Wellesley College
From WikiRun
| Wellesley College | |
| Location | Wellesley, MA |
|---|---|
| Conference | NEWMAC |
| Division | NCAA Div III |
| Nickname | The Blue |
| Head Coach | John Babington |
Wellesley College is a private women's college that is strategically located along the course of the Boston Marathon. It is one of the historic "Seven Sisters."
Located near the midpoint of the Boston Marathon, the Wellesley College “scream tunnel” is so loud that runners say they can hear it from a mile away. As runners approach, they hear a roar in the distance, like the crowd of a hockey game, but it is a soprano roar. The tradition of Wellesley College students cheering marathoners began in 1897, the first year of the Boston Marathon.
If you’ve never experienced the “Scream Tunnel,” you’re in for an unforgettable experience. In 1982, Alberto Salazar said, “They (the Wellesley College women) were screaming so loudly it hurt.” Michael Goldstein, a runner from St. Louis, told author Hal Higdon(Boston: A Century of Running), “Two miles down the road, I decided to turn back and run the gauntlet again.”[1]
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For many years, the Wellesley women would form on both sides of the four lane highway which runs the length of the campus and narrow the path of the runners so that they would run the gauntlet in only single or double file. If a runner was deemed attractive, they would pinch him on his bottom. However, in 1995, the police installed special fences along the course to prevent the women from leaving the curb of the highway, and now runners have the option of running along the curb. Although the scream tunnel is usually formed by Wellesley undergraduates, when the marathon occurs during Wellesley's spring break, alumna have formed the tunnel instead. |
 2009 T-shirt, front |
 2009 T-shirt, back |
The 2009 Official Wellesley T-shirt was designed by by sophomore Elizabeth Hubertz, found inspiration from the recently popular “Free Hugs” T-shirts. The front of this year’s shirt reads “Free Kisses.” The back reads, “One Day Only: Wellesley Scream Tunnel: Boston Marathon, 4-20-2009.” Hubertz, a member of the Wellesley cross-country team, ran from the scream tunnel to the finish during the 2008 marathon.[2]
Munger Hall is the dorm closest to the marathon route and an organizer of the scream tunnel. John "Black Bart" Archer, of Milwaukee Wisconsin, learned of its involvement and started sending annual checks to the Munger House Council to help students buy oranges and paper cups for the water they hand to the marathoners. Beginning in 1967, Archer had run 21 Boston Marathons until he was injured in an auto accident. In 2002, the residents of Munger Hall raised funds to invite Archer to join them in watching the marathon at the age of 87.[3]
External links
References
- ↑ http://heartbreakhill.blogspot.com/2006/04/welcome-to-scream-tunnel.html Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ↑ http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Releases/2009/040909.html Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ↑ http://www.collegenews.org/x279.xml Retrieved 2009-04-16.