

With all of the runners and spectators, Johnston said it was extremely important to always be very alert during the race.

&#8220It was a lot like running a trail race on the pavement, because of how alert you had to be,” Johnston said.

When going for a cup of water or Gatorade, Johnston said, runners had to put their hands out and make it obvious they were coming in for a drink. Just going for the water in the commotion caused many runners to fall down.

At times it was just chaos, Johnston said. He compared the marathon to what would happen if the Kentucky Derby and the Running of the Bulls were combined. Johnston said it is like being the local horse going to the biggest derby of the year. And then you add the chaos of the Running of the Bulls.

The morning after the event, Johnston said his legs were sore, but more prevalent was the feeling of satisfaction coming from finishing the race.

Prior to the race Johnston had mapped out his goals for each portion of the race. He said he held his desired pace until about the 21-mile mark. At about that point is when the runners hit the Newton Hills. Johnston said that length is one of the hardest portions of the course, and has been dubbed the &#8220Heartbreak Hills.”

&#8220My pace slowed tremendously when I hit the hills,” Johnston said. &#8220The Heartbreak Hills live up to their notoriety.”

Overall, Johnston said his final time was about 25 minutes slower than he would have like, about a mile a minute slower, but he intends to run in the marathon again. And he intends to improve his finish.

Johnston is already thinking about his next crack at the marathon. He is planning on running in at least three races this summer - the Crows Pass Crossing, the Humpy's Marathon and the Equinox in Fairbanks. Johnston will focus on the Humpy's Marathon as the race to earn a qualifying time to compete in the 2007 Boston Marathon.

Johnston spent most of his time preparing for the 2006 Boston Marathon on his treadmill at home, or on the indoor track at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex. Johnston said he owes finishing the marathon to the time he spent on the indoor track that circles the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena at the sports complex.

&#8220I ran a whole lot of miles there,” Johnston said. &#8220It's a wonderful facility. Better than being stuck on a treadmill.”

Johnston ran about three times a week at the sports complex, and would sometimes hit 16 or 17 miles in a session. But before he runs the Boston Marathon again, Johnston said, he will need to be hitting 20 or 21 miles.

He also worked a little with the weights, but in the future, Johnston said he training will tend to be focused on the running.

On the morning of the marathon, Johnston said the participants were all bused to this huge field near the start of the course. There were about four hours to kill before the start, and Johnston took the time to look through all the cards and letters of support he received from his friends and co-workers at Geneva Wood Pharmacy. He said he was given a tremendous amount of support, and it was a thrill to walk into his office for the first time after the race.

Johnston arrived in Boston three days before race day. He was originally only going to bring his wife Lisa. But he decided to bring two of his children - 10-year-old Calen and 4-year-old David, Jr. - along to give them a little taste of life outside of Alaska.

On the days leading up to the race, Johnston said Boston was a city full of people wearing Boston Marathon T-shirts.

&#8220All over Boston, wherever you go. It was like an anorexic convention,” he joked.