#pcmaboston

[pcmablog]

It's September and the final countdown to PCMA Convening Leaders 2014 has begun! The PCMA events team was back in Boston in August to continue planning for the January event. They met with our Levy Restaurants experts to brainstorm options for the Outside the Box Luncheon and toured Quincy Market, site of the Networking Reception. We are going to knock your (red) socks off this year in Boston! 

In case you haven't heard, www.pcmaboston.com is up and running - check it out!

[pcmablog]

A look inside the Boston Marathon

Boston has many annual events that draw crowds and excite the city, but none as much as the Boston Marathon. This year the city’s 117th marathon will take place Monday April 15, Patriots’ Day.  Patriots’ Day commemorates the history of Boston, remembering the battles of Lexington and Concord at the start of the American Revolution. The Marathon also celebrates a long history of a city coming together to support, cheer on and run together.

The 26.2 mile marathon, organized by the Boston Athletic Association, starts on Main Street in Hopkinton, passes right by the entrance to the Hynes Convention Center, and ends on Boylston Street in front of the Boston Public Library. The race features everything from a Heartbreak Hill to a Scream Tunnel. Here are a few things to keep a lookout for on Marathon Monday!

Watch out for Team Hoyt, a father-son duo running the Boston Marathon in 2013 for the 31st consecutive year. Dick Hoyt pushes his son Rick, who is a quadriplegic and has cerebral palsy. Other notable runners to watch out for include: local celebrity and member of the boy band New Kids on the Block, Joey McIntyre, who will run for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of his mother, and former New England Patriot Eric Alexander, who will be running to benefit the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. Returning champions Wesley Korir and Sharon Cherop will also be on the road, looking to beat their previous times, 2:12:40 and 2:31:50 respectively.

Most Boston students spend Patriots Day cheering on marathon runners. Scream Tunnel is the name given to the route that runs along the Wellesley College campus at the 13th mile. Here, students encourage the runners with screams and occasionally, even a kiss. Heartbreak Hill - between the 20th and 21st mile markers - is traditionally known as one of the toughest components of the Boston marathon, so you’ll find masses of Boston College students flanking each side of the hill to support runners.

And every year in the days before the marathon, you’ll find athletes and fans flooding into Boston’s Hynes Convention Center for the annual John Hancock Sports and Fitness Expo.  The expo is the pick-up location for official runner numbers, but it also features exhibiting companies big and small. Adidas, one of the sponsors of the marathon, has the largest booth on the show floor at 13,770 square feet. Smaller companies are exhibiting everything from the newest developments in compression sportswear to performance gel packs.

The Boston Marathon is an annual event that brings tens of thousands of attendees to our wonderful city and allows us to showcase our tremendous pride, culture and - of course - our competitive spirit. We hope you'll join us next year!

[pcmablog]

Boston is a city of HISTORY, CULTURE, PRIDE & INNOVATION. We can't wait for you to experience our incredible city in person. Until then, we hope this video gets you pumped for PCMA Boston 2014!