A view from the start and finish.

From Hopkinton to Boston. No other road race has such a historic one-line description. For members of the American Medical Athletic Association, the journey to Hopkinton is only slightly different than the trip taken by 15,000 runners who congregate in Boston on the third Monday of April for the running of the world's oldest marathon.

This was my second year at Boston with AMAA, yet my first venture to Hopkinton as a non-marathon participant. I last ran Boston in 1989, and the race has evolved considerably. Back then, there were only 7,000 starters. No corporate sponsored "Athletes Village." No corrals at the start. In fact, 1989 was the year that the policemen holding the rope in front of the elite men held it a bit too long and several runners went sprawling on the downhill start toward Ashland.

AMAA's history in this fabled dash from the village green of Hopkinton came to full view for me this year on that same green, near the town's gazebo. It was there that I found a few of our veteran AMAA runners, not just everybody runners but three veteran marathoners. Shoulder to shoulder, they represented over 90 Boston Marathon finishes: Charles Clark, Sam Paris, and Larry Boies, Jr. In fact, Boies would hold the current consecutive Boston Marathon finishers streak, except for a few races where he wore the infamous hand-drawn AMJA bibs.

As we talked with a WBZ-TV4 sports reporter, I further appreciated the history of this great race. AMAA now, the professional division of American Running, and then, an upstart group of physicians committed to running for their patients and themselves. Over these 34 years, AMAA has developed a true living history at the Boston Marathon. Each year, we gather to share professional knowledge to better the sport and ourselves. We also gather to show all Americans that running and walking at any speed is a very good thing.

Dave Watt, AMAA Executive Director