Mile 25 Sights and Smells

I've lived in the Boston area my entire life, and yet yesterday was the first time I have ever watched people running the Boston Marathon live and in person.

Actually, I kind of thought the thing was over and was trekking to Best Buy, but still... I was there.

What I saw at my stop at about mile 25 were many, many drunk students, cheering on the stragglers, urging them on to finish that one last mile. I really wasn't sure how to feel about it, honestly. Okay, a lot of them were legitimately cheering, and not all of them were drunk, but there were also hundreds of people who were drunk and (I feel) patronizing these poor hobblers who were determined to finish because... Well, I have no idea why they were so determined. The winner was probably enjoying a fine meal somewhere in Copley Place by then.

I really don't know why people would do this to themselves. I mean, the first guy who ever ran 26 miles dropped dead when he got to the end. Why would anyone want to try that again? Isn't that sort of like swimming with sharks thinking, "So what if some people get attacked. I'm better than them." I know that some people do it for good causes and some are out to prove... something. Toughness, I guess. And okay, those people who have no legs that run the Marathon? Even I have to applaud them. but the rest? Why would anyone torture themselves like that? On my way home, I saw a girl on the T, wrapped in one of those silver, foil shawl-things that they give the runners at the end (sponsored by AT&T or somebody), and dressed in runner togs, so I assume she had run in the Marathon. She was about the saddest person I had ever seen on the train, and I'm a seasoned veteran. there she was, all alone, on the Green Line, looking like she had just vomited her lunch. And I could not help but wonder if this misery was worth it. I think I would have just stopped around mile 25 once I saw those drunk idiots cheering me on.

Which brings me back to my patronizing friends at mile 25. Allow me to set the scene for those unaware of the geography; Mile 25 is in the Audobon Circle area, near Fenway. There are several large apartment buildings and some buildings I think are technically BU dorms. Most of these places have very small "yards" out front, which, on Marathon Monday, play host to cook-outs and yes, even a outdoor, very public game of beer-pong. This is, of course, in full view of Boston's finest, who probably wouldn't bother getting off their horses if they saw some sort of game of Snuff Beer-Pong going on (Incidentally, the "smells" mentioned in the title? That would be the horse manure littered about the streets.) These revelers probably could care less about teh fact that these runners are practically killing themselves right across the street, as they practically kill themselves with alcohol and observe them. Interesting dynamic, really.

The thing is, most of these people are just looking for an excuse to drink at 10:00 in the morning. I guess St. Patrick's Day a month ago wasn't good enough here in Boston. We need more days where public drunkenness is allowed, apparently. We need more trash in the streets. We need more assholes yelling at everyone. We need to show these students who flock here every year that we are all nothing more than party animals.

Now, obviously, I drink my fair share (and your share, too, probably). But I usually don't drink before noon, and I've never needed an excuse to do it. I just enjoy a beverage once in awhile. It's just fun. I don't know where the idea started that it's great to get wasted and watch people run, because I don't really see the fun in that. never mind that getting drunk that early kind of ruins the rest of the day doesn't it?

So, unless I know someone who decides to run the Marathon one day, that's my first and last one. If I want to watch drunk fools cheering, I'll go to a hockey game.