Highland Park Woman To Join Scream Tunnel At Boston Marathon
Scream Tunnel A Family Tradition For Wellesley Junior
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- For 21-year old Elizabeth Kapnick, attending Wellesley College is a family tradition.
"My mom went to Wellesley and graduated in 1983," she siad.
Participating in the famous "Scream Tunnel" at the Boston Marathon is too.
"Wellesley is stressful academically at certain times so to have this one day where classes are canceled, usually the sun is shining, we're all outside, we're all eating, dancing, screaming and dancing; it's my favorite day of the year," said Kapnick, a junior.
The "Scream Tunnel" is at the halfway point of the Boston Marathon, where students line the race route for about a quarter of a mile. Runners say it's so loud that it can he heard well before they arrive.
Hundreds of Wellesley students and alumni come out en masse to line the marathon route, waving posters, handing out water, cheering, and even offering kisses for the runners.
"I know they love it and it motivates them to finish," Kapnick said.
She said the Wellesley campus was shaken up just like the rest of the world after the bombing at the finish line last year. She said this year's Scream Tunnel has extra meaning.
"It's really important to not let what happened last year ruin or take a way any of the joy, in fact I think we should bring more joy this year and that will not bring spirits down,"
The tradition of the Wellesley "Scream Tunnel" began during the first-ever Boston Marathon back in 1897, when Wellesley students cheered on a particular favorite, "thus setting a precedent for vociferous support for the runners," according to the Wellesley College website.
