With colorful posters held aloft and cowbells clanging, hundreds of people packed Coolidge Corner on Monday to watch Boston Marathon runners enter the final stretch of the race.
Dan Verderamo, who lives on Beacon Street, is hoping to start a tradition of tailgating the race. He and a group of friends spent the day route-side with jalapeno poppers, ham and cheese sandwiches and homemade pizza rolls.
For Verderamo, Brookline is the “best of both worlds” — an energetic crowd just a few miles from the finish line, but not as packed as downtown Boston.
“You’re catching these people at what might be their worst moments,” Verderamo said. “They’ve gone up Heartbreak Hill, and this is one of the moments where it starts to really get packed. You can see a lot of them start to cheer up and take in the hype.”
A short walk east, another table of tailgaters was carrying on its own tradition — this one established more than 30 years ago.
Linda McMillan and Kim Samara have been setting up camp in Coolidge Corner since 1991, passing out water, oranges and wet sponges to runners in their final miles of the race. While the elite runners bring a thrill, the real excitement comes as the day goes on, Samara said.
“The further you get in the race, the more gratifying it is to help people, because they’re the ones who are really struggling,” Samara said.
For McMillan, cheering on runners is both inspiring and personal. McMillan’s husband, a cancer survivor, was treated at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She cheers extra loudly for runners representing the center, she said.
“It’s just amazing, the perseverance that you see,” McMillan said. “I come just to be inspired by people.”
Boston resident Aileen Hickey used to live in Brookline Village, and has returned to Brookline on marathon Monday for the past 10 years. Hickey ran the marathon in 2013, and said Brookline is one of her favorite spots to spectate.
“I come every year here, and I love it,” Hickey said. “I love watching at mile 20-ish, because they are almost done, but they’ve still got a little bit. It’s a nice crowd and a great place.”
Others, like Coloradan Ryann Martin, commuted much further to watch the marathon. Martin and her friend Caitlin Weigel, a Belmont resident, came to Brookline to watch a couple of friends run. They chose Coolidge Corner because of its high-energy crowd, minimal traffic and proximity to a bite to eat, Weigel said.
“It’s our first time coming to the marathon, and it’s the perfect spot,” she said.
As the elite runners began to pass and the volume of cheers and cowbells swelled, Martin and Weigel raised their signs — Weigel’s reading, “Run like the British are coming” and Martin’s reading, “run if you miss brat summer.”
Team Brookline, the town’s official marathon team, ranked 20th out of 289 official charities represented in the Boston Marathon this year for fundraising volume.
Runners for Team Brookline raised more than $374,000 for organizations including the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, Brookline Education Foundation, Brookline Food Pantry, Brookline Library Foundation, Brookline Symphony Orchestra and Brookline Teen Center.
Photos by Brennan Kauffman:
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