The Citizen

KSG Runners, Take Your Mark!

Scott Taylor

Issue date: 5/4/06 Section: Features

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Media Credit: Stephanie Hodge

Stephanie Hodge (MC/MPA) races toward the fi nish line during the 2006 Boston Marathon. Hodge completed the 26-mile race in the fastest time by a KSG student.

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The 2006 Boston Marathon welcomed runners from across the globe for the 110th edition of one of the world's pre-eminent marathons. This year the Kennedy School added to the variety of runners with a number of current students completing the grueling race that starts in the quaint town of Hopkinton, MA and ends 26 miles, 385 long yards later along the crowd-filled Boylston street in Boston's Back Bay.

The fastest time by a Kennedy School student was turned in by elite runner and marathon veteran Stephanie Hodge (MC/MPA).

Stephanie, a native of St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada has run over fifty marathons, starting in 1992 in Botswana. Indeed, Stephanie won that initial race, making her the Botswana National Marathon Champion. Indicative of her elite stature, she was actually invited to run Boston.

Stephanie finished in just under three hours, clocking in at 2:56:04. For her, Boston was special because it felt like she was running on a home course given the time she has spent here and the number of friends and supporters along the course.

Of course, not many runners have Stephanie's pedigree. For many of the KSG'ers this was their first marathon.

Luis Villaneuva (MC/MPA), a mid-career Mason fellow from Mexico City, hopped into the race as a "bandit", without an official race number, at mile 6. In fact he joined the race right when the elite runners went by, including the eventual winner. He managed to stay with them for about five or six yards, and then settled into his own pace.

The highlight for Villaneuva was the section of the course through Wellesley, MA home to the all women's Wellesley College. According to Villaneuva, "there were literally hundreds girls from Wellesley College offering kisses on the cheek. One of them had a sign that said 'Kiss me I'm French' and she was really pretty. I could not resist myself and I stopped for what I thought was going to be a kiss in the cheek. To my surprise she just French kissed me, that was of course inspirational."

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