For many runners, the Boston Marathon represents the Holy Grail. It’s the world’s oldest marathon, and it has rigid qualifying standards that you must meet to participate. Since many ElliptiGO riders are current or former runners, there’s big interest in the ElliptiGO community during Boston Marathon weekend.
This year, as in years past, ElliptiGOers took part in group rides before the marathon. Francois Lamothe and Jim Hansen joined nearly 3000 other cyclists in the popular Boston Midnight Marathon Bike Ride, which takes place on Sunday night before the famed footrace and follows the same 26.2 mile course from Hopkinton to Boston.
Hansen doubled his fun, starting in Boston and riding out to the Hopkington start line, and then turning around for the return trip. “The camaraderie of all the bikers and their crazy lights is a lot of fun,” Hansen said. “People are out on the streets cheering on the riders. There was even a small group of college girls outside Wellesley College.”
Later on Sunday, after the sun arose, ElliptiGO CEO and co-founder Bryan Pate led a group of seven riders on a tour of Boston, gliding along the Charles River and posing for photos on the famous Boylston Street finish line. As they enjoyed a post-ride meal inside a restaurant, ultramarathon runner and ElliptiGO rider Dean Karnazes spotted their parked bikes and stopped in to chat with the group.
On Monday, the ElliptiGO community – both in Boston and virtually around the world – cheered on our favorite pro marathoner, Meb Keflezighi as he ran is final Boston Marathon as a professional.
