Andler Credits Lasell for Marathon Inspiration

(Co-written with another student)

When the Boston Marathon first began in 1897, there were only 15 runners. Today, the infamous race acquires nearly 30,000 participants, coming a long way from when they started. We all know at least one person that’s running in the marathon. And if not, then we certainly know someone else who’s rooting for a family member or friend throughout the day. On April 16, Lasell alumnus Sarah Andler is running the Boston Marathon for her first time.

Graduated from the Class of 2013, Andler now resides in the Boston area while she studies full-time at Suffolk University for a masters in advertising and public relations. She also works part-time at a software company called Progress, working on the PR team.

During her time at Lasell, watching the marathon go through campus gave her that push to convince herself to run it now. “I think Lasell is what really got me to want to do it, just because we’re watching it every year, it was also such an event. It was really inspiring watching a lot of people, so I thought might as well give it a go,” says Andler.

Andler shares that she’s running with Tufts Medical Center, and raising money for medical research and physician education. “I have to raise a minimum of $6,000. Right now I’m close to $4,000, but if I don’t make it then I pay the remaining amount,” she says, “I chose it because of my family members who suffered with cancer in the past. They went through Tufts Medical Center for treatment, and they were very supportive in a great organization.”

The most important thing she mentions is integrating her workouts with her daily routine--that’s the best way to get accustomed to the preparation work. Andler says, “I train on the route so I get to run by Lasell everyday, it’s awesome.” This will be good for her mentality come race day.

Running 26.2 miles takes huge amounts of mental and physical preparedness as well as managing nutrition. Every year, runners world-wide come together to make the journey from Hopkinton to Copley Square, the well-known Boston Marathon route.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I would run 18 miles, let alone before I ran my first half marathon. I was freaking out saying I can’t do it, but it’s 100% mental. If you want to do it you will do it and that’s the mental stamina I’ve gained over the years,” said Andler.

According to Andler, her coaches have completed over 50 marathons and they credit yoga as being a key factor to effective training and preventing injury. “You have to stretch, do a lot of cross training, focus on your core, nutrition and what to eat before you run is a huge factor. Yoga is the best thing you can do for your body especially in training,” said Andler.

Strategy and pacing play an important role in long distance running. An individual’s energy needs to be conserved while building up endurance to maintain a successful race. Andler says, “My goal is for the first 10k about 10 miles an hour, that’s where I want to stay then move that up every five miles and try to increase my speed.”

Newton is famous for Heartbreak Hill and is the true test of each runner’s mental and physical stamina. “It’s a lot of focusing on the Newton hills and making sure you have enough energy to bring yourself up, it’s the biggest part of the race,” said Andler.

“I think [the marathon] really unifies the city, and brings such a large population of people so much closer together. To be able to unify that through one event is huge, that’s why I really want to run it,” Andler says.