Twenty-five years ago, Bronson Venable watched his first Boston Marathon.
Just 10 years old at the time and already a regular on the local road-racing circuit, he took in the spectacle of the historic 26.2-mile race from the sidelines.
“I remember I was at Heartbreak Hill watching and just seeing everybody running by, and the crowd,” he said. “It was kind of surreal to see how many people were involved, watching and screaming.”
Like so many who have made the trip to witness the world’s oldest marathon, was he hooked from the start? Did that experience inspire him to one day be part of the race himself?
“Never, never in a million years,” he said with a laugh.
As the saying goes, never say never.
This Patriots’ Day, the now 35-year-old Warwick native will toe the starting line for the 130th running of the Boston Marathon. It will mark Venable’s fifth appearance in Boston and his 11th marathon overall.
Coming off one of the best years of his running career, Venable is aiming for a breakthrough performance. The former Bishop Hendricken standout, who now competes for Tracksmith Hare AC, is targeting a personal best when he steps onto the starting line in Hopkinton on Monday.
And there’s more than just pride at stake.
Venable is part of PUMA Project3, a sub-elite marathon program designed to provide talented amateur runners with professional-level support. The program includes elite coaching and top-tier gear, including PUMA’s “super shoes,” such as the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 and Deviate Nitro Elite 4. Venable is one of 300 runners selected to participate at the Boston and London Marathons.
Participants who improve their personal best by three minutes or more will earn a $3,000 reward.
Venable comes into Monday’s race with a best of 2:26:55, which he ran at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. If conditions cooperate, the Bishop Hendricken alum and Iona graduate believes he can take a significant step forward.
“Originally my goal was 2:23:55, which is three minutes faster than my Chicago Marathon,” he said. “But everything I’ve done in training has been geared toward 2:20 pace. You know Boston weather is unpredictable—headwind, tailwind, rain, snow, who knows? Everything has been geared toward 2:20.”
Like any marathon, Boston is a challenging course you can’t take lightly. Despite a mostly downhill first half, runners are tested late by a series of four uphill climbs between miles 17 and 21- commonly referred to as Heartbreak Hill -when fatigue begins to take a toll both physically and mentally.
Venable has a well thought-out plan for how to approach his latest Boston run and give himself a chance to hit his goal by the time he reaches Boylston Street and the finish.
“I think the plan is to go a little more conservative, maybe around 2:22 pace, and then make a move in the second half,” he said. “My real goal is 2:23:55. That would be a three-minute PR, and obviously I’d get the check. But if I feel good, I’m going to let it rip.”
In preparation for Boston, Venable has been logging 100-plus miles per week over the last few months. He has also had a pair of strong races this past month that prove everything is on point. On March 15, Venable finished 11th overall at the New Bedford Half Marathon where he clocked a best of 1:07:16. Just a few weeks later, he took fifth overall at the 45th annual Frank Nealon Boston Tune-Up 15K where he was timed in 47:33.
New Bedford, in particular, opened his eyes at what he can do if all the stars are aligned.
“That race was during a mid 100-mile week. I didn’t even taper,” he said. “It was a 100-mile week and I just did the half marathon to see what I could do. I started the first five miles at 5:15, 5:18 pace. Once I got to mile six it’s game on. The last three or four (miles) were all sub five (minutes), and I was just picking runners off left and right. I was at under 2:20 pace. It was unreal.”
With his strongest training block to date behind him, Venable knows the opportunity is there.
“Everything is pointing to sub-2:20,” he said. “But you never know. The marathon is unforgiving. You have no idea until you start running.”
For Venable, when it comes to marathons, there is no better race than the Boston Marathon.
“If you run marathons. they’re always going to ask you if you’ve run Boston,” he said. “They’re not asking you if you’ve run Chicago or any other race. The first thing they’ll ask you is have you run Boston, have you qualified? For any amateur runner, Boston is THE race to get into. It’s so hard to get into as far as amateur running.”
And you simply can’t beat the thousands of spectators that line the course.
“From start to finish, the crowd is bar none,” he said. “When I did Chicago a few years ago, there is a spot from 15-21 (miles) where it is just dead. You’re by yourself. Mentally you’re trying to pull yourself through. Boston, you get none of that. I get chills every time I talk about it.”
