Mike Heiliger won't be confused for a member of the Dropkick Murphys, but he will be shipping off to Boston as the only Squamish resident to take part in the 2011 Boston Marathon on April 18.
Heiliger qualified for the race after posting a time of 3:20:57 in the 2010 Vancouver Marathon last May. He placed third out of 135 racers in his 55-59 age category and Heiliger said it's always a thrill to race in Boston.
"It's quite a feeling to race in the Boston Marathon," he said, noting that it will be the third time he's competed in the event. "The thing I like about Boston is that it's a qualifier, you can't just sign up, so it's a special feeling to be on that start line."
Heiliger previously raced in the 2008 and 2009 races and admitted that making his debut three years ago was nerve wracking.
"I remember my first year I was standing on the start line and I looked down at my heart rate monitor and I was already way above what my rate was supposed to be," he said. "It's really about the prestige of being able to run in Boston."
Heiliger pointed out that the Boston Marathon is becoming more and more popular, with registration capped at around 20,000 participants. He noted that organizers are making it more difficult to qualify for the race, as they are planning on dropping the qualifying time by up to five minutes for each age group next year.
According to Heiliger, the atmosphere at the Boston Marathon is unmatched.
"I remember my first year on about mile 10 or 12 you run by [the all-women's] Wellesley College and they have some sort of ritual where before you graduate you need to kiss a runner," he said. "And just the energy you get from the people is incredible. There's people on the side of the road for miles and they're just screaming at you the entire race. If you go into a bar after the race and say you just ran the marathon, you don't have to pay for a drink."
Approximately 500,000 spectators line the course and it's the most widely viewed sporting event taking place in New England.
"Boston is a race that's not hard physically but it can be tough mentally," Heiliger said. "But above all it's the most special race I've ever been a part of."
Heiliger is a self-described late bloomer to marathon running. His first big race was the Sea to Summit back in 2000.
"I thought I was in good shape before that race, but I wasn't," he said.
After that first race, Heiliger joined the North Shore Athletics running group and began entering several local races. He has now worked himself up to a run leader with the group and trains several times a week.
Heiliger, who moved to Squamish in May last year, said he loves his new hometown.
"I was actually almost born here 58 years ago," he said. "And I spent the first two years of my life here before moving to North Vancouver. I finally moved back here in May but I've been wanting to move back for the last 20 years. I just love it here."
He said his main goal in Boston is to have fun and soak up the atmosphere, but admitted that it would be nice to post a good enough time to qualify for the 2012 race.
For more information on this years Boston Marathon, visit www.baa.org.
