The gun went off and we all started to move forward. About 50y before the start everyone started to jog. After about the first .25 mi my stomach started to cramp up. Think double side ache. Thats what I had going on. The first few miles were all downhill and people all around the place. It was almost impossible to try to run any faster than what I did the first few miles. This was probably a good thing as it forced me to hold back in little and not go out too fast. When I could I would run around some people. After about 3-4 miles the stomach cramps mostly went away, but they ended up lingering throughout the whole race. I started out carrying a water bottle filled with water so I could run through the first few water stops and not have to deal with the crowds. That was a good move. I took a Gu at mi 6 and tossed the bottle. The crowd was thinning out enough to where I wouldnt have to fight or slow down for a cup.

At about the same time, I was starting to notice a pattern that my running watch was showing 1.02-1.05 mi for every mile split. Not exactly sure if I was running the long path or it was from weaving around people, or a combination of the two. I calibrated it before the race so I knew it was on, and the pace matched people's GPS units. Needless to say, I upped the pace and watched my mile splits more than my current pace to keep on track.

The race was going really well so far and I was feeling really good. Around mi 12 I could hear a roar in the distance.....the Wellesley girls. It kept getting louder and louder and before you knew it youre there and theyre screaming. You couldnt help but to run faster past them. At the half mark, I checked my wrist band and found that I was about a minute off pace to break 2:57. I decided to push it a little with the hills coming up since I felt really good still. We turned the corner and started the hills. I was expecting the hills to be a lot worse. Running downhill after the hills took more out of the legs than the ascent did. I was expecting hills that were a lot steeper, but they were more long and gradual. I took these as an "even effort" even though my pace slowed a little. I tried to keep the HR in the lower 160s for the ascent and trying to get it to recover below 160 for the descents. That worked out very well for me and I thought I navigated them really well. After Heartbreak I still had lots left in the legs, though, I was starting to feel the previous 20+ miles.

After the last long downhill, we made a left turn onto Beacon and there was the huge Citgo sign. I wanted to hold off for the final kicks until 22.5-23 and when I reached it here, I started the kick. I was pacing about 6:15s for the last few miles until about 24.5 when I started to really lay down what I had left. Once I hit 25 it was all or nothing, so I layed down everything that was left in the tank here. I was passing people left and right and trying to chase down some dude that looked like a skinny Jeff Foxworthy. I could hear the finish line now. We made a right, then a left and there was the finish line in sight. It seemed like forever until I got there from when I first saw it and crowds were freaking unreal. Going CRAZY! It was like running into a stadium. I sprinted to the finish with everything I had left, crossed the finish, gave a nice smile for the finish pic, checked my watch - 2:56. Hell yeah!

Nutrition: Gu about 15 pre-race. Shot of Gu from the flask at 6, 12, and around 19. Ended up being about 3 Gu total on the run.

Hydration: Sipped on the water until it got ditched at mi 6. Alternated water and GatorAde at each water stop for the rest of the race.

Eat a little more before the start to fend off some of the stomach cramps.

Crossed the finish line and started walking to get some water and food. Stopped to stretch a little. Drank, ate and grabbed my bag-n-tag to get in some warm dry clothes. Stretched a little more and went to the family meeting area.


Congestion of other runners on the course and slight stomach cramps. Weather/winds played a slight role in this too, but overall it was a decent day outside (for running).


Running this race is almost surreal. The crowds, the tradition, the culture of Boston and the race - just incredible. Everything about this race was so well put together and organized to the best of standards. Its Boston, do I really need to say more about it?

Im really happy with the effort that I put into this race. I was training really hard because I really wanted to kill this course and whip out a PR. This race ended up being about a 13 minute PR for me, on a much harder course. Im happy to say that I feel like I paced near perfectly, navigated the hills very well and ripped off the last kick with everything that was left in the tank. Exactly the way I wanted to run this race. Im also very happy that the last 5k of the race was my fastest 5k split. The second half of the race is more difficult than the first and I managed to run that faster than the first half. I ran the first half in 1:28:22 and second half in 1:28:11. All the negative split training really paid off. Excellent race!