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Alison Skirtboston

Skirt! Boston editor

Skirt! is evidence that the universe is paying attention: I spent the last six years at mach speed, whether finishing college (Emerson) while writing full time for Boston Globe West (2001-2004) or editing the Boston Parents’ Paper during the day while holding down the steady gig writing for Globe ...

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Clearly Jealous

Alison, editor

Were you the one I saw running down Comm. Ave in Newton on Saturday? You enjoyed that little downhill break after Newton-Wellesley Hospital, then the long stretch of relative quiet in the residential area by the golf course, and your heart skipped a beat as you rounded the corner by the firehouse and started getting psyched up for Heartbreak Hill, right?

It was just a training run, but the marathon’s only a couple weeks away now. You don’t have to step over crusty gray snowbanks anymore, and the Saturday runs are almost balmy when it gets up near 40 degrees.

Your legs ache after the 15-milers, but you feel ready. You’re going to do it. Yeah, I know what you’re going through ... and I’m completely jealous.

Every time I see a runner going through the center of Natick, passing the high-heeled shoppers in Wellesley, or dodging the bridge construction on Route 16 it takes me back to the year I was in your shoes. I miss it. But when I walk upstairs alone and hear the crinkly-cellophane noise in my knees I realize I’m better off on the sidelines.

Plus, I can enjoy the experience vicariously and not have to worry about hip replacement surgery: I’ve been watching Kerry get ready for her marathon all winter on http://runkerryrun.wordpress.com/

Love the photos of the feet and snacks she considers (jellybeans are a favorite energy booster of many runners but I was always afraid of choking on a Jelly Belly and ending up face-down out in the middle of nowhere). Note to Kerry: please post your number so we (cube-dwellers) can track you on race day!

And, stay tuned to our He’s So Original feature in April (it will be out in a week!) for a marathon surprise!