“Since I'm already here, why not do something a bit unconventional,” Marc Tortell, 27, said. He shared a video of himself sprinting ahead in Hopkinton.
By Molly Farrar
2 minutes to read
A German runner competing in the open race of the Boston Marathon this year knew he wasn’t going for a personal best. But, when he found himself at the front row of his wave while waiting on the starting line, he had a better idea.
“Since I’m already here, why not do something a bit unconventional,” Marc Tortell, 27, told Boston.com, “Just do it for the ‘gram and win the start of the marathon.”
Tortell, who is based in Spain, posted his point of view on Instagram where he sprinted ahead of the other runners in his wave to “win the start” of the Boston Marathon, he said in the video.
Advertisement:
He said while other runners were “a bit surprised,” everyone was in a good mood and were “hyped” about his sprint ahead. Tortell previously ran in Berlin, where the whole field starts together with the elite runners.
“I don’t want me to distract them,” he said, referring to the pro runners. “However, since [Boston] was the open race and all of those people in the starting area were good mood, chatting and stuff, so everyone was, I think, like, a bit surprised, but also hyped about it.”
He set a speedy pace in the video. “What have I gotten myself into,” he says, before the end of the video.
Advertisement:
But, speaking to Boston.com, Tortell said the rest of the race went well. In preparation for his upcoming season, he was planning to complete the marathon in about 2 hours and 45 minutes, he said.
“I just sloweddown a bit after the first minute I’d say, and then just kept going with my rhythm that I planned to do. However, I got carried away a bit,” he said, saying he ended up running a 2 hour and 29 minute marathon.
This was Tortell’s first marathon in Boston, and he said he was sponsored by Adidas to travel to Massachusetts to compete. The former pro track runner said the crowd brought high energy after the 18th mile, but spectators especially enjoyed his winning start.
“I really love the crowd,” Tortell said. “Americans are so hyped about sports in general, and you can really feel that, and that’s why I would definitely come back and do it.”
Molly Farrar
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com
Most Popular
In Related News
- Local NewsCommunities are mourning the Concord-Carlisle students who died in a Florida crash. Here’s what we know about them.
- Morning Sports UpdateKendrick Perkins cited Kevin Garnett while crediting Celtics' Game 2 win
