Storm Threatens to Slow Marathon Times, Boost Dropouts

Apil 16, 2007 — -- For many people, running a marathon is a lifelong dream. They train for months, pounding the pavement for the chance to prepare their bodies to make the 26-mile trek on race day.

Twenty-seven-year-old Rocky Prozeller of Boston fits into the category of marathon dreamer.

"I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to check it off my to-do list," said Prozeller.

On Monday, he's not only running his first marathon, he's running "Boston" -- one of the most prestigious marathons in the world.

There's just one catch.

"All week long my co-workers have been trying to tell me about the weather. And I haven't let them say a thing," he said. "I finally got up the courage to look at the paper this morning, and it looks like I'll be running in some of the worst weather in the history of the marathon. I just want to get back into my bed and pull the covers up."

Prozeller and more than 22,500 other athletes will be running the 111-year-old Boston Marathon smack dab in the middle of a vicious Nor'easter.

Forecasters expect the powerful storm to dump up to five inches of rain in the Boston area. Temperatures are likely to be in the 40s for the start of the race, but it will feel much colder because runners will also heading straight into a strong 20 to 25 mph easterly wind, with potential gusts up to 60 mph.

Peter Gilmore, 29, will also be running Boston. Gilmore placed seventh in last year's Boston Marathon -- the top U.S. finisher. Although Gilmore trains in San Francisco, where wind and rain have been known to disrupt his training runs -- he's not looking forward to the messy mix of weather in Boston this year.

"It's a negative. There's no question, the only question is how much of a negative it's going to be," he said.

Elite runners tend to run in packs. They try to conserve energy by taking turns running behind one another, known as running in someone else's downdraft. But no matter what strategy they adopt this year, a strong headwind is likely to sap some extra energy.

"Right now, I'm trying to decide between two pairs of gloves," Gilmore said. "One is a couple of ounces heavier than the other and my arms will be moving a lot and that extra weight could make me less efficient. Everything makes a difference when you're running 180 steps a minute."

That's 180 steps a minute for a total of 23,760 or so steps in total if Gilmore comes close to his 2006 time of 2:12:45. But this year, he'll be fighting a strong wind every step of the way.