By Ponette Kim
Boston University News Service
The 2022 Boston Marathon Expo took place from Friday, April 15, to Sunday, April 17, at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. Over 60 vendors were present at the expo selling marathon-related goods, from running shoes to energy drinks.
This year’s marathon is estimated to bring in around $200 million, around what it brought pre-pandemic, according to the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau. The expo was open to the public, but runners were easily identifiable as they carried around their bibs.
Fifty-three-year-old expo attendee Dionida Ryce, of Long Island, New York, will be running the marathon for the fifth time this year.
“Marathon preparation, for me, was challenging this season because I got injured about a week before my training was scheduled to start, so I’ve had an abbreviated training, which is making me very nervous at this time,” Ryce said. “Not hoping to do my best, but I’m certainly planning to finish.”
Ryce planned on stopping by the KT Tape stand.
“One of the most important things that I’m going to do today is to find a KT Tape stand because my left knee has been unhappy this week,” Ryce said.
Thirty-one-year-old Cara Lightowler, from Massachusetts, is running her sixth Boston Marathon this year. While she wasn’t planning on stopping by anywhere, in particular, she’s just glad that the expo is back in full swing.
“Just glad that it’s back, that we’re here and not wearing masks,” Lightowler said. “It’s nice to see people’s faces.”
Volunteers clad in yellow vests were stationed around the expo, helping attendees make their way around Hynes Convention Center. Among them was 27-year-old Marisa Adams, of Quincy, Massachusetts.
“I was stationed as an expo ambassador, so I was out front at the entrance and helped guide runners and family members coming in and [helped them] figure out where they need to go to pick up their bibs, where they need to go to get into the expo and answered general questions like that,” Adams said.
While Adams is not running the marathon this year, she did run the B.A.A. 5K on Saturday morning.
“I’m excited, it’s been a while since I’ve [run a 5K],” Adams said.
When asked if she had plans for running the marathon in the future, Adams responded “maybe.” “We’ll see what comes,” she said.
