Goosebumps Before the Gun: Kevin Hebert's First Boston Marathon

DFW Running Talk: Kevin Hebert: Boston Marathon
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Chris: [00:00:00] All right. Welcome to another DFW Running Talk. And before we get to our special guest today, we're actually at the park Plaza Hotel in Boston, the day before the Boston Marathon. Today's special guest is Kevin Bert Hebert, or Abert Hebert. I was trying to be French and dumb, but that's pretty, that's more than I am, but, so you've been on DFW Running Talk before, and so I'm super excited to have you back.

These are 10 or 15 minute kind of quick hits. You are running Boston Marathon for the first time. You excited? Yeah. Super excited. Super excited. So what, tell me a little bit about the race you ran before Boston to qualify what that was like, and then we'll get into your thoughts around Boston Marathon.

Yeah I qualified in December, 2024 at CIM. Yeah. It was my first marathon and it was awesome. It's a great course. I hope to go back someday and see what I can do after it not being my first, but, it was a great experience all around and really enjoyed it. So yeah, I feel like in 2024 you pretty much ran by yourself a [00:01:00] lot, is that right?

Yeah. And you still had Greg Rankin as your coach, is that right? Yeah, that's right. I hired him just like probably 20 weeks or so before that. Yeah. So did some stuff with him before I even started training. 'cause I wanted to get ready, get my body ready to even be able to go through marathon training.

Yeah. 'Cause I knew it was gonna be hard. We had a lot of gains. I had all my longest runs in my life, every Saturday was the longest run I'd had to date. So yeah, it was a lot of preparation just to be able to train. So you didn't get in any trucks or anything to get them to take you anywhere?

From the last podcast? No. Okay. Not anymore. You're not like that anymore? No. That was a long time ago. I bet your wife is this is not the Kevin I used to know. I have a couple buddies in town and they said last night, they're like, who are you? Yeah, you're so focused and disciplined. This is not you in school.

This wasn't you before that. So yeah, it's pretty funny. So tell me a little bit about your training now, because I think you've started running with more people and things like that. Yeah. Just tell me what this been like now and then how you're feeling. Yeah. [00:02:00] This training block, like compared to my first two marathons I did, I did a back to back.

Type of thing from CIM and then I did Eugene. It felt great for both of those, but I felt this training was different. Greg gave me more work. Another added another workout to the we. So for probably six weeks of my training block this time, we did a second workout on Thursdays, which was new from before.

And so the typical kind of Tuesday stuff that you would do intervals or repeats, but Thursdays were always tempos. So we do 12 miles overall and six mile tempos every Thursday. I think again, it was like five or six weeks in a row. And then of course the Saturday long run. I think I ended up with seven 20 plus mile runs this block.

So I was able to get more, more in than I did previously. So it's been a build, Kevin, when you and I used to run together, we ran with DRC and you're like, yeah, man, I just ran two or three times. I get yeah, [00:03:00] twice on Saturday, so yeah, the last time we. We ran together in the half marathon, or I mean in the half marathon DRC group.

You're like, yeah, I'm running two or three times. And then, you're watching the a m call a and m games and things like that, eating a lot of stuff. And so you've come a long way. Yeah. Yeah. I really I've just really enjoyed just the training. Yeah. Like races.

I don't usually sign up for a lot of races, just period. And I just really enjoy the training. It just. Every morning I look forward to waking up, wake up before the alarm and all that stuff. And it's really has been a shift. I don't know what it was, but something that I wanted to get back into it and then was able to keep it going and just really enjoy day to day.

And definitely enjoy the community. Started running with White Rock Running co-op. And then they do group runs where they'll meet up at the same place with PE and then gravitated over to there. 'cause there was a lot more people running my paces. And so I started just joining their groups, just showing up randomly even when they weren't with a co-op and and met a lot of people.

So it's really helped to do a lot of those hard runs. [00:04:00] Yeah. And I think that's awesome and I think that it's really cool. I think you brought your family this time or to this particular race. How exciting is that? It's amazing. Like I was so happy and excited. Our oldest son Gus came who's 10?

Yeah. And he ran the one mile race yesterday. Nice. In Boston here. So he ran a 8 0 4. Wow. And we got to watch him at the finish line video, all that. And just so much joy to see that. And then Brooke, my wife, came with me. She's traveled with me on all my marathons so far. And that's awesome. She is.

We're talking about hopefully getting into London. Hopefully they expand the field so we can do that and doing that next year. So yeah, a lot of good stuff that we're excited about. So that's pretty exciting. So what are you looking forward to the most during the race? What have you, what do you know? Look, you've run with a lot of people that have run this race several times, so what are you thinking about and looking forward to?

And then what is your goal at the end of the day? Okay, so one, I'm just really excited to be able to run with people that I know at Amer. I haven't even been to a marathon where I even knew [00:05:00] anybody else. So one that's super exciting. Yeah. Like you get a shakeout run, there's 30 something people here to meet up with and it's just so calming, I just felt like another, like Saturday long run. Yeah. And so that was cool. And then I'm really looking forward to just the challenge. I know this course, like from everything I've read and heard and talked to everybody out is hard. It's real hard. Yeah. And so it's so hard. Anyways, you know they are.

But I haven't done one like with the hills towards the end. Yeah. But but I'm just super excited for the challenge really to see what. What I can do and so I'm most excited about really the challenge and also doing it with other people that I know. What has the atmosphere been like so far for you?

Oh my gosh. This place is every, we got in Friday to Saturday. Like just the amount of people that are around and out all the way through today. It just grows every day. There's so much energy. We did a shakeout run and did the last two miles. Yeah, this morning with you. Thanks. Thanks for letting me do that with you.

It was amazing. Yeah. I had like goosebumps. Greg's oh, tomorrow it's gonna be amazing. And I'm like, it's amazing right now. Yeah. I can't believe this. So I know I'll be super emotional person making those turns. I know. I'll [00:06:00] probably be bawling. So it's incredible. It's absolutely incredible.

So as Brooke and Gus, are they super excited about not just you doing this, but about being in Boston? What is that like? Yeah, I think that they're super excited to be in here just seeing it all. When Brooke and I first met, I'd go to her races and I was a spectator and I was just like, man, this is really cool.

Just the energy. Everyone's so happy, excited, just everything around. It's just so fun. This place is, it's like I've never been to a Super Bowl, but it seems like Super Bowl atmosphere for the running world. Something that I always say is that this is the Super Bowl of, marathons.

So the best of the best, to me it's, it is certainly a very exciting time to, to be a part of something like this, and I certainly appreciate you getting on. What is your goal? A goal anyways? Yeah. My goal is to run a sub three, which would, it'd be a huge PR for me. Yep. But I've come a long way.

I've run a lot of miles since I started this. So I feel ready for it. I don't, it doesn't scare me. Yep. I think it's doable, but that's just. It's something that I've changed. I used to [00:07:00] never even say what my goals were and stuff. Whenever I started this, I would used to, you'd be like, I dunno.

Yeah, I don't know. We'll see. In my head I knew what exactly what it was. Of course. That's been something I'm like, it's okay to say it, if anything, it helps you get more support from people. They know what it is and you get, you share with them, even before it and afterwards.

But no, I think I'm, I think I'm there and we'll see. It looks like great weather and it'll be all up to me. And so that's kind of part of the fun. You're gonna have great weather. You're in great shape. I'd say go for it. Anything else that we missed or that you would just tell people about, the journey or anything like that?

Yeah, I think mostly just speaking for myself, just enjoy it. Yeah. Everything is obviously a blessing to be able to get to do any of this. And, so fortunate to be around so many like-minded people. Everyone's so happy and just good people who work hard, everybody works hard regardless of any paces or none of that.

It's, everyone puts in the same work and so it's just fun to share that with others and it just. Again, makes me feel good. So that's mostly why I do it. Kevin, thanks so much for coming on DFW Running Talk. Thanks [00:08:00] everybody for tuning into the Boston series. I'm Stetso. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter, DFW running talk.substack.com.

Until next time, thanks Kevin.