The Boston Marathon is special. Each year, it brings tens of thousands of people from all over the country and the world to New England to complete the 26.2 miles.However, very few can say what it’s like to cross the finish line first.”Oh, it was a huge relief.” said Alicia Dana, of Putney, VT. “But part of the reason I was going so fast was to stay warm.”Dana won the women’s handcycle division in the 2018 Boston Marathon while riding through rain and freezing temperatures.”That’s a really good question. I almost don’t remember crossing the finish line.” Keeseville’s Devann Murphy told NBC5.Murphy won the race the following year. She finished second last year.”Boston’s iconic. That is the race everyone looks forward to every year,” Murphy said.For Devann, the dream of being a part of the Marathon began some 30 years ago when she was an 11-year-old battling a deadly disease.”Hanging out at the hospital room and all these people are running out by the river and I said to the nurse… ‘what are they doing?’ Like why are they doing that to themselves? Well, she said they are probably training for the Boston Marathon. Oh cool, I’m going to do that…If I grow up.” Murphy said.The young girl from Ausable, New York, was in Boston being treated for bone cancer. It would take her another 20 years before she was racing in marathons with the handcycle. “(It was) 2014, the first time I stepped on the course and I walked it. Then ’18 I did it and ’19 I won it. So, it was just such a full circle thing.” Murphy added.Alicia Dana was a competitive skier as a kid growing up in Putney. Her life-changing accident happened as a 17-year-old, falling out of a tree.It didn’t take away her competitive nature. It refocused it.”More importantly, it gave me an outlet for doing endurance sports. Which is something I’ve done since I was 5 years old, actually,” she said.Dana’s ability in this cycle has taken her across the country and the globe over the last decade as a member of Team USA Road Cycling. She has competed in the last three Paralympic Games.On Monday, known as “Patriots Day” in Boston, they climbed into their custom-fitted rides for the 26.2 miles of hills and flats that run from Hopkinton to Boston.One with a goal to complete the course in less than 90 minutes and win for the second time.”Ideally, yeah. That’s the hope and the…expectation. I’m sure it won’t be easy, there are a couple of strong woman who will also be there,” Dana said.Meanwhile, Murphy said one of her goals was to take in the spectacle of the race.”For myself, I will always want to beat what I’ve done before. But I’m also a realist. I know, theoretically, where I will fall in the pack and I am cool with that,” Murphy said before Monday’s Marathon. “My goal this year is to go and have fun and actually enjoy the race.”
The Boston Marathon is special. Each year, it brings tens of thousands of people from all over the country and the world to New England to complete the 26.2 miles.
However, very few can say what it’s like to cross the finish line first.
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“Oh, it was a huge relief.” said Alicia Dana, of Putney, VT. “But part of the reason I was going so fast was to stay warm.”
Dana won the women’s handcycle division in the 2018 Boston Marathon while riding through rain and freezing temperatures.
“That’s a really good question. I almost don’t remember crossing the finish line.” Keeseville’s Devann Murphy told NBC5.
Murphy won the race the following year. She finished second last year.
“Boston’s iconic. That is the race everyone looks forward to every year,” Murphy said.
For Devann, the dream of being a part of the Marathon began some 30 years ago when she was an 11-year-old battling a deadly disease.
“Hanging out at the hospital room and all these people are running out by the river and I said to the nurse… ‘what are they doing?’ Like why are they doing that to themselves? Well, she said they are probably training for the Boston Marathon. Oh cool, I’m going to do that…If I grow up.” Murphy said.
The young girl from Ausable, New York, was in Boston being treated for bone cancer.
It would take her another 20 years before she was racing in marathons with the handcycle.
“(It was) 2014, the first time I stepped on the course and I walked it. Then ’18 I did it and ’19 I won it. So, it was just such a full circle thing.” Murphy added.
Alicia Dana was a competitive skier as a kid growing up in Putney. Her life-changing accident happened as a 17-year-old, falling out of a tree.
It didn’t take away her competitive nature. It refocused it.
“More importantly, it gave me an outlet for doing endurance sports. Which is something I’ve done since I was 5 years old, actually,” she said.
Dana’s ability in this cycle has taken her across the country and the globe over the last decade as a member of Team USA Road Cycling. She has competed in the last three Paralympic Games.
On Monday, known as “Patriots Day” in Boston, they climbed into their custom-fitted rides for the 26.2 miles of hills and flats that run from Hopkinton to Boston.
One with a goal to complete the course in less than 90 minutes and win for the second time.
“Ideally, yeah. That’s the hope and the…expectation. I’m sure it won’t be easy, there are a couple of strong woman who will also be there,” Dana said.
Meanwhile, Murphy said one of her goals was to take in the spectacle of the race.
“For myself, I will always want to beat what I’ve done before. But I’m also a realist. I know, theoretically, where I will fall in the pack and I am cool with that,” Murphy said before Monday’s Marathon. “My goal this year is to go and have fun and actually enjoy the race.”
