Boston Marathon 2016 Walk-Through

Let me give you my walk through of what to expect at Boston.  Not an exhaustive, detailed review just some things to consider.  Because the best advice I could give you for this race is already irrelevant.  That advice would be to respect the course and train well.  If you have not trained well there’s not much you can do at this point.

1. Let’s start with the weather.

Monday this year looks like it will be partly cloudy, about 60 degrees with a light breeze.  That’s not bad weather for racing.  Of course all that could change in the next few days.  It has in the past.

When you’re packing or planning for the race pay attention to the forecast and specifically what the day before and the day after look like.  If the weather is going to shift it’s going to look like one of those.

When you’re looking at an event like this you may be leaving for the start line in the morning and not getting into Boston until the afternoon.  The temperature in the morning will be 20-30 degrees colder than at midday.

When you leave to head out to Hopkinton bring enough throw away stuff for a range of temperatures.  Bring an old blanket or a poncho or a space blanket or a big towel or a large trash bag.  It’s a grass field in Hopkinton and you’ll need something to sit on and something to keep you warm while you wait.

Sometimes a front will roll through during the day and you’ll be faced with different sets of conditions during the day.  The topography of the course and the timing will influence what you get where.

Qualified runners will be leaving Hopkinton between 10:00 and 11:30.  This means the weather will get warmer for you until around Heartbreak hill.  On a spring day the temperature starts to drop around 2:30 -3:00 if you’re still on the course.  Also, when you drop down into Boston after mile 22 you’ll start to pick up the ocean breeze. This is typically a head wind and a bit cooler.

The combination of the timing and the sea breeze means if you’re suffering at the end you’ll be tested by hypothermia and a head wind – adding to your misery.  You might want to hang onto your gloves or hat or arm warmers instead of throwing them away early.

2. Don’t get caught up in the excitement if you’re planning to race.

I’ve seen plenty of people come to Boston and spend the weekend on their feet at the expo and walking around the city.  It’s a great walking city but if you have invested in training and plan to race don’t leave your legs at the expo or at the public gardens.  Rest.

3. It’s a long day – take it easy.

When Monday finally arrives it’s still a long day.  Our little race has turned into a bit of a logistical nightmare for participants.  Unfortunately, there are no longer any checked bags at the start.  Whatever you bring with you to Hopkinton has to stay there.

Bring enough food and fluid to get you through the morning.  Get some disposable containers of whatever you are going to need before the race.  Maybe bring a newspaper or something else to keep you busy that you can throw away.  You can build a little nest of disposable items and relax.  Do your stretching.  Do some meditation. Take a nap.  Save your energy for the race.

Don’t expect to be able to meet up with friends unless you have a very specific place and time to meet them.  It’s a madhouse in Hopkinton.  You’re not going to randomly find people.

4. Start slow.

This advice is especially for the qualified runners.  Because of the efficiency of the qualification system and the corrals in Hopkinton you will get on your pace almost immediately.  There is none of that waiting for the pack to spread out like you would get at any other city marathon.  There is a reverse funnel start and you can run as fast as you want from the get go.

This efficient system means that the start for qualified runners is like the start of a 1,000 person marathon.  This coupled with the steep downhill sections out of Hopkinton doesn’t give runners that early pace throttling that you get at other races.

The number one advice for qualified runners at Boston is to start slow and let the race come to you.  If you let yourself get sucked into the celebration you’ll be 5 miles in before you realize how far off pace you are.  Have some patience.

For non-qualified runners, (and I have started in both places), the start is going to be just like any other 10,000 person city marathon.  You’ll be running up against people running all paces, running 3-4 abreast and weaving about like lunatics.  You’ll be hard pressed to run faster than 10:00 min miles in the first couple.  You’ll have to be patient and not waste your energy fighting the tide.  It will open up eventually.

5. It’s a hilly course with 4 main sections.

I wonder sometimes if anyone actually looks at the elevation map?  I hear people talking about how Boston is a downhill course but it is much more nuanced than that.  Those nuances can be devilish.

Boston is a net downhill course, but that doesn’t make it all downhill.  The race starts at 450 feet and ends at sea level.  This is New England.  It’s all rolling hills.  Nothing major until the Newton hills but don’t go into it expecting a consistently downhill course or any totally flat bits.

Section one – Downhill out of Hopkinton

In the first 4 miles you’re going to lose about 200 feet.  Again it is rolling hills so some of these drops are fairly steep.  You’ve got to manage your legs and your stride on this section so as not to burnout the quads.  It’s easy to run free and easy when you’re fresh and the course is downhill but you’ve got to keep your form tight and save your legs.  This section will get you to Ashland.

Section two – Flatter and down into Newton Lower Falls

After the initial drop out of Hopkinton to Ashland is a long section where it flattens out a bit.  There are still rolling hills, but most of these are 50 feet give or take in elevation.  There is a long stretch in Framingham that is almost entirely flat and slightly downhill from just before the 10K to around 9.5.

From 9.5 on through the scream tunnel it is more rolling hills and a slight climb.  This section ends after Wellesley at around 15.5 where there is a steep downhill into Newton Lower Falls. This is where the Newton hills start and you can’t miss it.  Once you cross the river in the center of town it, as I like to say, “starts to suck”.

Whether your last 10 miles is a slice of hell or a victory trot is dependent of how you manage your pace and form in those first 16 miles.  This second section is where you really need to tighten it up and focus on relaxing into the pace, biding your time and being patient.  If you can manage the first steep bit and the second section with patience and discipline you can handle the hills.

I think this second section is perhaps more dangerous than the first steep downhill bits.  People forget their discipline here.  It should feel too slow for you if you’re pacing it right.

Section three – the Newton Hills

As you start up out of Newton Lower Falls over rte. 128 you begin the first of the Newton Hills.  This is a 5 mile section from 16 to 21 that starts at 50 feet and ends at the top of Heartbreak Hill at around 250 feet.  This happens over the course of 4 reasonable sized hills.

The 1^st one is up and out of Newton Lower Falls over the highway at mile 16. This one climbs about 65 feet.  The course rolls a bit then until it hits the next short steep hill at 17 ¾ where it gains another 60 feet or so.   This one then gives you the 60 feet of elevation back with a bit of a downhill into about 19 ¼ where you start to climb the 3^rd hill.

You could actually call this 3^rd hill part of Heartbreak Hill.  This hill climbs back the 60 feet peaking at about the 19 ½ mile mark.  It doesn’t drop from there.  It flattens out until just before 20 and slams you into the last climb, Heartbreak.

Heartbreak is a gain of about 80-90 feet over the course of ½ mile.  It’s not a giant hill.  If you have trained well and controlled yourself through the first two sections you can start to accelerate through these hills.  Because once you get to the top it’s downhill and flat to the finish.

The nature of these hills and where they are on the course make them bigger than they are on paper.  If you ran frivolously in the first 16 miles or didn’t train well they will grind you up.  Think about it.  You’re 16-21 miles into the race and it puts you through these short steep grinders with no real relief until you come out the other end.

There’s a tricky psychological element to this section as well.  All the people who have misread their fitness or underestimated the course crash here.  No matter where you are in the pack people will be doing the death shuffle all around you when you get to Heartbreak.  You have to not get sucked into that well of defeated souls.  Run your race.  Hold your form.  Stick to your plan.  Stay in your head.

The shame of this is that if you can manage your race well the last 5 miles is fast as hell.  If you get to the top of Heartbreak with your legs still under you can negative split into the finish.

To run the hills well is to make sure you don’t spend your capital earlier in the race.  Hold back because you know this is coming.  Then it’s simply a matter of more discipline.  Don’t attack the early hills.  Hold your pace and form and let them come to you.  As you get closer to Heartbreak you can start feeding a bit more gas into the engine if you feel fresh.

Section Four – The race into the finish

After you crest Heartbreak hill there is one little false summit that freaks people out, but don’t worry, you’re done climbing hills for the most part.  This section of the course drops down the ‘slump’ into the city of Boston.

From Miles 21 to 24 you are going to lose 320 feet or so.  It’s very fast in this section.  If you still have your legs you can make up a lot of time here.  At mile 24 you hit the flat streets of the city.  From here on in it is flat except for two little bumps.

The first is the overpass over the Mass Pike at Mile 25.  It’s only a 40 foot bump over a 10^th of a mile but sometimes feels like Mt. Everest.  The second is an underpass with less than a mile to go right before you turn onto Herford.  It’s only maybe 15 feet of loss and gain but it’s a pain in the ass late in the race. Herford itself has a little climb to it, but by then you can ‘smell the barn’.

There is still some race left when you turn the corner onto Boylston.  This can dishearten runners who think the finish line is going to be right there when they turn the corner.  It is maybe 1/3^rd of a mile to the mats, but you can see it so you can tough it out.

The last couple miles are on the city streets and the roads there have some wear and tear.  There are some lumpy patches that can be tiresome on tired feet.  Be careful and watch your feet.  This last flat section into the finish is also where another cadre of people lose hope.  People will just stop in front of you or fall down and you have to keep your head up.

Like I mentioned before there is typically a sea breeze in your face as you get into this last section.

How do you run this last section?  Your best bet is to come off Heartbreak with some juice left so you can negative split the downhills into 24.  After 24 it’s just a matter of holding on.  If you’re a marathoner you know the drill.

Recommendations

This will be my 18^th Boston.  I’ve run it many different ways.  My PR on the course was actually a day I ran a suicide pace early and managed to hold on well enough at the end.  You can race it end to end if you’re in good enough shape and have the miles under your belt.

I’ve also trained poorly and death marched at least a ½ dozen of these races.  If you’re new to the course or a mid-packer like me I would recommend really holding back in the first 16 miles.  It’s not easy.  You have to consciously hold yourself back.  Having a pacing buddy works well.

My best race at Boston, (not my fastest), I ran with a friend and we held each other in check through the early miles. Then I slowly turned up the heat, accelerated through the hills and negative splitted the race by several minutes.  There’s nothing quite as compelling as blowing by all the walking dead as you cruise through the hills.

It really depends on you and your training.  If you go out slow you can make that time up in the last 5 miles.  If you go out too fast there is no place to recovery and the hills will grind you up.

Enjoy your race everyone!

I’ll see you out there.