What a weekend it was for Jimmie Johnson.
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series driver put together a decent enough run on Saturday night in Richmond, finishing 12th in the Toyota Runners 400. But his much more impressive run came on Monday.
As you may have already known, Johnson had been training to run the Boston Marathon for the last few months. And as a fairly established distance runner, he jokingly compared his athletic ability to Tom Brady’s before the race.
But Johnson probably has Brady beat when it comes to marathon running. The 43-year-old finished the world’s most famous marathon, crossing the line on Boylston Street at 3:09.07. It was his first marathon.
“I’m hurting but it was a lot of fun and just an amazing experience,” Johnson told The Boston Globe’s Andrew Mahoney. “At the end of the day … the community and energy within the community of people, volunteers, spectators, and runners – it’s great to see all walks of life smiling.”
Johnson said it also was great to see the support among fellow runners, something that obviously does not happen out on the race track on Sundays.
“We don’t root for each other on in a car race,” he said. “So to encourage everybody while competing is a much different environment.”
The Boston Marathon is no cakewalk, even for experienced marathoners. So the fact that Johnson, who had never run a 26.2-mile race before and had just driven 400 miles Saturday night in a race car, finished near the three-hour mark just is downright impressive.
