Freeman Finishes Among Top Half At Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is one of the most well-known and prestigious distance races in the world and now one Bloomfield native can add it to her list of accomplishments. 

Jackie Freeman finished the marathon on Monday with a strong performance. Running at an average pace of just 8:58 per mile and sporting bib number 19555, she finished the 26.2 mile race at a time of 3:54:43. That time was good for 5,034th place out of all the women in the race and 14,116th of the more than 30,000 runners. For her age group, female 18-39 year olds, she finished 3,174th.

This year's 121st Boston Marathon kicked off 8:50 a.m. EST with the competitors starting in waves throughout the morning. The event was held on a Monday for the 49th consecutive year, on the day now known as Patriots Day. It also marked the fourth anniversary of the April 15, 2013 bombing.

​The Boston Marathon was first run in April 1897, inspired by the revival of the marathon for the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. It is the oldest continuously running marathon, and the second longest continuously running footrace in North America, having debuted five months after the Buffalo Turkey Trot.
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The Boston Marathon is open to runners 18 or older from any nation, but they must meet certain qualifying standards. To qualify, a runner must first complete a standard marathon course certified by a national governing body affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations within a certain period of time before the date of the desired Boston Marathon - usually within approximately 18 months prior.