It happens once a year.
Thousands of runners from every corner of the earth and from all walks of life flood the Boston proper to compete in the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon the Boston Marathon.
This year, Dean Lee Pelton will be joining this flock of world-class runners.
Of course, running marathons is not the type of thing you would expect from a college dean.
But for those who know Pelton, and for those who have seen him working out at the gym, his spirited urge to tackle these grueling 26.2 miles should come as no surprise.
"I've always been a seasonal runner ... and a year-round basketball player," Pelton said with a smile. "I don't even have a runner's body."
As a tri-sport athlete in high school, Pelton played football and basketball, while also running the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints for the track team.
In fact, it is only recently that Pelton has taken on the role of a hard-core distance runner.
"Last summer, my wife and I decided we wanted to run the Boston Marathon. It's just one of those things we've always wanted to try," he explained.
But first, they had to qualify. And before they qualified, they had to start training.
So beginning this past summer, Pelton and his wife took to the backroads of the twin states, logging mile after mile after mile.
Lately, they have been covering as many as 20 miles a day, often braving the fickle and harsh New England weather just to do so.
You might think the dean is crazy.
And understandably so. Because for most people, the idea of training this hard just to run a marathon is more like a nightmare than a lifelong dream. But for Pelton, it is apparent that long distance running offers a romantic challenge and a gutcheck of sorts.
"To get through long races like this one ... A lot depends on each individual runner's discipline, tenacity, stamina and sense of humor," Pelton said.
Of course, the fact that Pelton finds long distance running "pleasurable" does not hurt his cause any either.
"I really like the feeling I get after completing a tough workout," he said. What is more, Pelton likes having his wife as his running partner, saying that their countryside jogs have provided "good times" for both of them.
Since he started his training regiment, Pelton has already competed in one marathon. "I had to run the Bay State Marathon back in October in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon," he explained. Evidently, he enjoyed that race enough to continue his training through the harsh Hanover winter.
In preparation for the race, Pelton has been doing both distance workouts and short speed workouts.
For the distance training, he usually runs a 20 mile loop from his house out to Lyme Center and back.
Meanwhile, he likes to do most of his sprint pieces on the track here on campus.
Pelton's intense focus and training has already started to pay off. Now well into his taper, he ran a personal best along a nine-mile course earlier in the week.
"I'm definitely feeling pretty good at this point," he said.
As race day quickly approaches, Pelton already has some personal goals in mind for the race. "My numberone goal is to finish," he explained. "My second goal is to finish under a 3:50, and my third goal is to cross the finish line in under 3:35."
So for now, it seems that the only thing separating Pelton from his goals is a 26.2 mile course which zigzags through eight cities and towns.
Nevertheless, Pelton showed little concern about the distance of the race.
"I've been building up lots of stamina over these last few months, so I'm pretty sure I'll finish. But at the same time my number is something like 22,000 out of the 25,000 runners expected to compete, so it may take me up to a half hour just to cross the starting line ... which may complicate things," he said.
According to Pelton, the best thing for him to do during these last couple days is "to just take light easy jogs everyday, to do lots of stretching, to get in lots of carbohydrates and to get lots of rest."
If all goes as planned, Pelton's participation in the Boston Marathon will just be a stepping stone for many more races to come. All in all, Pelton is pretty darn excited for Monday's race.
