Just how bad was the weather for Boston 2016? 90+% of my acquaintances tanked.

contact sports! wrote:

That came out weird.

First column of percentages is negative split

Middle is even (within + or - 0.5%)

last is positive

Thanks for the clarification.

Most that I know had positive splits, and a couple by an 30 minutes to an hour but most in the 10 min range.

by the way, that chart is not this year's boston, it is some aggregate of bunches of marathons

Note that because of Boston's terrain, even effort will give a noticeable positive split. So spot everybody at least a minute or two for that.

http://runnersconnect.net/boston-marathon-coach/pace-calculator/

The trials were in much worse conditions by far. 4/6 people I knew blew up after mile 17 and DNF'ed. I was getting dehydrated just standing and cheering my friends on. Not a lick of shade anywhere for the runners.

Just to give an on-the-ground report as someone who ran today at the 10:00 start.

It was blazing hot at the Hopkinton start (probably 20+ celsius) and there was very little breeze and not a cloud in the sky.

The breeze picked up and the temperature started dropping a bit on the approach to Newton

It was actually quite pleasant in Brookline/Boston but by then the damage is done for lots of people

So thats why walking around in boston might not give an accurate picture of why ppl were getting wrecked today (myself included)

It was really warm at the start and for sure the weather impacted some runners.

I bailed at 10k owing to achilles issues and there was a woman who got in the van with heat related issues. Bunch of 2:20 to 2:40 guys also bailed because they could tell it wasn't their day. Bus had lots of bib numbers under 2000, couple guys in the low 100's. They just figured it would be a grind and would save the effort.

Dashboard of the bus said 73 in the parking lot. Would have been no later than 10:45.

Others I traveled with also died from the combination of warmer weather followed by a fairly cold headwind once they hit Boston.

I think that's what got me. It was warm at the start, sure, but I decided to stick with the plan go for my target pace.

Which I did, without doing anything stupid. Came through 9 miles within 1 second of target pace, and ran calm and smart through 13.1. Drank all that I could and poured A LOT of water over my head.

But the wheels fell off in Newton. Now, I've done Boston 4 times including today, and I've never run a good 2nd half. But unlike prior attempts, I was actually well prepared for this one, and didn't do anything stupid early. But yet I still just died. I don't know how much I can blame the weather, but it certainly didn't help. And I met more than a few who were, like me, well (10+ minutes) off target pace.

yeah. wtf happened?!i knew 3-4 guys who usually run in the 2:23-2:26 range and two who probably should have been in that range as well. some dnf's, a 3:05, some 2:37's, 2:44, a 1:14 first half and ???something happened that wasn't good for running. humidity? sun and wind?marathons are the WORST!

hall and oakes wrote:

I know that it was a little warm and there was a headwind (how strong), but 12 of the 13 runners I was following didn't just run poorly but TERRIBLY. More than 10 minutes off of their capability. Was the weather really THAT bad or do I just have a high preponderance of under-prepared friends?

I am 4 for 4 on positive splitting Boston. Other times, it was because I wasn't fit, or went out at stupid pace. Today, I had a great training base and ran (and drank, and ate) smart early. Same result (worse, actually).

How many even or negative splits do you have at Boston?

Seriously mate? wrote:

Not sure if this applies to your colleagues but I live in Western NY and this winter have trained almost exclusively in temperatures below 50 degrees (with most of those days below 40 degrees). If I had to run anything longer than a half marathon today (around 70 degrees) I would totally detonate. I'm in probably my best shape since I've been running but the heat really gets to me if I'm not used to it.

Morning runs were quite bracing.

I'm south of you in Pittsburgh and my experience this winter was the same.

The overnight to early morning temps and more importantly the wind chills were so often from zero to 19F even when the daytime high would reach

to 40 or so. I would not have enjoyed a long jaunt today in legume town.

Borrowed this link from the other thread on slow day at Boston. Breaks down Hopkinton, 1/2, and Boston for different times during the day.Basically warm and sun through at least halfway and then cooler, but strong head wind in Boston.http://www.findmymarathon.com/marathon-news/boston-marathon-weather/

Howie wrote:

It was really warm at the start and for sure the weather impacted some runners.

I bailed at 10k owing to achilles issues and there was a woman who got in the van with heat related issues. Bunch of 2:20 to 2:40 guys also bailed because they could tell it wasn't their day. Bus had lots of bib numbers under 2000, couple guys in the low 100's. They just figured it would be a grind and would save the effort.

Dashboard of the bus said 73 in the parking lot. Would have been no later than 10:45.

Others I traveled with also died from the combination of warmer weather followed by a fairly cold headwind once they hit Boston.

This has happened several times at Boston now. Why on earth do they start the race at 10 in the morning?

If they started at seven like any sensible person would suggest, this wouldn't have been nearly as much of an issue.

My buddy went 1:20, 2:35. Think that takes the cake. 38:00 last 5k. I love him but that has to be the winner.

Seriously mate? wrote:

Not sure if this applies to your colleagues but I live in Western NY and this winter have trained almost exclusively in temperatures below 50 degrees (with most of those days below 40 degrees). If I had to run anything longer than a half marathon today (around 70 degrees) I would totally detonate. I'm in probably my best shape since I've been running but the heat really gets to me if I'm not used to it.

Most of my Florida people blew up too.

ish wrote:

This has happened several times at Boston now. Why on earth do they start the race at 10 in the morning?

If they started at seven like any sensible person would suggest, this wouldn't have been nearly as much of an issue.

Maybe something to do with bussing 30k people out to hopkinton? Maybe? Are you gonna start sending the buses at 3am?

At least they moved the start to 10am from its original start time at high noon

Maybe they should run it in reverse. Boston to Hopkinton.

Relax just kidding. Drove to Newton from downtown. It was a lot warmer there than Boston. I would not have wanted to run today.

My friend split 1:24, 3:15.

Most of the people I know whose results I looked up did ok. They weren't too far off their previous BMs. This was probably a really bad one if it was your first.