Is this Boston Marathon spectating plan feasible?

The driving part ought to be feasible. I would take the Mass. Pike (90) in from Framingham; that will get you very close to the Common (might take about 30 minutes?)

Route 9 is slightly more direct but liable to be clogged up with traffic, particularly at marathon time.

My worry would be that the Boston Common garage might be full up. As long as you can find somewhere to park, you should be fine to wait to see the men go by in Framingham.

It can be a little slow-going driving from downtown Framingham to the Mass Pike (Int.90) but very doable. Park strategically in Framingham and hustle on your transitions from viewing area to car. I would not attempt to park in the Common garage. I reccommend parking in the parking garage in the Theater District, just south of Tufts Medical/Wang Theater on Tremont Street. It's a couple blocks south of the Common and Boylston Street. Take South Station exit off the Pike. The toughest part will be fighting crowds as you walk towards the finish area, so plan your route accordingly and don't expect to be able to cross Boylston anywhere near the finish area.

Thank you very much for the replies. I will look into both the Theater and Boston Common parking. I've been to the finish line before so I know it's crazy, but we'll take our chances with the garages.

See you at the finish line!

if its not imperative to be at the finish line you can actually see her 3 times on the course 10k, 14.5ish (city sports) and then 25ish (st mary's stop).

you might even be able to get to finish from 14.5 but as others have said you're better off parking elsewhere and running over to finish.

i know the top part is doable as I've had family do it 6 times and i know they take route 9. look at a map...its very doable.

I had a similar plan a few years ago when I went up with a friend to see him run. I would suggest you drive back and leave the car in Cambridge and take the subway over to near the finishline area from there. Much less risky from a parking perspective and you should have plenty of time.

Where's your girl from, they aint no Americans starting at 9:32 yo.

Cholly wrote:

Park strategically in Framingham

Very important....make sure your getaway vehicle is parked NORTH of Route135. If you park on the other side, you won't be able to cross the race route to get to 90 or 9 once the racers start coming.

I started in the elite women's field a couple of years back and my family watched me at about 10 miles and then made it to the finish line in time but they didn't stick around to watch the lead men, they left right after they saw me come through. Good luck to your girlfriend.

Just a suggestion - You might consider taking the train to Natick Center. (Mile 10) and meet her family there. It'll be much easier to get away to Boston via RT9. And if, interested, you'd also have sufficient time to see your GF in Newton (@ 30K) to boot. Let me know.

Think the parking might be problem.

Parking in Cambridge and then hopping mbta or walking over might be better.

Good luck

Make a left at the Dunkin Donuts.

Great suggestions. Lots to consider, but I'm glad to hear it's possible to see them on the course and be at the finish.

And she's definitely in the elite field. The elite entrants on the BAA website aren't the whole field, if that's what you're looking at. There's a bunch more people who'll be racing with them. She ran six minute miles in her last marathon for more than half, so I think she'll be doing that for a while. Not sure how far behind that puts her but I don't think she'll be alone the whole time.

At that pace she'll likely trail the leaders by 4 minutes @ Framingham Center and nearly 6 minutes @ Natick Center.

How'd she do?

Did this thread really get bumped from two years ago??

Superfan checking in. If you remember, that was the hot year in 2012. The spectating worked out fine and we saw her in Framingham and at the finish line. Although the finish line was a mess - I still don't recommend people go there if they can avoid it, but people never listen.

And she did good!

Superfan No. 1 wrote:

Did this thread really get bumped from two years ago??

Superfan checking in. If you remember, that was the hot year in 2012. The spectating worked out fine and we saw her in Framingham and at the finish line. Although the finish line was a mess - I still don't recommend people go there if they can avoid it, but people never listen.

And she did good!

How can a lady finishing possibly in 2:50 be elite?

KEEP A BIKE IN YOUR CAR.

If the commons lot is full and you need to keep driving/searching a bike can get you across town quickly and you can lock it up somewhere

Fatty - I didn't say she was "elite." I said she starts with the elite start. It's about 30-40 women depending on the year and the field. She's a pretty classical "sub-elite". Women also can't win prize money if they start with the main field. It certainly isn't the ideal situation for running PR's most of the time, but the women get a lot of attention for their race which is really nice, and they do race with other sub-elite rivals. Otherwise you'd have women who are in the top 10-30 getting buried in the men's field and not getting the attention they deserve. And from what I've seen, these women are extremely competitive - they'd rather race on an open road with competitors at their level than tuck in with the masses and run marginally faster. The masses also typically run like idiots out of the first corral - you'd have women running 2:35 to 2:45 running smarter races and weaving through traffic all the way to the finish.