Evidence of the event was obvious as I drove in on Route 202. Cars were parked on both sides of the bridge over the Connecticut River, and downtown was completely clogged with parked cars and pedestrians. I angled in from the north and parked right where I wanted to, a few spots from Beech Street near mile 5½. A girl scout troop was handing out bottled water and Gatorade here.
The lead runner showed up about 5 minutes later, tearing up the last little hill before the sprint to the finish. Those that followed blew by at foot-blistering speeds as well. Very impressive. After the punctuated spectacle of seeing the first twenty or thirty come by at increasingly regular intervals, the main pack arrived and the street literally filled with people. I took photos for the next solid hour.
Sometimes it seemed more like a parade than a race. Massachusetts clearly loves St. Patrick's Day! Anyway, the whole gallery is now up at Ben Kimball Photography. I had a lot of fun shooting this race and laughed a lot while processing the shots (which was a monumental task, by the way!).
These are a few of my favorites:
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(all photos copyright Ben Kimball 2013; please do not copy or use without permission)
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