From Antarctica to Boston: My Miraculous, Painful 5th Boston Marathon

Lynne Kilirnr(MM12242, DA2065, HF13464) – Boston marathon is in the books, Monday, April 20, 2026, my 5th.
Everything has to align perfectly in order for me to pull this off! 🙏🙏🙏
A month after the challenging Antarctica marathon last march with Marathon Tours & Travel second voyage, i toed the line unprepared and undertrained. Antarctica marathon was my only long run for the Boston marathon.
I got injured 2 days before the Abu Dhabi marathon in December. My right knee got swollen and ortho doc aspirated all blood. He said no running at all.
When i got back home, i asked my doctor if i can do Antarctica 🇦🇶 marathon. He said no running for a month. I just walked and did elliptical. So i was quite undertrained for it. There was also a very strict cutoff time for the first half of the marathon which is 3:15. For some miracle, i made it with 2 minutes to spare. I was so relieved, but i still have the second half to finish with 7 hours time limit to be considered an official finisher. I did it again in absolute miraculous fashion of 6:56:40!
After the race and i got back on Friday afternoon, i signed up that day last minute for a hilly and trail race for a half marathon. Big mistake! It had lots of stairs, rocks and sand. A disastrous combination for my bad knees! Again, my knees got swollen. I don’t know what i was thinking signing up for the hilly half marathon. Although i finished it, i was in very bad condition. So i didn’t do any running again. Just walking, elliptical and my band exercises.
I’m so worried that i might not finish Boston that i didn’t buy the jacket nor the finisher shirt!
I did ok the first half. But after that, i started hurting really bad. My knees started hurting and also my lower back.
Then I saw a friend of mine and tried to catch up with her. We ended up doing run/walk from pole to pole. I probably slowed her down. But I appreciated all the help and support she gave me during the race.
Anyway, i finished Boston marathon before the 5:30 pm cutoff time. I’m an official finisher.
So thankful and relieved and emotional for finishing it.
Next up: Cape Town marathon in one month.

Photo and Post Credit Lynne Kilirnr(MM12242, DA2065, HF13464)