Cape Breton runners ready for Boston Marathon
Kate MacInnes has a number of connections to the Boston Marathon that push her to compete in the hallowed road race.
Her mother, Laurie, was a regular and Kate would wait for her at the finish line. MacInnes also attended Wellesley College, a private women’s liberal arts college that’s along the race route.
But beyond that, it’s the prestige and reputation of the world’s oldest annual marathon.
“It’s one of the most coveted marathons in the world because you have to qualify, it’s very old, the crowd support is phenomenal,” said the 32-yearold hematologist from East Lake Ainslie, originally from Pictou County. “You have these iconic points like Wellesley with the scream tunnel and the women going crazy.
“On top of that, there’s the personal history with my mother running first and having gone to Wellesley to experience it from the other side of the picket fence there. Then running it and having several close friends who have run it. Boston’s a city that’s always been dear to my heart also.”
MacInnes is among a number of local runners taking part in the 121st running of the 42-km race today. The marathon attracts
thousands of athletes from around the world, and begins at 9:50 a.m. Atlantic time.
She began running in junior high school because of her mother. MacInnes ran in her first of seven marathons in 2010 and has run in the Boston Marathon in 2013 — the year of the bombings — and returned undeterred in 2014.
“I think many runners will tell you that the first half is all a gradual downhill, so it gives you a false sense of ease for the first half of the run and you can easily burn yourself out and it tires your legs,” she said “Then you hit the halfway point and you’re
hitting rolling hills, which are hard on the legs. Then you have Heartbreak Hill at mile 20, so it’s a challenging course that way.”
She qualified for this year’s Boston Marathon after finishing first in the women’s race at the Cape Breton Fiddlers Run in September, crossing the finish line in 3:18:13.
MacInnes was encouraged by veteran marathoner Peter Hanna of Whitney Pier to make the trip to Boston again this year, someone she calls “an inspiration.”
For Hanna, the 76-year-old will be making his eighth trip to the Boston Marathon. He qualified
for the race for the first time in 1989 when he was 49.
“There’s a lot more runners going to Boston and there’s a lot of companionship to go with,” he said. “As long as I can keep doing it, I’ll keep going.”
Hanna began running at the age of 40. He quit smoking, but gained 30 pounds. He lost the weight, and started doing a few miles a day. He worked up to his first marathon, the Ben Buffett race in New Waterford.
“A marathon is a marathon, it’s 26.2 miles,” he said. “Boston is the one that started out with qualifying times and everyone is geared to qualify for Boston. Even though New York is a big draw… they’ll go once to New York, but they still want to go to Boston. That seems to be the draw.”
Other Cape Breton runners registered to compete include Anne Doyle of Coxheath, Ian Doyle of Coxheath, Stephanie MacLean of Coxheath, Kim Scattolon of Glace Bay, Tanya Brann-Barrett of Sydney, Carol Dakai of Sydney, Florence Gillis of Sydney, Lauchie McKinnon of
Sydney, Denis Lanoe of Marion Bridge, Terry Morris of North Sydney and Ray Oake of Sydney.
Cape Breton has a storied connection to the race. The late Johnny Miles of Sydney Mines won the Boston Marathon twice: in his debut in 1926 and again in 1929.