Three lawmakers finish Boston Marathon

While many House members are already concentrating on running for office in the midterm elections, three lawmakers focused on a different kind of running at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, finished her first Boston Marathon, and tenth overall, in 4:48:25, about 15 minutes slower than her personal best time.

Regardless of her time, she said she was still grateful to run the historic marathon, especially in honor of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old killed in the finish line bombings last year.

“It was not my fastest marathon by any stretch of the imagination, but it was by far my best,” she told The Washington Times after crossing the finish line. “It was just a really beautiful day.”

One of her favorite memories of the race were the last 2.6 miles, when she took out her headphones and enjoyed the enthusiasm of the crowd, who wore “Boston Strong” T-shirts and cheered for her and her teammates as “the ladies in orange.”

“They were specifically reaching out to people they didn’t know and cheering them on,” she said. “I just took in the beauty of the crowd.”

Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Massachusetts Democrat, also finished the marathon in 4:02:42. His official Twitter account posted a photo of him on the so-called Heartbreak Hill, a steep hill at mile 20 of the 26.2-mile race.

“Found out the hard way why they call it #HeartbreakHill - only 3K to go! #BostonMarathon #BostonStrong,” he wrote.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts Democrat, also ran the marathon. His spokeswoman Meghan Aldridge did not return a request for his finishing time, because she too was running the marathon, according to a tweet at the starting line from Mr. Lynch.

The three lawmakers were among about 36,000 people ran the marathon this year, according to the event’s website. Event organizers expanded the field for the 118th race to accommodate an increased interest after two bombs exploded at the finish line in 2013.