I had already decided going in that I might have rid myself of the marathon byrus. I can't decide if this helped or hindered my effort, so I will cop out and say it was a bittersweet experience (no one can ever call foul when you claim smething is bittersweet because...well, they just can't). But I would advise people in general never to let a Boston experience be the one that dissuades them from marathoning. This would like be watching "The Osbournes" and deciding to forswear TV, because, as great an event as it is, it can be apocalyptic on many levels.
When I got to 17 miles this year feeling just as I had back in my first Boston in 1996, I knew - didn't suspect, KNEW - that I was going to be in considerable discomfort by the 22M mark and in agony by the finish; just how much againy and discomfort would totally depend on my own level of willingness to flail into the jaws of the monster. One redeeming thing about this course: If you keep moving in a straight line down Commonwealth Avenue, you're bound to pass tow people for every one that passes you. I moved up 13 places between 30K and the finish, which, given how I looked, felt, and smelled, was a Class A Felony.
Much as I want to regret running, especially knowing going in I was flat, I just can't. I'm a hype victim through and through - either that or as a local, I'm fortunate to have my whole spectrum of running friends out there on the course.