There's nothing quite like the Boston Marathon, which, as the oldest consecutively run marathon in the world, is rich with tradition.

But the race also is a large-scale event showcasing the best distance runners in the world and accommodating more than 25,000 participants.

The Boston Marathon has been run for the past 112 years on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April. This year's celebration of distance included the U.S. Women's Olympic Trials Marathon on Sunday.

My Boston Marathon weekend began on Saturday with a trip to what might be the largest race expo in the world. Mom and I spent a few hours shuffling through crowds at the hundreds of booths on the Hynes Convention Center floor.

We sampled every kind of sports drink and bar, picked up more race applications than we could run in a year and checked out the latest in running gadgetry.

Then we shopped — discount racks of last year's running clothes, previews of new fashions, shelves of bargain shoes and a department store-sized section of official Boston Athletic Association and Boston Marathon merchandise.

On Sunday, we headed back to Boston for the women's Olympic trials race held in the same format as the men's trials marathon of last October. The race featured more than 100 of the nation's finest distance runners competing on a fan-friendly consecutive loop course.

Spectators on Boylston Street cheered wildly from the start of the race until the last woman finished. Although naturalized citizen Magdalena Lewy Boulet led the field for most of the race, sometimes by more than 2 minutes, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and race favorite Deena Kastor passed her three miles from the finish to win with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds. Boulet finished second in 2:30:19 with Blake Russell earning the third spot on the team with a 2:32:40 .

Also completing the race was Joan Benoit Samuelson, 50, who won the inaugural women's Olympic marathon in 1984.

Monday dawned cool and overcast for the marathon. Unable to sleep, I roused my family early for the trip to the start at Hopkinton.

The town was alive with activity as volunteers attended the 25,000 participants and thousands of spectators who turn this small village into a carnival one day each year. (Picture Saxonburg with 30,000 guests.)

I waited through the start of the mobility-impaired division at 9 a.m., the elite women's start at 9:35 and the first wave of the main marathon at 10.

Finally, my wave of more than 12,000 lined up for the starting gun. I walked to the line, took a deep breath and stepped onto the touch pad beginning my journey to Boston 26.2 miles away.

This was my fourth Boston Marathon and I recognized landmarks along the course — downhill through Ashland and Natick, the Framingham train station and Newton fire station.

But the best of my memories are of the throngs of spectators lining the entire course — kids looking to high-five or offering water and orange slices, rowdy street parties with booming music and beer at 11 a.m., barking dogs, cowbells.

At Wellesley you hear the students screaming a quarter-mile away, then farther on it's Boston College students who keep the energy going.

At Heartbreak Hill, spectators cheer, urge and plead for us to make it over the top. They pick out names or numbers from the river of runners and make it their mission to get that runner through one of the difficult portions of the course.

After Heartbreak Hill, the landmarks of Boston draw runners home. First the giant Citgo sign, then the gleaming Prudential Tower appears and grows larger. Then, after all of the straight miles, the course turns sharply onto Hereford Street.

I turn the corner and see the finish line banner stretched across Boylston Street and realize that I'm about to finish the Boston Marathon. I want this quarter-mile to be over, but I also want it to last forever.

Out of the thousands of voices in the crowd I pick out two familiar ones — Mom and Mark. Then I take one more step across the touch pad and I'm done.

Friday and Wednesday, 12:15 p.m.: Lunchtime run, Cabot. Run 6 to 7 easy miles with me from St. Luke Church. 724-352-2777 or pneubert@stlukecabot.orgSaturday, 8 a.m.: Up-N-Running Group Run, Valencia. 724-898-2525 or www.runpa.comSaturday, 8 a.m.: Hot Harry's Group Run, North Park. Run from 7 to 20 miles. Leaves from Lt. Stone Field.Saturday, 11 a.m.: Ridgeway Triathlon, Ridgeway. Run 5 miles, bike 15 miles, canoe 9 miles. Individuals or teams. 814-776-1146April 30, 6 p.m.: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Meeting, North Hills. Learn how you can run or bike a major event while fighting a major disease. 800-482-8326 or www.teamintraining.org/mailMay 3, 10 a.m.: Team in Training Info Meeting, Cranberry Township. 800-482-8326 or www.teamintraining.org/mailMay 3, 8 a.m.: Flying Pig 10K, Cincinnati. 5K at 10:15. Part of Flying Pig Marathon Weekend events. 513-721-7447May 3, 5 p.m.: Altoona Curve Home Run, Altoona. Choice of 5-mile run or 2-mile run/-walk. 814-695-4467 or contactus@holidaysburgareaymca.orgMay 4, 6:30 a.m.: Flying Pig Marathon and Half Marathon, Cincinnati. Quality race in its 10th year. 513-721-7447May 10, 9 a.m.: Habitat for Humanity Walk, Run, Ride, Natrona. Walk 2K, run 5K or ride 15 or 30 miles. www.habitatav.orgMay 10, 10 a.m.: Run for Sight 5K, Butler. Run through VA Medical Center campus benefits Butler Blind Association's youth summer camp. 724-287-4059 or mgrenek@yahoo.comMay 11, 8:30 a.m.: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K, Pittsburgh. Largest running-walking event in the area with competitive 5K run, 5K fun run-walk and 1-mile walk. www.komenpittsburgh.orgMay 18, 9 a.m.: MS Miles of Smiles 5-Mile Race and Walk, North Park. Also 1-mile accessible walk, benefits MS Society. 724-713-0934 or www.msmilesofsmiles.comSend comments and suggestions to: 435 Cherry Valley Road, Saxonburg, Pa. 16056. Phone: 724-352-4395. E-mail: bigp16@connecttime.net.Pat Neubert is the running columnist for the Butler Eagle.