Sneaking a pacer on Boston?

I've never run Boston, so take with a grain of salt. I've jumped into NYC a couple times to pace friends for a few miles. I would never do it near the start or finish, I wouldn't take anything from water/gel tables (unless it's for the friend) but I don't see the harm in jumping in and helping a buddy from like 18-22 or something. Of course people will see you jump in, including probably cops, but no one will care. Dress the part and no one will bat an eye.

Boston is crowded from start to finish.

It would be straightforward to hop on course and it's unlikely anyone would stop you or perhaps even notice.

Particularly if the weather is cold or wet. In those conditions, people have bibs tucked under outer clothing.

That said, I'd try and find more legit way to get on course than banditing.

My wife ran it a few years ago, the hit year when they encouraged everyone to defer to the following year. I waited for her at around mile 8, then stepped on the course as she passed and ran with her to a few blocks before the finish, then found her leaving the recovery area. Being so hot, I ran with my shirt off which made it hard to tell that I didn’t have a bib.

I didn’t take any aid along the way. I know it was still wrong, but there you have it.

Is your friend going to be on pace or will he be way behind the pack? Not sure what kind of condition he's in.

up to a month or so ago he was being optimistic and hoping for a sub 3 time, but that might have been little too optimistic, He's not sure right now he is even going to go out and do it, and don't know shape, but a lot of the challenge is handling the mental aspect of everything.

This was common enough 20 years ago that when my friend and I decided to go out to Wellesley and run the last half or so of the race, we randomly ran into someone we knew who was doing the same thing to support a friend. He had a fake bib that was conveniently flopping around upside down, I suggest doing that.

Since then the course has become much more crowded, security has tightened up after the bombing, and I feel like banditing races in general has become much more frowned upon. You talk about jumping in after a few miles - I wouldn't run more than a few miles total with your friend, otherwise you're really clogging up the course for legitimate entrants. The water stops can get especially treacherous for 3 hour + runners, with lots of people weaving and the pavement completely covered by crushed cups. Also don't run the first 5k (crowded) or the last 2 miles (lots of barriers, hard to exit the course here).

The answer is to ask your buddy if he wants you to go on the course. Otherwise, you’re just doing it for yourself.

In 99% of marathons, I would say that if your buddy wants you to bandit a few miles to keep him company, there’s very little downside because your chance of getting caught is near zero and, even if you do, there is likely no punishment for you or him.

HOWEVER

I’ve ran Boston post-2013 and I can tell you that your chance of hopping in the race unnoticed after mile 4 or so is extremely low. After those first few miles, there are hundreds of people lining the street and they will see you. Maybe they just boo you, maybe they alert a cop or race official. Either way, Boston is serious about keeping the marathon safe so if you do get caught by cop/official, expect as harsh a punishment as is available. At a minimum they’ll ban you from running Boston (maybe any of the majors?) for life and probably DQ your buddy and pull him off the course to see if he, too, is banditing.

If your buddy insists on you going through with it, do not make a fake bib because any sympathy you may get for helping a cancer patient buddy goes out the window when you get into straight up fraud. Just wear running gear and hop in early in the race. At around mile 11 or so, the crowds get too big and the course is blocked off so you would get noticed for sure.

For the record, I think it’s a stupid idea to jeopardize your buddy’s big day when you could easily just cheer him on from the side of the course.

Good point, your buddy may want this to be his race and his race alone.

However, you're being just a bit dramatic about the other stuff. People may notice you jump in but, short of running down Boylston with a pressure cooker under your arm, no one's calling the cops and no one's chasing you down, tackling you and giving everyone a lifetime ban.

Just be sure to give your friend lots of loud encouragement as you join him and nobody will know or care if you're joining him for a hundred yards or the rest of the course. If you're really worried, just be sure to very loudly exclaim "c'mon buddy, we're going to beat this cancer together!!" as you join him.

I've run Boston twice.

1.) There are plenty of people who will be trying to hit the same goal time as your buddy and they'll probably be in the same corral as him. It won't be very hard to find other starting line who are shooting for your buddy's goal time and ask to run together. There is no need for you to pace him.

2.) People will absolutely notice if you jump on the course and bandit because you'll be without a bib. I ran it in the years after the bombing and there was tons of security around, but things might have changed since then. There is a good chance you'll get spotted and yanked off the course. Then you have to figure out how to get back to your car, which leads to my next point....

3.) The course is point to point, so there are a logistical challenges getting to where you want to enter and exit the race. Racers get bussed out early morning to the start, so if you want to drop off a vehicle at your entry and exit points, you'll have to do it the night before. You won't be able to jump off the course the last few miles because it is fenced off and surrounded by a wall of spectators. Uber and taxis are going to mega $$$ after the race, so you'll need to be prepared to shell out some serious dough.

My advice - don't do it. Your friend will have plenty of people to run with.

Green line "C" branch will get you anywhere from the finish to Cleveland Circle. "B" branch will get you anywhere from the top of Cleveland Circle to Boston College (mile 21). "D" branch will get you to mile 20 or mile 17. Worcester/Framingham commuter rail will get you to all points from mile 15 to mile 3.

There are cops all along the route. It’s not unthinkable that if someone sees you run onto the course that they get the cops attention about it. If he gets caught and explains about the buddy with cancer, etc, he probably just gets escorted off. If he has a fake bib, he’s getting banned (and rightly so).

On modern banditing Boston

bostonglobe.com

They were known as ‘bandit runners.’ But there’s little place for them in the Boston Marathon these days. - The Boston Globe

The increased field size and heightened security have made it largely untenable for unofficial runners to share the route with registered entrants.

Link:www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/12/sports/...

Hope the race went well.

OP did your friend went well?