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Sheri Piers turns in the third-best time by a Maine woman at Boston, and feels 'great the whole way.'

By GLENN JORDAN Staff Writer April 21, 2009

BOSTON — Sheri Piers strolled up Boylston Street behind the finish line of the 113th Boston Marathon, smiling and laughing. This was a new experience for Piers, a 37-year-old mother of five from Falmouth.

In five previous journeys in this 26.2-mile race, each of which took more than 3 hours, Piers usually finished in pain and frustration, something along the lines of 2008 women's champion Dire Tune of Ethiopia, who moments earlier had been wheeled on a gurney into a waiting ambulance after collapsing at the end of a finish-line sprint.

"I've never had a good experience here," Piers said. "I was overdue."

Piers completed Monday's race in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 4 seconds. Only two Maine women have run faster at Boston: Joan Benoit Samuelson and Emily LeVan.

Running in brisk and breezy conditions with an elite number and her surname in bold black letters on the yellow background of her bib, Piers finished only three seconds behind LeVan's best time, in 2006.

"It was one of those days, you feel you're running on water," Piers said. "I felt great the whole way. It was really weird."

Piers was the 11th woman across the line, less than 5 minutes behind winner Salina Kosgei of Kenya, who edged Tune by 1 second. Piers earned $2,600 for her finish.

Because the elite women started 28 minutes before the rest of field, Piers ran alone for most of the race. Only one man passed her, men's winner Deriba Merga of Ethiopia at Mile 25.

"I remember the first few times I ran this," she said, "the crowd was actually almost overwhelming because you're surrounded by so many people. You kind of feel like you're in a cage. But (Monday) I wanted people to be out there because I was all by myself."

Piers earned her elite number not because she's a professional runner -- as a nurse practitioner she rises before dawn to fit in her workouts -- but because of her 16th-place performance 2:38:46) on a loop course at last spring's Olympic marathon trials in Boston.

"Last year was just a dream thing, here in Boston, doing that," she said.

Last month she dropped out of the New Bedford (Mass.) Half Marathon because of hamstring tightness 9 miles into the race.

"Of course, that's the last race you have and that's all you think of," she said, "that it's going to happen again."

Joining Piers in the area reserved for elites inside a church in Hopkinton before the start was Evan Graves, 27, of Caribou. Graves turned in his best Boston performance, finishing 32nd in 2:26:11.

"The bus ride out was so much less stress," Graves said. "No worries. That was a huge advantage compared to years past, when you've got to take the yellow school bus and there's not a lot of room for yourself. This takes some of the pressure off, mentally."

Chilly temperatures that peaked at 51 degrees seemed almost balmy when measured against the recent 22-degree morning run Graves took in Caribou with his training partner, a 15-month-old golden Labrador named Mister.

"He keeps me honest," said Graves, a health and physical education teacher in Easton.

One of his students, with an older brother who attends a college in Boston, was helping at a Mile 17 water stop and made a sign that read: Go Mr. Graves!

"That makes it special," said Graves, who lowered his best Boston time by more than 2 minutes despite slowing slightly in the second half of his race. "I can't complain after a day like (Monday)."

Nor could Matt Frongillo, 30, of Bar Harbor. He finished 88th in 2:34:29.

"It was pretty dismal in the village (of Hopkinton)," said Frongillo, a swimmer while in college. "Then the sun broke through right before the start and the conditions were pretty good for running."

Wayne Piers joined his wife in breaking 3 hours. After missing the mark by seconds last April, he completed Monday's race in 2:57:05.

Among other Maine-affiliated runners were Matt...