Just past the infamous Heartbreak Hill, a family full of avid marathoners remarked that there’s nothing like running Boston. “It’s the hardest, but it’s the best,” said Bonnie Perchard, whose husband Mike Giblin had already passed mile 21 by 1:20 p.m. — as she said “crushing it.” Perchard, who lives in North Carolina but is from Boston, said she, her mom, brother, and sister-in-law had all done the Boston Marathon. “He’s putting us all to shame,” Perchard said of her husband. “He said he was gonna start running age 50, and there he went flying by. He’s doing it.” There’s “nothing like” Heartbreak Hill, Perchard said, but the energy, the drums at the bottom and especially the fans “get you through it.” Watching from around the area, she said, is “so inspirational.” “The incredible visually impaired runners, the wheelchair runners, the teams that have raised money for organizations — it’s unbelievable,” said Perchard. “Just the human spirit, the incredible human spirit to make it through this. It’s hard.” All feet are beautiful, no matter how messed up When Nicole Santos reached the top of Heartbreak Hill, her friends greeted her chanting her name and collectively shotgunning Coors Lite — in two giant feet costumes. “Marathon runners, a lot of them bond over the fact that they lose nails and bruise their toenails running,” Taylor Chan said, dressed up as a left foot with curly toe hair, one toenail dangling loosely, and another colored black and blue. “And we wanted to attribute that pain with these costumes. And also just wanted a way for her to see us. It’s hard to see people in the crowd.” “The point is that all feet are beautiful,” added Benedict Chiu, laughing. “No matter how (expletive) up they are.” Santos and a large group of friends all flew in from Los Angeles for her fourth marathon. “I cried ten times already,” said Santos, clutching her Coors Lite can, catching her breath and laughing. “I hope I have all 10 toenails by the end.” Running for others One young New Hampshire teacher ran the race Monday honoring two family members in different ways. “My cousin Lindsy (Poulin) is running for the first time for the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress fundraising,” said Katie Garrett, standing with family members in matching blue MDSC shirts on the incline of Heartbreak Hill. “Her younger cousin is actually has Down syndrome, so it’s meaningful for our family. But also, her paternal grandfather ran this twice, and he never finished. And now he’s he’s obviously older, but he’s visually impaired, so I think for her, she really wants to finish it for him.” A PE teacher in Laconia, New Hampshire, Poulin raised about $16,000 for MDSC through events that pulled the community together, Garrett said. Even on Monday, her students came in to line the race course and cheer her on. Poulin’s grandfather is a “strong man,” Garrett said. “I think that’s where she gets a lot of her determination and hard work from,” said Garrett. “She just knows how proud he is of her. He’s a man with not a lot of words, so I think he didn’t really have to say anything, but the fact that he’s here says a lot.” The hit of Mile 21 At Mile 21, 200-pound St. Bernard Dougie attended his fourth Boston Marathon — sleeping soundly through all the noisemakers, cheering and thousands of exhausted runners. “A lot of people stopped and asked to take pictures with him or pet him and things like that,” said Dave Henry, awaiting his sister-in-law Patricia Thompson running the marathon just past Heartbreak Hill with Dougie, a baby secured to his chest and a large group of enthusiastic family. “So he is certainly the hit of mile 21.” At four-years-old, Henry said, Dougie has now come out to watch the marathon every year of his life. Moments late, more spectators stopped to fawn over the giant snoozing dog, reaching in to scratch his head. 25th Boston Marathon in a row Linden Butrym first saw her dad Robert Wilson run the Boston Marathon in 5th grade — now he’s 64 years old, has run 88 marathons, 31 Boston Marathons total and 25 Boston Marathons in a row. “I was in fifth grade, so I remember just being in awe of him and thinking he’s just an incredible person,” said Butrym, who came from Croatia with her 9-month-old son and husband to watch her dad run. Butrym said she was learning about the American Revolution in 5th grade, so her dad brought her and her four younger siblings to watch the marathon and then visit the Freedom Trail. Throughout her life, Butrym said, her dad has “always been about endurance.” “He’s an ER doctor,” said Butrym. “This has always been his passion on the side, and it just fuels him. “And he always says running clears his mind, which I personally don’t understand,” she added, laughing.