Johnny Kelly is a legend. He has run the Boston marathon a record 58 times (he started 61 times and finished 58 times). He has won it twice and has finished in second seven times. In 1992, when he was 84, he ran and finished the Boston marathon for the last time.
In 1936, Johnny Kelly was trailing Ellison “Trazan” Brown but caught up to him and passed him on the third hill in Newton. This fueled Brown’s determination; he eventually caught up to Kelly and passed him to win the 1936 Boston marathon. The Boston Globe reported on the race and dubbed the hill “heartbreak hill” for Kelly’s heartbreak. The name stuck. It has been so called for almost 80 years now.
Heartbreak hill comes at mile 21 in Boston. I dread it. I am a slow uphill runner (not that I am fast downhill either)! I hope to have enough juice left in me when I climb it on April 20.
For my training today, I went to happy hour yoga at The Village for a sparse class taught by Gracie. It was calming. One always needs calming.