1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,480 You're listening to episode 308 of a marathon running podcast. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:06,960 In this episode, we're going to talk about all things Boston 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:11,040 2026. Welcome to the marathon running 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:13,920 podcast by Marathon Journal. Join us every week for the 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,560 insights and inspiration you need to get from the starting 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,640 line to the finish line and beyond. 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:26,680 Hey, runners, and welcome. My name is Letty from Marathon 8 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:28,480 Journal and Marathon Running Podcast. 9 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,440 Welcome and thank you so much for tuning in and being here 10 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,720 with me. This episode is one that is also 11 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,360 going to be available on YouTube as well as on your regular audio 12 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,040 platform because we're talking Boston, right? 13 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,040 This is, after all, a marathon outlet. 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,080 And if we're not talking Boston, one of the races that everybody 15 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,960 tries to be queued for, then what are we really doing, right? 16 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,200 So in today's episode, we're going to cover all sorts of 17 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,080 things all related to Boston. If you are watching, there will 18 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,360 be time stamps. If you're listening, then you're 19 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,000 just at my mercy of discretion of how much time I want to spend 20 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,480 on each topic. The topics are going to be a 21 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,640 little bit of history about the Boston Marathon. 22 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,880 We're going to talk about qualification times and what has 23 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,120 changed in the years. We're going to talk about course 24 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,400 and strategy and at that point I'm going to insert a recycled 25 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,160 piece of information that I used last year. 26 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:18,840 It was Coach Kristen's course description and course tips for 27 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,200 the Boston Marathon. That is always really important. 28 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,880 Even if you have run the Boston Marathon in the past, that has 29 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,800 nice quick reminders of where to save your legs and where not to 30 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:29,280 do that. Then we're going to talk about 31 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,680 the updates that have happened to that race in 2026. 32 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,000 Hint, it's going to be the fact that there is no 6 waves to this 33 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,560 race. And then we're going to touch on 34 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,080 the events that surround the Boston Marathon. 35 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,640 Because if you know anything about the Boston is that it's 36 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,920 the Mecca of all marathons. Because if you should know one 37 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,800 thing about the Boston Marathon, it's not just the Boston 38 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:50,960 Marathon. It is the Boston Marathon 39 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,200 weekend. There's tons of events that are 40 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:54,960 happening around the Boston in Marathon. 41 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,320 Starting Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 42 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,640 Monday, even Tuesday, there's going to be events. 43 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,320 We are collecting them and putting them onto our website, 44 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,320 which will be linked below. It is a calendar that I've 45 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,120 created that I continue to update with a map. 46 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,400 So literally you see what event is where. 47 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,400 You can click on the location. It'll take you straight to 48 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,600 Google Maps just to make everything easier. 49 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,960 And then it also has the link to the events website where you can 50 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,240 RSVP for those events. We're going to continue 51 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,480 collecting these events all the way up until Boston weekend. 52 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,720 So you will have tons of things to do, which I'm not saying you 53 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,000 should be attending any of these events, right? 54 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,520 If you are serious about your Boston Marathon and you got to 55 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,560 put your head down, back down and just focus on your race. 56 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,600 But if you are more like me and look at Boston as a victory lap, 57 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,760 a celebration, then you want to go and do a lot of these things 58 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,240 that are available to do there. So we're going to have that for 59 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,800 you on that website. And all throughout the episode, 60 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,600 I'm going to sprinkle a little bits and pieces of knowledge and 61 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,680 little small details in it. And hopefully after you're done 62 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,600 listening to this episode, you'll be happy and content and 63 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,120 ready to go to Boston. That's enough with the intro. 64 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,000 Let's hop right into the first subject and we're going to talk 65 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,640 about Boston, the history of it, and why Boston is so special. 66 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,120 All right, so the first Boston Marathon happened on April 19, 67 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,920 1897. So that is a really long time 68 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,520 ago. That's 130 years. 69 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,400 This is going to be the 130th running of the Boston Marathon. 70 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:24,320 The Boston Marathon was inspired by the 1896 Olympics and created 71 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,640 in Boston. So it's pretty wild to think 72 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:29,080 that this marathon has been around for that long. 73 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,880 Really, there's been two world wars, all kinds of stuff going 74 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:38,120 on, and the Boston Marathon kept on being run except for in 2020 75 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:40,800 when we had COVID. But we all got our virtual 76 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,920 packages and we're able to create a Boston Marathon route 77 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,880 wherever we live. At the time, I was and I'm still 78 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,440 living in Florida, so it was a hot Boston Marathon, but it was 79 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:52,760 really cool. It was something different, 80 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:54,040 right? Anyway, let's stay on the 81 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:56,560 subject. Let's talk about why the Boston 82 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,680 Marathon is so special and not just the fact that it's just 83 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,120 really old. Boston Marathon is a point to 84 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,560 point race. It goes from Hopkinton all the 85 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,440 way to Boston, which that includes 8 cities. 86 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,160 It's a net downhill marathon, but do not let that fool you, it 87 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,720 isn't it downhill? So there's some downhill and 88 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,920 that downhill happens to be at the beginning of the course. 89 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,800 So literally the 1st 4 to 5 miles, I want to say you're 90 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,280 running downhill and you can literally ruin your quads if you 91 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,320 go out too fast. Or at least most people complain 92 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,400 about that. And then when you're going out 93 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,360 on your race and you're racing too fast because we all get 94 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,200 excited at the starting line, then later on you pay for it 95 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,880 because later on you'll have the hills and those will punish you. 96 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:44,160 And again, we're going to do a course review shortly, so I'm 97 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:45,960 not going to spend more time talking about this course. 98 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,040 The weather when it comes to the Boston Marathon is always a huge 99 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,200 factor. Also, that weather can make or 100 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,160 break you. You've heard about the, I think 101 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,400 it was 2018 Boston Marathon when a downpour and literally people 102 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,200 dropped out left and right because it was just really cold. 103 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:07,240 I have done Boston, I want to say 3-4 or five ish times and I 104 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,520 always enjoyed the course, but it was always a little bit 105 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,480 unpredictable. I've had some really hot 106 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,040 Boston's where you just have to decide to take a foot of the 107 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,920 pedal and just enjoy the nice weather, maybe even get a 108 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:18,720 sunburn. And then I've had really cold 109 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,080 Boston Marathons where I was sitting freezing in the tent 110 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,640 waiting my turn to start. So the weather is unpredictable. 111 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,960 The crowd is large. There is 30,000 runners ish 112 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,160 participating in the Boston Marathon and the fact that the 113 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,640 Boston Marathon starts on the streets with just one lane going 114 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,400 each way doesn't really enable this race to get much bigger. 115 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,920 I think 30,000 runners is already a lot of runners. 116 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,560 The times that I have run, the one that I most enjoyed was when 117 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,400 it was the one post pandemic where we were all allowed to do 118 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,200 a rolling start. That was absolutely awesome 119 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:55,720 because everything was spread out. 120 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,000 Other than that, most of my Boston experiences were a little 121 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,040 bit cramped because I would be in corral. 122 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,520 B&B is not a so you are kind of stuck running downhill with a 123 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,080 herd of people, which totally prevents you from going too 124 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,240 fast, which could be a good thing. 125 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,000 But at the same time, if you're constantly having to break, 126 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,760 that's just something else. But all the majors are kind of 127 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,280 getting crowded these days, so it's just kind of something that 128 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:21,920 we have to deal with. But it looks like Boston try to 129 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,040 fix that by adding more waves and we will talk about that 130 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,200 shortly. Another reason why Boston in my 131 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:31,880 mind is so special is because it is a race that you have to earn 132 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,200 a spot for. It's not a lottery race. 133 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,680 And when I say earn a spot, I mean there's two ways of earning 134 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,440 your spot. 1, you can raise funds for a charity that accepts 135 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:44,120 you or two, you run a qualifying time. 136 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,680 Both of those are equally hard. And my brain raising funds is 137 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,040 amazing, especially when it goes to a good cause. 138 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,960 Running a qualifying time is equally amazing because that's 139 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,280 also really hard work, the qualifying time as we have an 140 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,160 influx of people doing these mass participation events, 141 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,720 running more, you have a ton more runners that obviously you 142 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,240 have a bigger volume of runners. A lot of runners are going to 143 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,160 run faster. So the demand is higher. 144 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,000 Supply, demand, demand goes up, supply stays the same. 145 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:19,280 So that's why it gets harder and harder to qualify for Boston. 146 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:24,480 And right now, if you are a male between 18 and 34, your 147 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,960 qualifying time is no longer 3 hours, it is 255. 148 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,280 For a female, that equivalent is 3 hours and 25 minutes. 149 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,560 And I have seen these times go down. 150 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,160 I ran my first marathon in 2009 and back then I figured I would 151 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:41,720 just age into Boston and I never really tried. 152 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,680 And then ten years later I decided maybe I should do 153 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,920 trained marathons and get a Boston qualifying time because 154 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,000 it could not age into my qualifying time. 155 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,280 My qualifying time had actually gone down and so that's why I 156 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,240 had to actually sit down and get a training plan and follow it. 157 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,720 And funny enough, I think this demand will just get higher and 158 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,400 higher and there is no bigger streets available. 159 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,960 So unless Boston does what London is talking about and 160 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:15,640 turning it into a 2 day event, which who knows, then I think 161 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,160 the demand will just keep getting higher and higher. 162 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:24,400 And there we are. So even if you run these 163 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,800 qualifying times, that doesn't mean you get an automatic spot. 164 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,000 These qualifying times solely allow for you to apply to the 165 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,200 Boston Marathon. And then depending on the number 166 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,000 of applicants that have applied for this race, you will or will 167 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,120 not be selected. Because they do a selection 168 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,400 process where they select the fastest of each age group and 169 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,760 then come up with a time buffer. And I'm sure doing that math 170 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:50,880 must be really exciting for those people in charge. 171 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,200 It must be a headache, honestly, but they do it anyway. 172 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,680 And kudos to them for coming up with these buffers. 173 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,800 So if you want to not just qualify for Boston but also run 174 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,080 it, then it is always good to create a as big as possible 175 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,720 buffer between your qualifying time and the time that you 176 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,160 actually run. In a perfect world, you'll give 177 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,680 yourself a 10 minute buffer. It doesn't always work out that 178 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,440 way, but that's why I think Boston is Boston. 179 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,200 Let's move on to our next topic and finally get to what you guys 180 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,640 are here for, maybe the course breakdown. 181 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,200 So I'm going to now share the content that I had in our 182 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,640 episode Everything about Boston last year. 183 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,120 This is the course breakdown with Coach Kristen, who has run 184 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:33,800 Boston many, many times and is very familiar with it. 185 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:35,560 Since nothing with the course has changed. 186 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,160 If you are watching this on YouTube and you do not want to 187 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,280 listen to this part, you can look in the timestamps down 188 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,600 below and skip to the next part. Here we go. 189 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,920 So overall, a couple of stats. The race is a net downhill. 190 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,440 The net of the downhill is 460 feet. 191 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,440 There is a significant amount of climbing. 192 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:03,840 There is 815 feet of climbing. So that descent then is 1275 193 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:08,560 feet. I say that because people have 194 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:13,760 different definitions of downhill that can encompass many 195 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:19,000 different types of courses. Boston is correct in that it is 196 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,960 a net downhill. However, that 815 feet of 197 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:27,120 climbing is not easy and particularly when it comes those 198 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:31,200 Newton hills, it is late in the race and they are stacked 199 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,080 together back-to-back to back-to-back. 200 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,200 So that's what makes it complicated. 201 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,320 But we will just go through the course. 202 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,560 I like to just break things down in little pieces so you have an 203 00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:47,960 order of operations in your brain so you can sort of chart 204 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,600 things out as you go along the day. 205 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,960 The race is a point to point course. 206 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:59,120 You start in the the West and you travel east towards Boston, 207 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:03,920 which is right on the harbor Harbor as I say on the water. 208 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,400 And so that is the direction of the course. 209 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,560 Overall. You will start in Hopkinton. 210 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,880 The first mile of the course is the largest downhill of the 211 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,760 entire day, so don't be surprised when you're getting 212 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:26,240 off the starting line and you are rapidly tossed into a 213 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,680 descent. It is 139 feet down in that 214 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:36,040 first mile and that is a -4.3% grade so it's not small. 215 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,760 And with also within that first mile you have a 40 foot climb. 216 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:46,080 I like to say the first mile is representative of the entire 217 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,040 course in that there is basically nothing flat on this 218 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,880 course. You are not just travelling 00 219 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,440 for any significant distance in this course. 220 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,920 You are going down, you are going up, you are going down, 221 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:06,680 you are going up continuously over and over for 26.2 miles or 222 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:09,960 42K. So that first mile really 223 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:16,400 encapsulates the entire race from that first 5K. 224 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,960 Really it's overall, the overall net of that first 5K is downhill 225 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:27,240 and there is, as I mentioned, some UPS, but overall net 226 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:35,280 downhill from the next 5K. You have Ashland and Framingham 227 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,600 and that is essentially the flattest section of the course. 228 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,360 It is not flat, but it is the flattest section for Boston. 229 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,640 And so this is really one of those places where you can start 230 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,080 to settle in. The other great part about 231 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,000 particularly Framingham, which comes right at the 10K mark, is 232 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,320 this is when the course begins to open up. 233 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:02,160 So early on the 1st 10K of the race. 234 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:05,840 You should not be surprised if you are boxed in. 235 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,880 You should not be surprised if you feel like you're a little 236 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:13,040 congested and you cannot get your full stride. 237 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,000 You cannot get into your full flow. 238 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:20,520 That is to be expected. I do not recommend trying to 239 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,200 push around people. I do not recommend trying to get 240 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:28,120 anxious and waste energy trying to dart around. 241 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,680 Instead, I recommend just being patient. 242 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:35,120 The marathon's a long race, so you know if you have to be 243 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,880 patient in the 1st 10K, that's an OK place to be patient. 244 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:45,200 And then it starts to open up. The roads become much wider. 245 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,520 They really double in width as you go along. 246 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,440 So again, there's no reason to get panicked. 247 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:55,560 Just go with the flow. Once you get through that first 248 00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:01,120 10K, there is there is an overall climb and then an 249 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,960 overall drop. And again, these things happen 250 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:08,080 in small pieces but also in larger chunks. 251 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:15,440 So there's a climb from 9.5 to 11.25 and this is one of those 252 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,960 long gradual uphills. And then you have a long gradual 253 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:23,840 downhill from 11.25 to mile 13.1. 254 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,440 This is going from Natick through Wellesley. 255 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:33,960 This part of the course really it's you can start to get into a 256 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:35,440 rhythm. People are going to start to 257 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:40,840 spread out a lot more, as I mentioned, because there are so 258 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,080 many ups and downs. You really want to start to go 259 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,640 your own pace. Don't try to chase people. 260 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,000 If you're slowing down a little bit on the uphills, that's fine. 261 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,120 Some people prefer to do that and then and then use the 262 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:00,160 downhill as their extra little power boost. 263 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:05,800 You need to really use your own judgement and as I I recommend 264 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,960 for everybody really this entire race should be effort based. 265 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:14,680 So hopefully as you're as you've been training, you know what 266 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,440 effort should feel like for marathon pace. 267 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,680 You know what effort should feel like on hilly terrain. 268 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,120 Hopefully you've been doing training on hilly terrain and 269 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,560 you know what to expect with the undulations, the UPS and the 270 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:30,640 downs, and how your body best responds to that. 271 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:37,000 So really start to internalize what you are doing and how you 272 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,560 are feeling and how your marathon pace should feel. 273 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:44,840 This is what you should do. But especially once you're about 274 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:47,280 at the halfway point of the race, hopefully you have a good 275 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,720 sense of how things are going. There's a large downhill, the 276 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:58,760 the second largest downhill comes from mile 15.4 and this is 277 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:03,800 125 feet down. This is a -3.4% grade. 278 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:08,640 This is as you are leaving Wellesley and you're heading 279 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,080 into what's called Lower Newton Falls. 280 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:18,080 So this is a huge turning point for the race and really what I 281 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,720 recommend people. Instead of breaking the course 282 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:27,480 down into 1/2 and the second-half at 13.1, I like to 283 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,320 tell people to break the course down into the first half which 284 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,680 is the 1st 16 miles and then the second-half which is 16 miles to 285 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,560 the end. The reason being the strategy 286 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,040 should really change from these two points. 287 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:46,240 The course is overall and net downhill for the 1st 16 miles. 288 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,680 From 16 to the end it changes completely. 289 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,600 So that's why I break the course down there instead of at 13.1. 290 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,960 There's nothing distinctive that occurs at 13.1, no change. 291 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,360 It just happens to be mathematically halfway half of 292 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,640 the distance, right. But from a course in a strategy 293 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:07,040 perspective, there's nothing there. 294 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,920 So I don't, I don't recommend people actually break it, break 295 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,640 it down that way in terms of strategy or or race prep. 296 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:21,680 So once you've had headed in this huge downhill 125 feet into 297 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:26,000 lower Newton Falls, that's when you begin the Newton Hills. 298 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:30,120 The Newton Hills are 4 climbs. Everybody's heard of Heartbreak 299 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,960 Hill, but that is the last hill in the line. 300 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,840 There are three preceding climbs, and these three 301 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,680 preceding climbs are all difficult and challenging on 302 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,760 their own. And then you stack them together 303 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,040 and you put heartbreak the biggest and the hardest at the 304 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,840 end. And that is what makes this 305 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:56,040 complicated, right? So people who haven't studied 306 00:17:56,040 --> 00:18:00,040 the course or haven't run the race can get into this train of 307 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,600 thought going. It's oversimplifying and going, 308 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,000 well, it's a downhill course and there's a hill called Heartbreak 309 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,800 Hill. And that in their brain is the 310 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,480 course. That is not the course. 311 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,600 If you think that's all it is, man, you are in for some 312 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:15,480 surprises. And it's not in a good way. 313 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:22,760 So really these four hills combine four hills occurring 314 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,920 from mile 16 lasting all the way until mile 21. 315 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:32,680 This is when you have to lock in and you have to mentally tell 316 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:38,840 yourself your your mind and your legs to push and get get the 317 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:43,400 best out of it, right? I don't recommend people try to 318 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:48,920 maintain pace on uphills. These uphills are significant. 319 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,400 However, you know you have to, you do have to try to maintain 320 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:59,080 some effort, right? And so that can be mentally 321 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:03,440 challenging. The hill grades are in this 322 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:10,520 order, 2.2 percent, 4.1 percent, 2% and then 4%. 323 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,360 Heartbreak Hill, as I mentioned is that last climb and that is a 324 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:22,280 95 foot climb over .45 S, just a little under 800 meters. 325 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,280 You know, it's a lot of people could do that in training or 326 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:32,360 could do that in in the in a race and not think much of it. 327 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:37,000 But you have all of this downhill proceeding and then 328 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,320 Heartbreak is the culmination at mile 21. 329 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,200 So it is compounding of factors, right? 330 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,120 Physically your legs have been through a lot by the time they 331 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:52,120 get to that point. Once you get to the Crest of 332 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:56,000 Heartbreak Hill, as I mentioned, that's right at mile 21, there's 333 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:01,000 a long gradual downhill that lasts for essentially 3 miles 334 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,760 from mile 21 to 24, and that is overall 200 feet down. 335 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:12,320 So hopefully, if you've paced well up into this up to that 336 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,560 point, this is when you really go for broke and you turn on The 337 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,960 Jets. This is where your race is 338 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,880 really. Made if you're if you're going 339 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:26,280 to PR and have a good day, this is where where it is. 340 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:30,960 If you have not paced well, then this is where you will see 341 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,760 people around you completely falling apart like physically 342 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:42,960 cramps, walking all kinds of, you know, strains and and those 343 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,200 things. This is where you will see all 344 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,640 of that. Hopefully that is not you and 345 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:54,440 you are just sailing through, but this is, this is where the 346 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:59,000 the body really starts to feel every bit of what you've put it 347 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,040 through. The the race has a couple of 348 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:08,040 small inclines there at the end. There's three in particular. 349 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,280 I do like to note them. They're not, they're not 350 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:15,040 challenging on their own like the the, the biggest one is 20 351 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,920 feet. So elevation wise, this is not a 352 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:23,800 huge number, but you were doing these climbs in mile 25 of a 353 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,400 very physically demanding race and that's what makes it 354 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:32,160 difficult. So the climbs are going over the 355 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,760 Mass Turnpike towards the Citgo sign. 356 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:40,240 Then there's a a climb that goes under the Charles Gate Bridge, 357 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,320 and then there's a climb that goes up Hereford. 358 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:49,720 And again, these are very small, 5 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, but 359 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,480 it's just because of where they are. 360 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:57,120 Once you make that turn on from Hereford on to Boylston, you 361 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:01,160 have 600 meters to go until the finish, and it's a 600 meter 362 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:03,320 straight away. You can see the finish down 363 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,720 there. There's flags lining the entire 364 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,240 course. There's spectators on the 365 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:14,960 sideline, 678 deep, the there's a huge rush of adrenaline and 366 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,880 energy. And so this is one of those 367 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,640 moments really where I think whatever kind of day you're 368 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:27,200 having, good, bad in the middle, this is where you want to soak 369 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,680 it in and enjoy every bit of what makes Boston special. 370 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,360 And what part of really what makes Boston special is the 371 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:39,120 spectators. It's hard to sort of focus on 372 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,760 them a lot earlier in the race because a lot of us are going to 373 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,640 be focused on how we're feeling, make sure making sure we're 374 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,240 fueling and hydrating and not going too fast and not going too 375 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,200 slow and all of these things. But in that last 600 meters on 376 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:58,840 Boylston, that is when you can really look outward and say, 377 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,440 wow, this is incredible. What, what an honor to be a part 378 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,480 of this, right? And I think it's one of the best 379 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,120 finish lines in in the world, probably at least that I've done 380 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:12,760 and that's why I keep coming back. 381 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:19,440 So, But overall, you know, if you've prepared well, if you've, 382 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,080 if you've trained in a way that is specific to this course, 383 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,840 which as I mentioned really is uphills and downhills, then you 384 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:31,560 should find yourself in a good place on marathon day. 385 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,320 All right, So again, thank you, Coach Kristen for recording this 386 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:38,360 with me in the past. This is very interesting even to 387 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:41,160 listen to. This was great and informative, 388 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,960 and we will probably keep reusing your course breakdown 389 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:49,520 until Boston changes anything. And Speaking of changes, we're 390 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,800 now going to talk about what's different in this year's Boston 391 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,080 Marathon, and that is drum roll the waves. 392 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,360 You will now have 6 waves, which is very exciting in light of the 393 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:02,280 fact that the majors have gotten so, so busy. 394 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,360 Literally, I was running Chicago last year and I tripped because 395 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,280 I could not even spread my arms out. 396 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:09,680 Everything was just too tight, space white. 397 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,440 And that really kind of broke me for the rest of the race 398 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:14,720 mentally. So hopefully by having these 399 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,480 extra waves, it'll be a great experience for you guys and 400 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,520 nobody will trample you. To give you guys some numbers 401 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:25,320 and contacts about these waves, there used to be almost 7000 402 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,040 runners in one wave. Now the waves will have more 403 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,440 than 3000 people, not 7000, which is going to make such a 404 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,320 huge difference for all of you guys. 405 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,400 Wave one will continue to start at 10:00, wave 2 at 10:15, wave 406 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:44,080 4 at 10:40 one, wave 5 at 11 O1 and wave 6 at 11:21. 407 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:48,200 So you'll have your race spaced out enough that you'll hopefully 408 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,480 have a great experience, less congestion and just a smoother 409 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,400 environment All in all. Now when you're out on the 410 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,960 course, what is it that you can expect? 411 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,440 Well, you'll have Morton gels there, which are the official 412 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,560 sponsors of the Boston Marathons. 413 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,280 They are the ones that supply you with gels. 414 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,480 You have Morton, the regular flavor. 415 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,960 It's just one gel with without much taste to it, but you'll 416 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,040 have the regular Morton as well as the caffeinated Morton. 417 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,400 Obviously be smart about what you consume. 418 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,520 If you're not used to caffeinated gels, don't let 419 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,840 Boston be the first time that you try it out. 420 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:25,000 Some of us, including myself, don't react well to caffeinated 421 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:26,880 gels. I can drink coffee any day, 422 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,120 anytime, but caffeinated gels just make my stomach feel like 423 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,760 it's a lump and I want to throw up. 424 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,560 And I've tried various gels that have caffeine in them and all of 425 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,520 them give me that same reaction. So I guess it's a no no for me. 426 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,680 All this just to say that play with your nutrition and I'm sure 427 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,880 you have already because you are going to Boston and you've 428 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,200 probably run a ton already so you guys already know that. 429 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,240 Anyway, back to the Morton gels. They will be provided to you in 430 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,640 the following locations. The first time you'll see them 431 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,160 is at 11.8 miles at Wellesley. The second time you'll see 432 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,880 Morton will be at mile 17, and the last time you'll see Morton 433 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,680 will be at mile 21.5 after Boston College. 434 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,880 Again, don't plan your nutrition after the availability of Morton 435 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:11,520 on the course. Be smart about it. 436 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,640 Maybe try taking a gel every six kilometers, which is 3.7 miles 437 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,760 or so. But you know, just do what you 438 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,920 did in your training. Training is there to practice 439 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,720 fueling and hopefully you are doing that right now. 440 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,480 Keep in mind that it's never too early to take a gel, but it can 441 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,440 be too late, especially taking into consideration what the 442 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,640 weather might be. All right, so let's talk about 443 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:35,720 some reminders for race morning. So that way your experience in 444 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,040 Boston will be smooth as better. I know it can be nerve wracking 445 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:42,800 if you've never run this race before or if you are running it 446 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,640 by yourself and all your family members are staying behind in 447 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:50,440 the hotel and you have to lug your gear check bag out and try 448 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:51,680 to find the buses and all that stuff. 449 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,800 So I'm here for you with that. Gear drop is near the finish. 450 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,960 Try to remember that because every race is different. 451 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,640 Some have gear drop at the start, some have gear drops 452 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:05,120 prior to the race a couple days. But for Boston, the gear drop is 453 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,840 day off and what you do is you go to the gear drop locations 454 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,880 which are located West of the Boston Commons. 455 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,200 I'm going to attach a map right here so you guys can see where 456 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,760 Gear Drop is in relation to where the buses will be picking 457 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,400 you up. Gear Drop has set hours and 458 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:24,080 those hours are in the morning before you hit your bus. 459 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,080 I have never heard of a situation where a person was 460 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,960 able to make it on time for the bus but Gear Drop was closed. 461 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,040 That's not going to happen, so don't worry about it. 462 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,000 Gear Drop is also really close to the comments where the buses 463 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,920 pick you up, so in case you don't find it, you'll find a 464 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,840 volunteer that'll point you right there and it's really just 465 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,120 a brief walk to it. But yes, make sure that you drop 466 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,640 off everything before you get on the bus. 467 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,720 There is no gear drop in Hopkinton, So what you are 468 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,960 allowed to bring on the bus with you is what you are going to sit 469 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,400 on or consume before you start running. 470 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,400 And then once you start running, that's it. 471 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,600 You either carry it with you and run with it or you have to 472 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:04,800 discard it. In Hopkinton, nothing will be 473 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,360 taken to the finish line. When you are in the Boston 474 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:09,840 Commons, there will be long waits for the buses. 475 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,080 Everybody boards the buses according to their waves. 476 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,480 And it's kind of cool how you can see on everyone's bibs what 477 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,560 colors they are. So you know how fast these 478 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:21,440 people have run to qualify for this marathon. 479 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,400 I always get a kick out of it when I see everyone with the red 480 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,400 bibs because I know these people are super fast. 481 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,760 And I'm just like, wow, this is really, really cool. 482 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:33,600 You see, so the bibs are kind of your identity card of where you 483 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:38,520 fit in and how fast you are. Also though, the bibs will alert 484 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:42,720 the volunteers that let you on the bus of whether or not it is 485 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,720 your time to board the bus yet. So be respectful of that. 486 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:49,720 If you are in wave 5, you're not going to be getting on the same 487 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,920 bus as somebody in wave 1. So keep that in mind and make it 488 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:56,920 easy for the volunteers that are they're trying to navigate 489 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,400 30,000 runners and put them onto buses. 490 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,960 I always also think it's great to tell them thank you for 491 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,520 volunteering because you know they are doing a real job and 492 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,360 they're not getting paid for it. They're doing it out of the 493 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,080 kindness of their heart or for for the love of running. 494 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,400 And so it's always nice to be grateful to the volunteers. 495 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:17,200 Now when you get to Athletes Village, depending on when your 496 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,240 wave starts and depending on the weather, you can have a great 497 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,120 time there. It's basically a bunch of large 498 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:27,680 tents and you find a spot and you just sit down and continue 499 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,760 to be anxious about that race that you're about to run. 500 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,840 My suggestions for that is dress warm. 501 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:38,920 I freeze very easily and so I always have a ton of throwaway 502 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,760 clothes, but it also brings something that I can sit on. 503 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,560 So whether it's a clear bag that you have with you and you put 504 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,360 something in it and you put that under your tush so you can sit 505 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:51,320 nicely and not get really cold, you can do that. 506 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,000 Remember that you can never have enough layers, but there are 507 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,920 situations where you can have not enough layers and that just 508 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:01,000 kind of sucks because then you are picking up discarded clothes 509 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,560 and putting them on you. Not that that ever happened to 510 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:07,600 me, but here we are. So remember to dress warm and 511 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,320 bring stuff to sit on and then just discard whatever you're not 512 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:13,640 using. There's tons of trash cans and 513 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,600 you can put stuff in there. There will be enough porta 514 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,080 potties because you have enough time to wait in those lines. 515 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,320 Sometimes they can take about 30-40 minutes to wait in those 516 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,920 lines, but normally that is OK because you do have a lot of 517 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:28,600 time at the Athletes Village. If you board your bus on time, 518 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:32,040 don't forget to bring fueling to Athletes Village because this is 519 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,880 not like your normal run. Normally people run early in the 520 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,600 morning and here you're kind of running mid morning. 521 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,960 So take that into consideration when you're thinking breakfast 522 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:42,760 and you're planning fueling and all of that. 523 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,080 Have something with you and then if you don't eat it, then you 524 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:49,040 know somebody else can or I guess it'll be thrown out. 525 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,920 But again, it's always good to have more than too little. 526 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,480 Now let's talk about what in my opinions are the biggest 527 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,440 mistakes for Boston. And I guess I will go with the 528 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,280 number one mistake that I make consistently, which is to go out 529 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,600 too fast. And Boston Marathon, as I said 530 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,440 earlier, makes it really easy to go out too fast because you are 531 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:10,560 going downhill and you've got adrenaline going and you're 532 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,840 excited, so you'll run down that hill. 533 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:16,440 My quads are usually OK, but then you're paying for it later 534 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:19,200 because then you're exhausted and you're also fighting the 535 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,720 hills. It's a much better experience if 536 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:25,840 you manage to somehow magically time it and turn it into 537 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,880 positive split by being really disciplined and following your 538 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,760 coach's training plan and just taking it easy and then being 539 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,480 able to speed up at the end. It also doesn't feel good when 540 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,720 towards the end of the race everyone is speeding by you and 541 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,120 you are slowing down, but it does feel good if you're the one 542 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:45,160 speeding by other people. It builds confidence and I mean 543 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:46,240 that's always a good thing, right? 544 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:49,600 All right, so moving on from the race and more talking about the 545 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,960 community events and what else is happening in Boston while 546 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,240 you're there. There is so much stuff going on 547 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,720 and like I said earlier, we have compiled a space on our website, 548 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:04,440 a website where you can scroll and see everything that is going 549 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,360 on and there is a ton of events. Our website is very thorough and 550 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,720 we continue to update it. So if you want to have that as a 551 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,920 guide and bookmark it, I invite you to do so. 552 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,400 Every single item that we add to our website will have a Google 553 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,920 Map available for easy clicking and easy locating because you're 554 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,440 going to be in the area. So it makes it probably pretty 555 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,160 easy to just click on it and follow the directions to 556 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,640 wherever you want to go. Let's start with the most 557 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,920 obvious and most important event for you guys as runners. 558 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:35,560 You have to go to the Boston Marathon Expo. 559 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,480 Obviously you have to go there because you have to collect your 560 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:42,960 bid number and your package. And it's very exciting to go to 561 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:44,880 this Expo. I enjoy that Expo. 562 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,280 Quite a lot is going to take place at the Highness Convention 563 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:52,320 Center and the hours will be listed right here as well, again 564 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,200 on the website. The Expo opens on Friday and 565 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,000 will be open on Saturday and Sunday as well. 566 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,800 Don't wait till last minute to go to that Expo. 567 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,440 Also don't go within the 1st 5 minutes of the Expo opening 568 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,720 because those are the times where everything gets really 569 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:08,720 busy. But of course, I also understand 570 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,440 that the Expo is the place where you can get the merch that you 571 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:13,400 have been waiting for and that you have earned. 572 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,640 And if anything, I'm not a big March person, but I do 573 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,600 understand getting Boston March because it's Boston, right? 574 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,040 Boston is one of those races that you will probably do at 575 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:27,560 least one time, hopefully if you can, and if you go back, it's 576 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,320 like a badge of honor. I myself like collecting Boston 577 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:33,720 stuff, but I don't really collect stuff from other races, 578 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,240 which is, you know, maybe that'll change in the future. 579 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,040 But yes, you have to be at the Expo to be able to purchase 580 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,640 those things. Another cool thing that I love 581 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:45,600 about all of the marathon Expos is that they always have panels 582 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,120 and you can go to the Boston website, which again, I'm going 583 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,760 to also have that on our calendar and see who is going to 584 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,480 be on the panels and then you can attend whichever panel you 585 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:57,280 enjoy most. Normally they have a great 586 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,880 selection of innovative stuff. They have people that have won 587 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,680 the Boston Marathon in the past there. 588 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,920 They have the famous runners that we all follow on socialist 589 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:09,000 etcetera present to talk to us. They have coaches that are there 590 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,199 to teach us things. So it's always a really good mix 591 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:15,600 of panels and so I invite you guys to definitely check out 592 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,400 those panels as well. Another couple of things that 593 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:22,080 are organized by the BA, the Boston Athletics Association 594 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:25,440 that are directly affiliated with the Boston Marathon is the 595 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:29,600 Saturday Boston Marathon 5K. So it's kind of like a shakeout 596 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,639 run for those that travel there with family if they have managed 597 00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:35,840 to sign up on time. But it's also very serious event 598 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,440 because you'll see some super fast runners participating and 599 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,840 winning this event. But if you're not signed up for 600 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:44,360 it, it's also a really cool thing to spectate. 601 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,560 It's one of the largest 5 KS that I have ever seen and it's 602 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,400 on Saturday morning. You probably already there and 603 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,600 it's a great time to just do that and then maybe head over, 604 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:55,679 do your own shakeout run and do breakfast. 605 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,040 So that's one of those events that I also highly recommend. 606 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:02,040 And last but not least, the last Boston Athletic Association 607 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,440 organized event is the Boston Fan Fest. 608 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:08,320 The Boston Fan Fest happens all weekend long and it happens at 609 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,160 City Hall. They used to do it in Copley 610 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,840 Square, which is right by the finish line area, but that 611 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,680 hasn't happened in years. So now you have to lug over to 612 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:18,600 City Hall. But it's definitely worth it. 613 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:22,720 Fan Fest is also linked to our schedule of things to do, and 614 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:25,200 there you will see that there's a ton of entertainments, even 615 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,480 workout, and all kinds of stuff for people to do while they're 616 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:35,600 in Boston. Last but not least, the other 617 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:39,760 official Boston Athletic Association event that will take 618 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:44,240 place connected to the Boston Marathon is the Mile 27 Post 619 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:48,520 Race party, which is a party that starts obviously on Monday 620 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:52,400 after the marathon where they'll have music, food, all sorts of 621 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,520 things that you are also invited to go to. 622 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,480 Again, the link is provided in our scheduled events. 623 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,320 And now let's talk about everything else that happens in 624 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,560 Boston. The Boston Marathon Expo, 625 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:09,320 because of their sponsorship, has a limited who can be selling 626 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:13,200 stuff at their Expo. For that reason, there are pop 627 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,360 ups, and pop ups are basically stores that have rented space 628 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,360 around the area where everybody congregates in order to sell 629 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:24,520 their products. The Boston Marathon has probably 630 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:28,240 the most pop of events for any marathon that I have ever seen, 631 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:30,640 and you can see that on Boylston Street. 632 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:33,280 Boylston Street is the street where the Heinz Convention 633 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:37,040 Center is located at, but it also has other stores including 634 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:40,360 Marathon Sports, including Dick's Sporting Goods, and tons 635 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:44,760 of stores around it and in the streets parallel to it, Newbury 636 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:48,560 Street, etcetera. So there are tons of pop ups and 637 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,360 they've been coming every year and it really has become a thing 638 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,680 that people go to the Expo, enjoy their time there, and then 639 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:58,240 they go shopping and have calculated time into their busy 640 00:36:58,240 --> 00:37:01,840 schedules to just shop around all of the pop ups. 641 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,520 We have listed as many pop ups and are still updating all the 642 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:09,880 pop ups on our schedule so that way you guys know where all the 643 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:13,240 activations take place. There are tons of shakeout runs, 644 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,320 there are movie screenings, there are kick off parties, 645 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,560 there are parties with food, etcetera. 646 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,920 To name you a few of my favorites that I will definitely 647 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:26,000 be attending is track. Smith has a kick off reception. 648 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:31,320 Party Rabbit has one as well. There is race kit customization 649 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,520 by runner. There is a relay that takes 650 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,880 place and this one is the event that I'm going to participate 651 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:40,240 in. There is a relay at the track at 652 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:43,120 New Balance, which is in Brighton, so you have to hop 653 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:47,240 onto a metro and take it to Brighton where there's a huge 654 00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:51,960 indoor track and a relay happens, A 26.2 mile relay with 655 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:55,720 10 to 20 people in each team. I'm on one of those teams and 656 00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:59,040 I'm super excited because I just went as a spectator last year 657 00:37:59,240 --> 00:38:01,640 and I had a blast. So I think it's going to be 658 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:04,440 equally fun, maybe even more fun to be participating. 659 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:07,840 This is a free event that is open to the public, so you can 660 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:09,880 check that out. Of course, it's linked on our 661 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:11,760 schedule as well. And it's something you don't 662 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:14,600 want to miss because it's running and it's food and it's 663 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,480 everything, right? There is a movie premiere party 664 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,880 at the Heartbreak. Hoka has a hub that they have 665 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:22,360 announced. We'll be doing fun innovations. 666 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:25,520 There's after parties, poster, sample metal engraving. 667 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:30,720 There is so much going on in Boston, so hopefully even after 668 00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:34,560 you're done running your marathon you are still fresh 669 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:38,760 enough to attend some of these, if not before because it would 670 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,280 be really a pity to miss out on all the fun running stuff going 671 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,200 on just in one place. So I hope this helped to get you 672 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,480 guys ready for Boston. If this is your first time 673 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:50,840 running Boston, please let me know. 674 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,640 I would love to hear if this was helpful for you at all. 675 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,760 And if you are a multi Boston runner and you're still 676 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:01,880 listening to this episode, I hope you got something else out 677 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,440 of this episode that can push you more towards your goal. 678 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,240 I wish you the very best. I know you can do it. 679 00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:11,360 I know you've put in the miles and you are ready for Boston. 680 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:15,280 Take it easy, take a deep breath and just and don't forget to 681 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,040 enjoy the experience. Thank you so much. 682 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:22,960 And until next time you've been listening to the Marathon 683 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:24,680 Running Podcast by Marathon Journal. 684 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,480 If you've enjoyed the show, check us out at 685 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:30,400 marathonjournal.com or follow us on social media. 686 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:31,480 Happy training.