Marathon Monday is a special day for all Bostonians. Not only is it a state holiday—Patriot’s Day—but it is also a day when people from all over the world come to Massachusetts to run from Hopkington to Boylston Street! I still can’t believe that I was one of those 30,000 people making that long trek in the pouring rain.

Running a marathon is grueling physically and mentally. But your training and the energy from the day keeps you going. Yesterday was probably the worst Marathon Monday, weather-wise, in history. With 100% chance of rain the entire day, we were soaked from the start. From waiting in the rain to get on the bus on Charles Street, to the mud-filled Athlete’s village at Hopkinton High School, to trudging through downpours for all 26.2 miles, this was a Marathon for the record books.

Since this was my first marathon, I really had no idea what to expect when I arrived at the Athlete’s Village. When you get off the buses, you head over to a big tent and basically just try to survive until your wave gets called to line up. There was leftover stuff everywhere, yoga mats, tarps, old shoes and clothes; everything you could imagine was covering the ground from the runners in earlier waves.

And then once it’s time for your wave to head out, we all tried out best not to get our shoes drenched in mud as we left the tent, which turned out to be impossible. But we soldiered on to the start line. Surprisingly, there were tons of people all waiting out in the rain to cheer us on in Hopkinton and Natick and everywhere we went! And I can honestly say that they made the tough journey just a little bit better!

All I was thinking about was getting to Wellesley for the first part of the race because that was the half way point and I knew if I could make it there I could make it home.

But even after making it there, I knew the end was still nowhere in sight. There were 13 long miles ahead of me and Mother Nature was not giving us any breaks. The downpours became more and more frequent, if not continuous. I never thought I would be able to run in water-logged shoes for that long! Even through all that misery, the miles kept coming and going, and as soon as I knew it we were getting to the big leagues, 16, 17, 18…20, Heartbreak Hill, 21, 22. And once we got to 22 I finally actually believed I could do this. We were almost home.

And then when I saw the Citgo sign, I wanted to cry. And I understood why people come back year after year to run this Marathon, Boston is an amazing city. But I wasn’t home yet, still had 2 miles to go. However, I felt a jolt of energy and picked up my pace all the way to Boylston Street.

And boy, can I say that when you make that turn from Hereford to Boylston, it is just the best feeling in the world!

Everyone who runs the Marathon has an interesting story to tell, but the stories I like to listen to are the stories about people running for all the wonderful charities and philanthropies out there. And thinking about that fighting spirit that the Marathon embodies has me so excited about an event coming up on April 29th, HAIRRaising! HAIRraising is a one-day cut-a-thon that brings together the vast network of beauty companies, salons and individual donors, to raise money for Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Center, the nation’s #1 pediatric hospital.

On Sunday, April 29th, over 70 salons in the Greater Boston area will be participating and donating 100% of the proceeds to the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Heart Center. So find a participating salon, and actually Salon Capri was kind enough to invite me in last weekend for this gorgeous bouncy wave you see above, and go get your hair cut or blown out on April 29th to help save children with heart problems! Lets keep the energy of the Marathon going all month and lets all support the children!