JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – You can’t take a three-pointer while the Final Four is being played. You can’t putt the ball during The Masters. And you can’t attempt a field goal during the Super Bowl. But if you qualify, you can run the same race on the same course at the same time as the world’s best at the Boston Marathon.
For more than 60 local runners, that’s exactly what happened on Monday in the 126th running of the Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest continually held road race.
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Maybe something special was in the air for Jacksonville runners. So many of them had great times, many personal records, and bushels of memories.
“It’s truly an amazing experience,” said Jacksonville’s David Scott, who finished his fourth Boston Marathon in a time of 3:13:50. “Every time I go there. I feel like I’m running on hallowed ground. And every time that I’m running, I sometimes go, ‘oh, my gosh, I’m running the Boston Marathon. It’s the most iconic road race in the world.’ And every time I turn and see that finish line in the distance, I kind of tear up a little bit.”
This year’s Boston Marathon was the first full-field running of the event during the traditional race day of Patriots Day in Boston since 2019. Because of the pandemic, some of the traditions had to be shelved until this year.
“it’s beautiful. I mean, Boston, for me is like my graduation,” said Jacksonville’s Oliver Ernest, who was one of seven local runners to finish in under three hours. Ernest’s time of 2:52:05 was good enough to place him in the top seven percent of the field.
“The first time I went over there, I was so amazed. I was surprised by looking at all the people all the messages as soon as you arrive at the airport. I mean, you feel it. It’s a different race. It’s not your typical race that you’d run every day, but it’s great. It’s beautiful.”
Ernest’s wife Maricruz, the girls’ cross country coach at Mandarin High school, placed in the top 1500 of female runners with a time of 3:20:52.
She completed her second Boston Marathon—third if you count the virtual race she participated in during the pandemic.
“We went last year in person in October, it feels different,” Maricruz Ernest said. “At the finish line the day before where people take pictures, it just feels like this is an honor to be here. It is an honor and a big accomplishment because it’s a totally different atmosphere.”
Jacksonville’s Matt Monroe spends his days teaching music and playing the French horn in the Jacksonville symphony. In between, he trains for days like Monday. Running his fourth Boston Marathon, Monroe finished in an official time of 3:13:20, in the top quarter of all finishers.
FAST IN BOSTON: Check out how local runners fared at the 126th Boston Marathon
“Yeah, it’s Yeah, I mean, you really feel like you are in there with the best,” Monroe said.” There are other big marathons in the world. And it’s always fun to participate. But Boston’s been going on a long time. You know, it’s, it’s a legend.”
As for the performance of local runners, the weather certainly was conducive. The highest placing Jacksonville runner was Jeff Tomaszewski, who finished in 2:42:19, placing 609th overall. Other sub-three-hour runners included Daniel Erlandson, and Julian Rozo, both of Jacksonville. Jacksonville Beach’s Aaron Pitchkolan, a former captain and coach for the Jacksonville Armada, Fernandina Beach’s Eric Quinn, and Jacksonville Jonathan Edwards.
“The conditions were prime,” Scott said. “I know a lot of (Jacksonville runners) had great races. Oliver, Maricruz, and Matt all had great races. Everybody in Jacksonville seemed to have a really good race. And I think we fed off each other’s energy.”