Well folks, tomorrow is Patriots’ Day/Marathon Monday here in Massachusetts, which means the kind of lousy weather we’re having is going to affect the Boston Marathon runners. That’s a pity, but I’m pleased that the weather was at least okay yesterday, as my son went to his first major league game with his dad and grandfather. Since he’s being raised in a mixed household (I’m a Red Sox fan as is his grandfather, his father is an Orioles fan), he went with an Orioles shirt/Red Sox hat outfit that apparently was quite a hit with the crowd. My husband was good natured about it, until he got stopped by the MASN camera crew who were wandering around trying to find a few Orioles fans in Fenway. He refused to risk being on an Orioles broadcast with a child in a Red Sox hat, so he pulled his spare Orioles hat out of his coat pocket and our kiddo got his TV debut. We haven’t been able to find the clip, but we’re still looking.

Anyway, with the weather going downhill today, my Dad and I started musing about the worst marathon weather we could remember. I mentioned 2012 when it got so hot that they proactively offered to defer entries, and my Dad mentioned that in 1976 it hit 96 degrees. This led me to a page on the Boston Athletic Association’s website about all the weird weather they’ve gone through over the years.

A few highlights:

• 5 different years saw snow fall on the marathon
• 1939 saw a partial eclipse
• 3 years have seen driving rain
• 1927 saw heat (84 degrees) and a newly paved road that melted under their feet
• At least 4 marathons have been run in 90+ degree weather

I’m hoping that our weird weather gives hometown girl Shalene Flanagan an edge, as I’m cheering hard for her. The last time someone from Massachusetts won the Boston Marathon was Alberto Salazar in 1982, I think we’re due.

One interesting tidbit I never knew about Patriots’ Day: in Maine, it’s legally “Patriot’s Day”, which makes me incredibly happy. That is going to be my go to excuse if I screw it up at any point going forward.