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Four Aggies to run in Boston Marathon By
Reuben Wadsworth
Four Utah State University students are flying all the way to Boston to participate in a Patriots' Day activity. That activity just happens to be the Boston Marathon. Andy Lund, Dustin Williams, Robert Boyer and former USU volleyball player Heather Black will travel to Boston this weekend to compete in the marathon Monday. Even Lund's shoes show he is ready to run. He wore Adidas "Boston" running shoes Thursday, four days before he plans on running the 26.2-mile race. Adidas is one of the marathon's sponsors. Each runner will be seeing new scenery. "Philadelphia's the closest I've been," said Lund. The closest Williams has been to Boston is New York. The day of the marathon is Patriots' Day, the day the "Shot Heard ŚRound the World" was fired to start the Revolutionary War. As part of the festivities, the Boston Red Sox game in Fenway Park begins at 11 a.m. and the marathon gets under way at noon in the suburb of Hopkinton, Mass. By scheduling the events at these times, the baseball game gets over at about the same time as most of the runners are making their way into downtown. Lund, Boyer and Black qualified for the marathon in the Top of Utah Marathon in September. Williams qualified in the St. George Marathon in October. The experience of running the marathon will cap off somewhat of a comeback for Williams, and exercise science major from Arco, Idaho. The day after he found out he would compete in the marathon in late January he suffered a severe ankle sprain playing church basketball. "It was a high-low week," he said. "I was a bit frustrated for a day or two." His ankle still feels a little tender, but Williams said it doesn't bother him when he runs. He said the injury has been easy to take care for since his job is a student trainer for USU athletics. Coincidentally, Lund and Williams first met at the finish line of the Top of Utah half marathon two weeks before the main event. Lund beat Williams by a half a second, but ever since then they've been friends. Boyer and Lund have known each other since attending Mountain Crest High School together. Boyer was on the Mustangs' cross country team while Lund played tennis. Williams was on his high school's cross country team all four years. To train for the marathon, both Lund and Williams have run 20-milers in the last week. Some days Lund goes for distance and other days he goes for time, but he said the most important thing is "getting the mileage down." Lund's 20-mile route took him from Porcupine Reservoir to his home in Providence. Williams chose Sardine Canyon through Wellsville and Mendon back to Logan. Lund is paying for most of the trip himself. He said his employer, Spence's pharmacy, did make a small contribution. Williams received a partial donation from King B Jerky of Idaho Falls for a uniform and running shoes. For Williams, the road to the Boston Marathon is a long time coming. He ran in a fun run as a 12-year-old. When his mother asked him which distance he wanted to run, he said he wanted to do the 10K because it was longer. He earned a gold medal in that race because he was the only participant his age. He said ever since then the hobby he's enjoyed the most over the years has been running. Both USU runners are excited about making the trip. "This will be the Spring Break we never had" Lund said.
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