SOUTHAMPTON — Gareth Buckley’s pace had slowed considerably by the time he reached the final lap of his virtual Boston Marathon.
The South Hadley resident had four miles left when he took a pit stop at his parents’ home, where a cheering section of family gathered for his 26.2-mile run.
Buckley, 44, got a quick drink then took off up Manhan Road toward the Tighe Carmody Reservoir gate. There, he turned around and made one final loop, from Manhan Road to Wyban Road, North Road and back home on Russellville.
When he turned the corner toward his childhood home, Shane, his 9-year-old son, and his cousins held tape across a chalk-colored finish line. Upon finishing he was greeted by his family, which included his wife, Kristen, mom Elaine and father Ed.
The 2019 Walter Childs Marathon winner wasn’t close to his qualifying time, but he finished his solo marathon in 3 hours, 31 minutes.
“I set off on a little quicker pace to go a little faster but once I got 10 miles in I definitely started slowing down,” Buckley said. “It’s not the ideal time to be doing a marathon in the middle of the day with the heat and everything.”
Monday was the first day of the virtual 124th Boston Marathon. The event ends next Monday for runners who qualified for the 2020 edition and who signed up for the virtual event. About 30,000 runners typically participate in the Boston Marathon, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 17,000 runners worldwide have signed up for the virtual run.
This was Buckley’s first Boston Marathon. It was his second marathon overall, after winning the Walter Childs in 2:59:59 to qualify for Boston.
“Honestly, I’m not really into huge crowds of people and everything, but my dad’s done it like 10 times,” Buckley said. “I was trying to keep the family legacy going.”
Buckley’s course turned out to be tougher than Boston, with a total elevation of 1,700 feet. Shane Buckley would jump in the quiet road holding either a bottle of water or date-orade when his father passed. After hydrating Buckley tossed the bottle to the side as Shane and his cousins raced to pick it up.
“I wanted it set up so my family could be here watching, have the aid station I could go by every four miles or so,” Buckley said. “There’s really nowhere flat around here so I did the best I could.”
Buckley’s postrace drink of choice was iskiate. Buckley, a vegan, learned about the drink from a book titled “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. The drink, crafted by the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, consists of lime juice, chia seeds, maple syrup and water.
Exhausted from his run, Buckley said he would consider running the Boston Marathon in the future.
“The one thing I did enjoy was setting up the course,” he said. “It was like being a race director. It’d be more fun to run with other people and let someone else worry about all the details.”
While Buckley will receive his first Boston Marathon finishers medal, Bill Romito will take aim for his 34th straight medal on Tuesday.
The 66-year-old Leeds resident will begin his virtual marathon at noon at Look Park in Northampton. He plans to run 21 laps to reach the 26.2-mile mark.
“It was a good goal to have,” Romito said of the virtual run. “Everything else has been canceled so I had to have some goal to train for. I figured I’d do that and they count it as another year in my streak so that was an incentive.”
Romito is a member of the Quarter Century Club of the Boston Marathon, which was formed in 2001 to honor the achievements of Johnny Kelly. There are 82 active runners in the club. Topping the list is Bennett Beach, 69, of Bethesda, Maryland, with 52 straight Boston Marathons. Romito is tied for 15th with 33.
Marathon officials gave two options for runners with streaks. They could either run the marathon virtually and have it count toward their streak, or skip the race and not have it count against them.
The choice was easy for Romito.
“I knew that most of the Quarter Century people wouldn’t pass up the chance to do it and I didn’t want to fall behind,” he said.
Tuesday will be Romito’s 214th marathon. His best Boston finish was 2:38:45 in 1995. He said he misses everything about the Boston experience.
“I usually take the bus with the running club from Springfield, the Springfield Harriers,” Romito said. “Getting up early, getting on the bus, everybody talking before the marathon, the start with the thousands and thousands of people, the whole route itself. There is nothing like it.”
He plans to take it slow and steady on Tuesday. It will be his only virtually race.
“Hopefully, Boston will be back next year,” Romito said.
Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Follow on Twitter @mikemoranDHG.