Boston Marathon Monday 2026

 

A Pep Talk for Race Morning

You’ve spent six months practicing joy like it’s a muscle, a discipline, a calling. You’ve written letters that turned your training into a pilgrimage of gratitude. And now you get to step into Boston dressed as Joy herself—blue hair, bright spirit, heart wide open.

Today isn’t about splits or perfection. It’s about presence. It’s about delight. 

You get to be the runner who smiles at strangers, who high‑fives kids, who lifts the energy of the course just by showing up in color and courage. You get to be the embodiment of the thing you’ve been naming in others for months.

When the miles get hard, remember: you’ve already done the deeper work. You’ve trained your heart to notice. You’ve trained your spirit to choose joy. You’ve trained your body to keep going.

So run light. Run grateful. Run with your people in your pocket. Run with the happy dance in your mind. Run as Joy.

And let Boston see the glow you’ve been cultivating all along.

I have to give credit where credit is due: Copilot helped me generate some of the ideas for the blessings and reflections I carried into race day. After I uploaded a few of the letters I’d written, some of my training reflections, and the intention letter I drafted back in October, it offered to help me shape a blessing for the starting line, a short prayer for the Newton hills, a “why I’m running” sentence for my pocket, and even a Joy‑themed pep talk for race morning. I took those seeds, tweaked them, and made them my own for the day. 💙💛💙

from Kate Bowler's book Joyful Anyway 

three generations at Hopkinton 

mother daughter pre-race joy! 

Anna read this to me before the start... 

💙💛💙💛💙

A Blessing for the Starting Line

May this beginning be spacious. May your breath settle, your shoulders drop, your heart open. May you remember the faces and stories you’ve carried for months— the ones who taught you joy, the ones who held you steady, the ones who made you braver. May their love be the ground beneath your feet. May delight rise in you like a tide. And as you cross the line into motion, may you feel the quiet truth humming through you: You are not running alone. You are running beloved. You are running free. You are running in joy. 

Let's go! 

midway at Wellesley College

mile 17 

A Short Prayer for the Newton Hills

God of strength and steady breath, meet me in these miles where the road tilts upward. When my legs grow heavy, give me the grace to take the next small step. When doubt enters the game, remind me of the joy that carried me here. Let every hill become a place of presence— You with me, my people with me, my own spirit rising again. Teach me to choose joy, anyway, even here, especially here. Amen.

The first 13 miles of the Boston Marathon felt effortless—like I was floating on cloud nine and everything just clicked. Then the charley horses showed up uninvited and decided to stick with me for the rest of the run. With every mile, they got stronger and harder to ignore, and it took everything I had to keep pushing forward. Digging deep, I managed to get to the corner of Hereford and Boylston (just about 1/4 mile to the finish line). At that point, I got the worst charley horse of all, and it stopped me in my tracks. Two runners stopped to check on me, helped me steady myself, and got me moving again.

Thanks to them (and every ounce of grit I had left), I found my stride again and pushed through to the finish. That’s the magic of Boston spirit, and I'm so very grateful for the gift of this day. 

Pure Joy!! 

A Benediction for the Finish Line

May this finish be a soft landing. May the breath you draw remind you that you are held. May the ache in your legs testify to courage, and the glitter still on your face bear witness to joy lived out loud. May you feel the nearness of every person who carried you here— the ones you named, the ones you remembered, the ones who shaped your stride. May gratitude rise in you like a blessing. And as you wrap yourself in the foil blanket and step into whatever comes next, may you know this deep truth: You ran with joy. You ran with love. You ran your prayer all the way home.

it really does not get much better than this.... 💙💛💙💛💙

JOY MANIFESTO — Boston 2026

I run because joy is a gift and a discipline. I run because gratitude deserves a body. I run because the people who have loved me into being deserve to be carried mile by mile.

I run dressed as Joy because play is holy, because silliness is needed, because joy is resistance, because the world is heavy— and still, there is light everywhere.

I run to notice. I run to bless. I run to remember that joy is not the absence of pain but the presence of love.

I run with a happy dance in my mind, with a cloud of witnesses in my pocket, with the God who meets me in every ordinary moment.

Today, I choose joy— not as a mood, but as a way of being. Not as a feeling, but as a form of gratitude. Not as a costume with a dumb blue wig, but as my truest self. 

Run light. Run grateful. Run awake. Run attentive. Run as joy.