Boston Marathon : Official Thread

Received my confirmation on 9/16 - this will be my first Boston.  I am really looking forward to it.

Any training recommendations or advice about the race & the course will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Mike

Congrats on receiving confirmation for your first Boston!  That is a pretty rewarding feeling.  There are several forums for checking out course reviews - including last year's race discussion here.

Basically, enjoy the ride.  IMO the race is the reward for all of your hard work in training to qualify and prep for your first Boston.

The past few years have had great conditions for good times, but be prepared for anything from cold / rain / wind to hot / hot / hot.

Pacing is key as the early net downhill will entice you into going out harder than you should.  If you're working at the half, the Newton hills will finish you off (with a 10k still left to go).  Fight the urge to push until after you reach Wellesley and brace yourself for the hills in Newton.  If you play your cards right, you may reach the top of Heartbreak and ask "where's the hill?"  The last 5 miles through the crowd-lined streets of Boston is an experience like none other.  Plan to be in a position to enjoy it.  Everyone hurts along Beacon Street through Brookline and then along Comm Ave, but so long as you're not in a full-out death march, the crowd will carry you home.  Those last two turns before the straight-shot downhill finish are two of the sweetest in the sport.  I get chills thinking about the opportunity to go back and do it again.

I'm running NYC this year and some have said that it's much better than Boston.  Boston has been, by far, my favorite event and I'm curious to see how they compare.

Congrats again and I'll look forward to keeping up with your training.

I'd have let you in

WaterDog66 - Seems like you're a Boston vet.  Any goals for this year?  I'm running Carlsbad this year (and signed up for Oceanside), so I'm not sure what to expect.  I think my shot at a qualifier for 2013 might have to come at Grandma's later in the year.

natethomas2000 - Ouch. Sooo close.  But good attitude.  Go out and nail your next one!

Sorry to hear that.   It looks like BQ-1:14 was the magic number this year.  Good luck for 2013!

I'm in!  I snuck in with a BQ-2.  I was on pins and needles leading up to the confirmation e-mail, and I'll admit that I may have jumped up and down a few times when I finally received it!  This will be my first Boston and a realization of a dream I've had for as long as I can remember.

Hello All,

 I plan on running Boston this year (charity number) and doing a half iron in June.  I am looking for a few suggestions on how to incorporate both training schedules into one.

 Thanks in advance

Time to start proper training for Boston. 

How is everyone's training progressing? 

I just did my first 20-miler today. I was actually only supposed to do 18, but the loop I did proved to be a bit longer than I thought. I still felt good, and did a light spin on the trainer after the run. This coming week should come in around 63-64 miles, and I'll be in the 60-75 range for the rest of my training.

The weather today was awesome - running in shorts and a t-shirt in January in the Boston area!

I missed qualifying by 36 seconds so I'm running for the Museum of Science Team. My goal is to go sub 3:00 and qualify for Boston 2013 in the process.

I look forward to following the training progress of everyone here!

Hey everyone - haven't really started focusing on Boston yet as I have Carlsbad in 3 weeks.  Will also be doing IM St. George on 5/5, so I may just run Boston with friends for fun this year.

Just 15 weeks from tomorrow.

natethomas - Nice work on the 20-miler!

I am following the Pfitzinger 18/55 plan.  My longest was 14 yesterday.  Very impressed that some of you are already doing 20 milers - I'm not quite there yet.

Good luck to everyone in their training.  This will be my first Boston - can't wait.

Anyone know the rough time cutoffs for the three waves? I'm running for a charity, but I was told by the BAA that I could use my 'semi' qualifying time (under 3:10, but not at the cut-off) of 3:09 for seeding and race #.

Also, for those that have done Boston before, how do the corrals and waves work? Within each wave are there several cordoned off corrals for different times?

Thanks!

Nate - if the wave breaks occur similarly to last year, you should be in wave 1.  Checking the website FAQ, it looks like the break between waves 1 & 2 was right around 3:22.

The waves use the same corrals - just cordoned off areas with an upper and lower bib number for each one.  There are Marshals at each entry point and they're pretty strict about letting people in.  You can move back, but you can't move up.

Does anyone know approximately when the starting corrals, waves, etc. will be determined?

Thanks.

Usually some time in March.

Thanks. My first Boston, very anxious to find out where/when I'm starting.

What was your qualifying time? Last year I was in the first wave, seventh corral with a 3:14. I think that this year things will be moved back somewhat by the faster field of qualifiers, so that 3:14 may put me at the back of the first wave (maybe in the ninth corral, but I'm really just guessing).