By Amy Batista, Special Writer
BOSTON – He battled warmer than usual temperatures, a headwind and pain in his feet, legs and hips, but Hightstown High School alum Jeremy Klapper managed to finish his fourth Boston Marathon Monday.
Mr. Klapper, who ran cross country for HHS, wanted to run this marathon in his original cross country jersey, circa 2000. But that one couldn’t be found, but he did end up running the marathon in Highstown Rams uniform.
He said he decided to run in the Boston Marathon because it is the oldest annual marathon in the world.
“In addition, I love the city, the atmosphere and the environment,” said Mr. Klapper.
The historic 26.2 mile course started on Main Street in the rural New England town of Hopkinton and followed Route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley to where Route 135 joined Route 16. It continued along Route 16 through Newton Lower Falls and turned right at the fire station onto Commonwealth Avenue, which is Route 30. It followed Commonwealth through the Newton Hills, beared right at the reservoir onto Chestnut Hill Avenue to Cleveland Circle. The route then turned left onto Beacon Street continuing through Kenmore Square and under Massachusetts Avenue. The course turned right onto Hereford Street then left onto Boylston Street and finished near the John Hancock Tower in Copley Square, according to its website.
M. Klapper said the race proved to be very difficult this year.
“We were dealing with warmer than usual temperatures and a decent headwind,” he said. “I made sure that I drank a water or Gatorade cop at every mile stop and tried to pour one water over my head too. However, I felt fatigued early on in the race, but was able to grind out the miles early on.”
He said that as the race progressed past the 21-mile mark in Newton Hills, he was dealing with strong pains in his legs and hips and with his breathing.
“Around mile 23, I saw my teammate and training partner, Will Appman, who was ahead of me the whole race,” said Mr. Klapper. “I tried to give him words of encouragement to finish strong, but at that point everyone is dealing with their own issues so you attempt to lead by example and lead a path.”
Mr. Klapper’s father, William Klapper of Rutherford, N.J., decided to make a surprise trip and camp out at mile 25 by Fenway Park to cheer on his son.
“The last half-mile of the race is a straightaway along Boylston Street,” said Mr. Klapper. “By that time, I didn’t have much left to give, but somehow finished the race.”
He did more than just finish. Mr. Klapper’s time was 2:38.30, good for 112th place overall, and proved to be a better place and time finish than any of his three previous Boston Marathon efforts.
Mr. Klapper said the highlight of the race was seeing that there were 30,000 other willing to run the marathon.
“You feel like an outsider when you run at night alone or with one person in 10-degree weather in the winter months,” he said. “When you come to a place like this, you realize that you are not alone.”
He said, however, that one can’t get caught up with the camaraderie because at the same time there is a job to do, and that’s to run the race.
“You spend six to 12 months training for one event and you want to see if you are making progress from years past,” he said.
