Palmer finishes 4th Boston Marathon

Irma Palmer began to run on April 15 under a cool, light drizzle. 

By the time she stopped, just under four hours later, the Massachusetts sky had dried and the temperature had turned toasty. 

The weather shift that occurred during the 123rd Boston Marathon depleted Palmer, who resides along the U.S. 280 corridor, of her energy and electrolytes. When she reached mile 25 of the 26.2-mile race, she took a break to lean against the side of a medical tent, drained from dehydration. 

“The wheels came off,” Palmer, said reflecting on her race a few days later. 

But that didn’t stop her from forging ahead. After a momentary break, Palmer summoned the strength to push through the final mile until reaching the finish, which she crossed in 3 hours, 56 minutes and 27 seconds.  

It was her first time in four attempts to break four hours at Boston. 

“It’s amazing. It’s exhilarating,” Palmer said of crossing the famed Boylston Street finish line. “It’s tears of joy and elation.”

The Boston Marathon is widely regarded as one of the world’s premier footraces. A small group of professionals vies for a prize purse, but most of the approximately 30,000 entrants pursue personal achievement. And for recreational runners, few achievements compare to competing at Boston. 

What separates the race from its peers is the entry barrier that doesn’t exist at most other road races. Runners must meet a difficult qualifying standard — referred to as a Boston Qualifier, or BQ —  if they want to toe the starting line.  

“The race itself is like no other,” Palmer said. “It’s like the first time you ever go to Disney. It’s Christmas morning for runners.” 

Palmer has experienced that joyous feeling more than many. She completed her first Boston in 2016, as a charity runner for the American Red Cross, and has made the trip each year since. 

The 2019 edition, however, took on extra meaning. It was Palmer’s first Boston since her mother, Olga Leon, passed away in October. Palmer oversaw her mother’s care in her final years and would always spend time with her before and after the race. 

“It’s very sentimental because I did not have that opportunity,” Palmer said. 

Palmer, 52, trained consistently in preparation for Boston, logging up to 60-plus miles per week. Many days she awoke at 3 a.m. to run before work. 

Palmer is a chiropractor who owns Chiropractic Today at the Inverness Corners Shopping Center on U.S. 280. She has exercised since opening her practice in 1993 but only turned into a serious distance runner about a decade ago. She has since completed 13 marathons, the fastest of which she ran in 3:46. 

Palmer said the sport has provided an outlet, especially as she juggled the demands of owning a business, raising a family and caring for her elderly parents. 

“[Running] was a time of prayer and sorting and striving to find gratitude and grace for all this burden that was on my shoulders,” Palmer said. 

The burden isn’t quite as heavy these days, but that doesn’t mean Palmer plans to stop running. 

She trains with a local group, Cadence Run Coaching, and hopes to do Boston for the fifth straight year in 2020. 

 “It’s indescribable: the support, the energy,” Palmer said of Boston. “The whole town is all in.”