BOSTON, Mass.  (April 22, 2014) – Former UMass Lowell distance runner Ruben Sanca turned in a strong performance finishing 21^st in Monday's 118^th Boston Marathon.
 
"I was very pleased with the race I ran," said Sanca.  "I ran a much smarter race than in my last marathon, (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2011.)  I learned a lot about executing my plan."
 
Sanca, a 2009 graduate wearing the uniform of the Whirlaway Racing Team of Methuen, ran the 26-miles in a time of two-hours 19-minutes and five-seconds crossing the finish line 10-minutes and 28 seconds after winner Meb Keflezighi of the United States.  Keflezighi was the first American winner since 1983.  Sanca was the first Massachusetts resident across the finish line. The event attracted some 32,000 runners.
 
"Ruben ran a good race," said UMass Lowell Track and Field Head Coach Gary Gardner who serves as Sanca's personal coach.  "On that course, and that's not an easy course, we were pretty pleased; he ran a good race."
 
Sanca ran a smooth, even, consistent race averaging 5-minutes and 15-seconds per mile over the first 20 miles of the course.  It was Sanca's first time running Boston and only his second marathon.  The course is considered difficult because of the hills in the Wellesley area and Heartbreak Hill some 20 miles into the race. 
 
But that point, Sanca was running alone and had been for a while, and that makes matters more testing. 
 
"It was very difficult around the midpoint," said Sanca, who been on his own since the ten mile marker.  "I was in no-man's land, there was nobody running at the same pace, you try to stay consistent and catch people."
 
As difficult as that might have been, Sanca did get a boost from the crowd along the course, especially as he got closer to Boston.
 
"It was unbelievable," said Sanca.  "On Heartbreak Hill, people I didn't know were chanting my name."
 
The one goal that eluded Sanca's reach was the Olympic standard qualifying time of 2:18:00 that would have earned him a berth, running for his native Cape Verde, in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.   He is expected to try again in the fall.
 
"I learned a lot from the training," said Sanca.  "We'll make some small adjustments.  I think I'm in good shape for the fall."
 
The race chosen will be based on the time needed to train, the course and the competition.  Sanca is hoping to find runners with similar goals.
 
It was the first time Sanca had run in the Boston Marathon, but he was no stranger to the event.  As a high schooler he'd volunteered to work the race on several occasions.
 
Sanca is currently the student Affairs Business Manager at UMass Lowell.  He was a member of the UMass Lowell cross country and track and field teams from 2005 through 2010.  He was a four-time All American and represented Cape Verde in the 5,000 meters at the London 2012 Olympics.