There aren't real hills left from 21 to the finish. Maybe the little overpass bump by Fenway but that's at 40k & you're just about done. It's a flyer from there to the finish. Problem is most people have already burned through their matches. Then they convince themselves they hit a big hill or something.
^QFE As NERunner said, besides the little overpass bump there's not much rolling hills or anything at that point. The problem for a lot of people is that by this point they've either blown out their quads, hamstrings, calves, or in my case last year, all three.
A couple things that I’ve learned from my last two times doing this:
People will take off like a bat out of hell. Even at the front end of things I had people with significantly higher bib numbers blowing by me left and right. I got nervous and started reacting and basically threw away my race plan right from the gun. Let them go. If you play your cards right, you’ll see them again soon.
Miles 1-4 have a combined elevation drop of ~260 or so feet. Really easy to rip these miles and pay for it later.
Crowds (Particularly the Scream Tunnel) are infectious. The energy will make you want to run faster. Relax, run your race. It’s all fun now, but the race doesn’t start until mile 17.
Between miles 15-16 is a massive downhill. If you’re already on the verge of your muscles blowing up, this will be that nail in the coffin before you hit the uphill section of the course.
This advice sounds useful for any hilly marathon, not just Boston.
I didn't know that about the bib numbers corresponding to pace groups/speed.
From my own experience in going out too fast ("threw away my race plan") lol, this post is useful to know if I run/qualify for Boston in a few years.
I can't even fathom running a 69:38 half, how would it feel? I'd be probably puking at the end of it. The half is a completely different beast than the full. The nice thing about the 1/2 is you can be overcooked and still at least complete the race. With the full your margin for error is a lot smaller re: bonking.
It is significantly different in terms of strategy, in that other marathons the real race starts at 20, but in this one, it starts at 17 due to Heartbreak and its cousins.
I get a ton of hill training in based on where I live. I have run Boston multiple times, and although the hills are probably not as deadly to me and others from my area, the downhill, especially at the start of the race, can be brutal even to us. Runners are amped, the crowds are great, and it is a really nice start to the race. There is an easy tendency to get swept up in the moment and abandon your strategy. Don't believe the hype. Stick to your plan.
If you have done some hill training, it should be ok to run the first 4 at about MP, but no faster. It will feel incredibly easy in comparison to what the rest will feel like, but it won't hammer all that bad. You can go a bit sub MP 5-15, and then you will probably have to pay back a bit of that on the hills. I don't think the hills are that bad at all, but any hill in a race is a drag. Once you reach the end of them, it is relatively smooth sailing to the finish.
I trained for a 3:10 in 2013 and stuck to the above plan almost to the second and was right on pace. Around 21.5, I knew I should have 3:10 in the bag, so I ramped it up and finished with a 3:07:35 or so. It was one of the greatest days of my life...until it wasn't. :(
I use a custom pace band and a Garmin that keeps me on track for each mile. I think of it as running 26 little mile races and, if I am in good shape, it motivates me to hit each one within a second or two. There is a bit of a drift on the Garmin, so I try to come in a little hot for each mile instead of coming up short each time. This has worked for me countless times, but I know this would not be for everyone.
Regardless, best of luck to everyone out there. It looks like we could be in for a possibly wet, but cool race. :)
I ran Boston in 2019 having qualified with a 3:21.
I was in good shape but the downhill and the rolling hills of the first part ruined my quads and I struggled hard on the hills. It got somewhat better after the hills and I finished in 3:25.
Later that year I ran 2 3:13 marathons. I think I was in 3:13 shape in Boston too (had it been a flat race).
I get a ton of hill training in based on where I live. I have run Boston multiple times, and although the hills are probably not as deadly to me and others from my area, the downhill, especially at the start of the race, can be brutal even to us. Runners are amped, the crowds are great, and it is a really nice start to the race. There is an easy tendency to get swept up in the moment and abandon your strategy. Don't believe the hype. Stick to your plan.
If you have done some hill training, it should be ok to run the first 4 at about MP, but no faster. It will feel incredibly easy in comparison to what the rest will feel like, but it won't hammer all that bad. You can go a bit sub MP 5-15, and then you will probably have to pay back a bit of that on the hills. I don't think the hills are that bad at all, but any hill in a race is a drag. Once you reach the end of them, it is relatively smooth sailing to the finish.
I trained for a 3:10 in 2013 and stuck to the above plan almost to the second and was right on pace. Around 21.5, I knew I should have 3:10 in the bag, so I ramped it up and finished with a 3:07:35 or so. It was one of the greatest days of my life...until it wasn't. :(
I use a custom pace band and a Garmin that keeps me on track for each mile. I think of it as running 26 little mile races and, if I am in good shape, it motivates me to hit each one within a second or two. There is a bit of a drift on the Garmin, so I try to come in a little hot for each mile instead of coming up short each time. This has worked for me countless times, but I know this would not be for everyone.
Regardless, best of luck to everyone out there. It looks like we could be in for a possibly wet, but cool race. :)
3:07 is still a good time and it sounds like it was a great race; you did what you had to do and didn't blow your load in the first 10 miles. Sounds like a great day to me!
And you can troll Greg with it. LOL.
What do you mean "come in hot?" Run more than the mile indicated on Garmin, or run faster than indicated mile?
I get a ton of hill training in based on where I live. I have run Boston multiple times, and although the hills are probably not as deadly to me and others from my area, the downhill, especially at the start of the race, can be brutal even to us. Runners are amped, the crowds are great, and it is a really nice start to the race. There is an easy tendency to get swept up in the moment and abandon your strategy. Don't believe the hype. Stick to your plan.
If you have done some hill training, it should be ok to run the first 4 at about MP, but no faster. It will feel incredibly easy in comparison to what the rest will feel like, but it won't hammer all that bad. You can go a bit sub MP 5-15, and then you will probably have to pay back a bit of that on the hills. I don't think the hills are that bad at all, but any hill in a race is a drag. Once you reach the end of them, it is relatively smooth sailing to the finish.
I trained for a 3:10 in 2013 and stuck to the above plan almost to the second and was right on pace. Around 21.5, I knew I should have 3:10 in the bag, so I ramped it up and finished with a 3:07:35 or so. It was one of the greatest days of my life...until it wasn't. :(
I use a custom pace band and a Garmin that keeps me on track for each mile. I think of it as running 26 little mile races and, if I am in good shape, it motivates me to hit each one within a second or two. There is a bit of a drift on the Garmin, so I try to come in a little hot for each mile instead of coming up short each time. This has worked for me countless times, but I know this would not be for everyone.
Regardless, best of luck to everyone out there. It looks like we could be in for a possibly wet, but cool race. :)
Trying to get a sense of what you mean by "I get a ton of hill training" and "if you've done some hill training". Coming off an odd block where I did most of my long runs on very hilly trails (100-175 feet per mile) and most of my non-workouts on very hilly roads(75-90 feet per mile). Outside of track days (of which there were, maybe, 6-7 in the whole block) I probably didn't get a single run in that had fewer than 40 feet of climbing per mile. My instinct is, this definitely qualifies as "some hill training" and probably "a ton of hill training". Having trouble figuring out how much heed I should pay to these "start very conservatively" recommendations. I get the mile 1-4 thing, since that's a significant decline, but overall, it feels like I should be targeting a slight negative split, given all the hill running I've done. Do I just lack imagination?
I get a ton of hill training in based on where I live. I have run Boston multiple times, and although the hills are probably not as deadly to me and others from my area, the downhill, especially at the start of the race, can be brutal even to us. Runners are amped, the crowds are great, and it is a really nice start to the race. There is an easy tendency to get swept up in the moment and abandon your strategy. Don't believe the hype. Stick to your plan.
If you have done some hill training, it should be ok to run the first 4 at about MP, but no faster. It will feel incredibly easy in comparison to what the rest will feel like, but it won't hammer all that bad. You can go a bit sub MP 5-15, and then you will probably have to pay back a bit of that on the hills. I don't think the hills are that bad at all, but any hill in a race is a drag. Once you reach the end of them, it is relatively smooth sailing to the finish.
I trained for a 3:10 in 2013 and stuck to the above plan almost to the second and was right on pace. Around 21.5, I knew I should have 3:10 in the bag, so I ramped it up and finished with a 3:07:35 or so. It was one of the greatest days of my life...until it wasn't. :(
I use a custom pace band and a Garmin that keeps me on track for each mile. I think of it as running 26 little mile races and, if I am in good shape, it motivates me to hit each one within a second or two. There is a bit of a drift on the Garmin, so I try to come in a little hot for each mile instead of coming up short each time. This has worked for me countless times, but I know this would not be for everyone.
Regardless, best of luck to everyone out there. It looks like we could be in for a possibly wet, but cool race. :)
Trying to get a sense of what you mean by "I get a ton of hill training" and "if you've done some hill training". Coming off an odd block where I did most of my long runs on very hilly trails (100-175 feet per mile) and most of my non-workouts on very hilly roads(75-90 feet per mile). Outside of track days (of which there were, maybe, 6-7 in the whole block) I probably didn't get a single run in that had fewer than 40 feet of climbing per mile. My instinct is, this definitely qualifies as "some hill training" and probably "a ton of hill training". Having trouble figuring out how much heed I should pay to these "start very conservatively" recommendations. I get the mile 1-4 thing, since that's a significant decline, but overall, it feels like I should be targeting a slight negative split, given all the hill running I've done. Do I just lack imagination?
If you did that much hill work, Boston shouldn't feel any different than your norm. I'd say you're good to go. On the other hand, where I live it's pancake flat. Once per week the last couple of months I've done my long runs (18-22 mi) up and down a highway overpass. That includes marathon pace work, building up to 14 times over and back which amounts to +750 ft/-750 ft (if you believe Garmin elevation data). Although that's not exactly the same as Boston's profile, it's as close as I've been able to get this training cycle, which has only been 6 weeks since my last home marathon and training cycle, which was all flat.