Instructor makes personal history in marathon
Campus Times
April 23, 1999
After seven months of training in the mountains nears his residence
in Claremont, running as much as 80 miles a week, sometimes as much as 20
miles a day, Dr. James LeSueur was one of the thousands of runners who took
part in the 103rd running of the Boston Marathon on Monday.
"It's a really inspirational run," said Dr. LeSueur, assistant
professor of history at the University of La Verne. "You just kind
of forget the pain because you're having just a great time. There's so many
people out there encouraging everyone.
"It's the most famous marathon. It's the most exciting 'cause it's
got such a tradition."
This was Dr. LeSueur's second marathon. His running resume includes
high school track and road races in college.
To be eligible for the Boston Marathon, Dr. LeSueur had to have a qualifying
time-three hours and 15 minutes for his group, males age 18-35. Dr. LeSueur
met that requirement by finishing the Los Angeles Marathon in 3:13.
His time improved to 3:04:29, for 1,077th place in the Boston race.
But Dr. LeSueur said the two races have little in common.
"The difference between the L.A. and the Boston [marathons] is
like night and day. The Boston Marathon's a lot harder because it's downhill
for the first 14 miles. After mile 16, the hills start. The major one is
called Heartbreak Hill," he said.
Heartbreak Hill is located at mile 20, which is the part of the race
where most people hit the proverbial "wall."
"When a lot of people are hiting the hardest part of the race,
they actually have to run the hardest hill," said Dr. LeSueur.
He said there was one thing, however, that kept the runners going.
"The crowds are incredible," he said. "Millions of people
just line up [to watch], it's really a unique event. People come from all
over the world to run it.
"It's the biggest event in Boston during the year. The whole city
shuts down. It's kind of like your a little mini-celebrity. Even though
no one knows you, and you're not famous, it's like almost as if you're a
famous runner.
"It's really a neat feeling where you realize that you don't have
to be Michael Jordan to actually give a little 5-year-old a good time when
you ... give him a high-five. You realize it's one of the few sports where
you don't have to be a total superstar to actually make someone's day better
by acknowledging they're cheering you on.
"It's just a wonderful thing, this connection with humanity that
you normally don't get when you're a runner out there beating the trails
alone.
"It's great because people are just doing it because they love
to do it, not because they want to get rich or anything."
Dr. LeSueur said he hopes to run the Boston Marathon next year as well,
and said, "I would really recommend everyone do it once in their life."
