Pembroke Campus Librarian Runs First Boston Marathon

Posted on Tuesday, April 19th, 2022

Patti Kim remembers the email. It popped up on her phone while she was working in her librarian’s office at Algonquin College’s Pembroke Waterfront Campus. The email informed her that she had been accepted to run in one of the most prestigious marathons in the world. She was going to Boston, the New England city steeped in history including its famous annual running race which attracts more than 30,000 participants from around the world.

The dream to run in the Boston Marathon materialized after Kim and her family moved to the outskirts of Pembroke. She quickly learned that living in the country, particularly in the late spring and early summer is bug season. She wanted to get more exercise and began walking, but walking became running to get away from the bugs and one thing led to another and soon she was running long distances.

“So, in a funny way, I started ‘sprinting’ to try to outrun the bugs and in the end, the running bug caught me,” says Kim.

Did it ever. In the past five years, Kim has had several races of 5 and 10 kilometres, trail races, half and full marathons, all leading her to her first Boston Marathon. “Knowing that the Boston Marathon is considered to the holy grail for distance runners, I became curious as to whether it was possible for me, a full-time librarian, a middle-aged recreational runner, and a Mom of twin girls, to achieve a Boston qualifying time. As my times got faster, my curiosity went from ‘Can I do this?’ to ‘I can do this!’”

So, to test herself, she registered in the Muskoka Marathon in Bracebridge, Ontario on October 2, 2021 knowing she would need a time of better than 3 hours and 50 minutes to qualify for Boston. She finished the race in 3:49:14, and Kim was excited when the email arrived to let her know she was on her way to the historic city which was founded in 1630 and is known for its higher education schools, including Harvard University.

Now that it was real, Kim turned her attention to being prepared for the gruelling 42.2-kilometre race. She scoped the route of the marathon, taking into consideration Boston’s hilly terrain which makes the course an even more challenging experience for runners. She considered the weather conditions she might encounter on race day and she focused on being both physically and mentally prepared to ensure she would cross the finish line near Boston’s Copley Square, an upscale neighbourhood known for its dining and shopping district.

“I started off with shorter runs and then gradually went up from there sprinkled with what are called ‘down weeks’ when you let your body recover before another high mileage week. It is quite a bit of running, plus speed workouts such as progressively longer intervals, tempo runs and strides. The long run is the most important run of the week that gets runners used to running long on tired legs,” says Kim.

On Patriot’s Day in Boston, Monday, April 18, Kim fulfilled her aspirations to run in the Boston Marathon. Wearing bib number 22072, she crossed the finish line with a time of 4 hours, 7 minutes and 57 seconds.

Exhausted but satisfied, Kim took the time to celebrate with other women who had completed the race as it marked the 50th anniversary of women being allowed to participate as official race entrants. In 1972, there were only eight women who completed the race. For the 126th running of the race in 2022, almost half of the 30,000 runners were women.

“Running is hard, period,” says Kim, but for a runner there is nothing like the feeling that comes from recording a personal best or completing a marathon. It will take Kim weeks to get over the pain of the race and the toll it has taken on her body, but before long she will be running again.

The memories of running in Boston will stay with Kim forever, and maybe she’ll do it again. She has climbed the pinnacle of distance running by challenging herself to compete in the world’s best-known marathon. For now, she’ll enjoy the moment and think about the encore later. It’s time to get some rest.

 


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