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Steven Palmer and his son, running around the top deck of a cruise ship
For many people, a cruise ship vacation evokes thoughts of relaxation, drinks with colorful umbrellas and beautiful sightseeing. While BWH's Steven Palmer, RN, enjoyed all of these things during a recent cruise to the Bahamas, there was a unique activity he also crossed off his checklist: running the equivalent of a marathon while aboard the boat.
"A day before this year's Boston Marathon, my family, friends and I were on the ship, and I said jokingly, ‘Wouldn't it be funny if I ran the 26.2 miles here?'" said Palmer, Emergency Department nurse-in-charge. "I never thought it was possible."
But on Marathon Monday and Patriots' Day in Boston, Palmer, who has worked at BWH for 19 years, headed to the top deck of the cruise ship where he found a jogging track.
With no pressure, some good music and the sight of the ocean blue everywhere he turned, Palmer's feet hit the track pavement and he started running. After circling the track 150 times, roughly 18 miles, he decided to keep going.
Soon enough, a group of supporters, some sporting Boston-themed shirts, gathered to cheer on the 44-year-old and watch him accomplish his impromptu marathon, which consisted of 210 laps around the track. Some even joined in and ran a few laps alongside him, including his wife and two sons. "I realized while I was running that this was possible, and I thought, ‘I can't stop now,'" Palmer said.
Last year after the Boston Marathon bombings, Palmer couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. He was in Texas at the time and remembers feeling helpless, knowing his colleagues, city and those affected were going through an incredibly difficult time.
Never a runner before, Palmer set out on the streets near his home last June and began building his mileage. He said it was an "inner pull" that drew him to begin running.
Although he wasn't in Boston for this year's Marathon, he felt as though he was running beside his colleagues and the tens of thousands of other runners. "Every one of us could be a part of the day no matter how far away we were," he said.