"It was a fascinating race," Smith said by telephone, a few hours after he'd completed his first Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 34 minutes and 30 seconds. "It was wall-to-wall fans, both sides of the road, and it wasn't just a single layer but deep most of the way."
Bangladesh RPCV Todd J. Smith finished 82nd among about 14,000 men in the marathon's 112th running to downtown Boston
Atypical runners lead Rochester pack
Jim Castor • Assistant Sports Editor
April 22, 2008
Caption: Alevtina Biktimirova leads #4 Rita Jeptoo, #5 Askale Tafa Magasara and #7 Dire Tune at mile marker 17 in the 2008 Boston Marathon. Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova to win the Boston Marathon by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race. Tune and Biktimirova came into Kenmore Square side-by-side, jockeying for position. Biktimirova appeared to get an edge when Tune nearly missed one of the final turns and ran into a camera vehicle. The Ethiopian quickly composed herself and took the lead before the last turn. Photo: Paul Keleher
A former Great Lakes freighter pilot and a year-round swimmer who converted to running were the Rochester area's top finishers at this year's Boston Marathon.
Ohio native Todd J. Smith, 33, of Rochester finished 82nd among about 14,000 men, and Brockport native Kristen M. Veltz, 24, finished 77th among about 7,000 women on an almost perfect day for road racing Monday in the marathon's 112th running to downtown Boston.
"It was a fascinating race," Smith said by telephone, a few hours after he'd completed his first Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 34 minutes and 30 seconds. "It was wall-to-wall fans, both sides of the road, and it wasn't just a single layer but deep most of the way."
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Smith will finish his bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Rochester next month, then begin his third career at Strong Memorial Hospital.
His first was a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh and his second was piloting 1,000-foot cargo vessels for U.S. Steel across the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
"I did that for six years," he said, "and when I got up to about 190 pounds I said, that's it. You eat too well on a ship." His running weight at the start Monday — 145.
"It's my fastest marathon yet," he said, ticking off the other five 26.2-mile races he's completed; New York City (3:00:27), Nashville Country Music (sub-3); Bangkok, Thailand (3:40, hurting from a car accident); Baltimore (51st in 2:54:51) and Buffalo (eighth in 2:41:35). "I'm not hurting ... I feel like I didn't run to my potential. You know what they say, if you didn't hurt like hell, you're not running hard enough."
Smith's lived in Rochester almost a year now and has run a few races, including the Verona Street Animal Society benefit Furry Scurry 10K in a personal-best 33:31 in June. "I like the longer races," he said. "Boston's a great one. I plan to come back."
