How to ace Boston: A resource for all future Boston runners

Just quit the sport because after you race Boston you’ll realize that you’re not that good of a runner because the time will be so disappointing

There has been plenty of detailed threads on LRC.

Just copy CJ!

imagine in if Arthur Lydiard had been told this when he was young

"Arthur don't bother with endurance training, there are already great methods to train milers"

"Canova, why are you thinking about the marathon? We already have a successful approach"

Malmo just because something was done 10 years ago doesn't mean that it cant be done BETTER now..... Case and point there are better ways to train for fall XC than the summer of Malmo...

I honestly don’t think the problem is going out too fast. You shouldn’t do that at any marathon. The problem is the first half of the race is basically downhill so no matter how slow you run you end up working your quads quite a bit. I think the key is to practice running downhill. A lot.

malmo wrote:

There has been plenty of detailed threads on LRC.

If we can have ten new vaccine threads every day, we can have a new Boston training thread every few years.

I'm thinking I just need to train my quads better for downhill running. The last two times I've gone out the first miles at or slower than goal pace, but I still had quad soreness early on and they've been completed trashed by the time I hit the Lower Falls downhill. The Newton hills weren't a problem this year, but I could barely pick the pace back up on downhills. Any training advice for the downhills?

18 years ago 02/09/2003 7:22am CST re: Joseph A. McVeigh

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Boston's unique topography makes it a NET downhill race on paper, however, it's still certainly not as fast as a flat course. Not even close. Any "aiding" at Boston depends on the capricious nature of the northwesterly winds. Even with the benefit of a tailwind, the course is such that your legs take an awful beating.

Notice that during the first mile (a) there is a drop of 130 ft. At the end of four miles (b), a net drop of 310 ft. Anyone who's ever run a marathon knows that the first four miles means nothing and any gains during those first four miles are going to be negligible -- especially in world-class fields. From four to 21 miles (b-d) there is an elevation RISE of 50 ft., leading to a quad-destroying drop of 220 ft. over the last five miles (e-f). I cannot name one runner who has ever said that they were "aided" during those last five miles of Boston, can you? To the contrary, the race history is riddled with dozens of runners making it through 21 miles ahead of world-record pace -- facing only downhill ahead -- and then being cruelly humbled by the final descent.

I cannot stress it enough the two most significant features of Boston's course are the downhills at (c) Newton Lower Falls (-100ft. at 15.5 miles) and (e) St. Ignatious Church (-80 ft. at 21 miles after Heartbreak). That -80 ft. drop at St. Ignatious is more like -100 ft because there is a little rise after it to the 22 mile checkpoint. Those downhills kill the superstars and plodders alike.

Here are the elevations above sea level of the mile marks on the Boston Marathon course.

Mileage City/Town Elevation ft. Netchange

Start Hopkinton 490 N/A

1.0 Hopkinton 360 -130 (a)

2.0 Ashland 320 -40

3.0 Ashland 265 -55

4.0 Ashland 180 -85 (b)

5.0 Framingham 205 +25

6.0 Framingham 180 -25

7.0 Framingham 155 -25

8.0 Natick 180 +25

9.0 Natick 150 -30

10.0 Natick 170 +20

11.0 Natick 180 +10

12.0 Wellesley 165 -15

13.0 Wellesley 145 -20

14.0 Wellesley 130 -15

15.0 Wellesley 160 +30

16.0 Newton/LowerFalls 60 -100 (c)

17.0 Newton 115 +55

18.0 West Newton 145 +30

19.0 Newton 130 -15

20.0 Newton 150 +20

21.0 ChestnutHill 230 +80 (d)

22.0 Boston/Brighton 150 -80 (e)

23.0 Brookline 95 -55

24.0 Brookline 60 -35

25.0 Boston/Back Bay 15 -45

26.0 Boston/Back Bay 10 -5

26.2 Finish 10 0 (f)

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=74386#78564

Start-10k- Let people fly by you at the start. Go out ~5-10s/mile slower than your goal pace (goal pace = what you trained for plus any adjustment needed for weather- that part sucks but do it & you'll have a good Boston). Think about effort. It should feel really easy right now. Your heart rate should be lower than usual since you're getting the benefits of the downhill. Don't use that as an excuse to bank time.

10k-25k- Settle into a good rhythm. You should be hitting your goal pace in here. You're running slightly faster than you were in the 1st 10k. Keep it under control through the town centers you pass through. Don't speed up through the speed tunnel. Just keep it steady & enjoy the crowds.

25k-35k- Make or break time. Mile 15-16 should be your fastest of the day up to this point. You shouldn't feel like you're straining but you should comfortably split ~5-10s faster than what you were holding up to this point. The 1st Newton hill is the 128 overpass. Treat it with respect. Some think the hills start when you make the fire station turn. This is the first real climb & shouldn't be underestimated. Don't burn a match here. Don't work harder than you should be just to try to maintain pace. If you do that, your heart rate will creep too high. Get to the top & ride the downhill to the right turn onto Comm Ave. At this point you have three hills to conquer. The 1st comes from ~17.5-18. Relax here so that you can work mile 18-19. 18-19 is downhill. Find your rhythm again & you should hit a mile at your goal pace. The 2nd hill is ~400m from 19.5-19.75. If you're feeling good, this is where you should start working it. Carry your momentum up Heartbreak. The grade isn't terrible but it's a challenge because of where it comes in the race. It's almost 1200m of gradual climbing. Get to the top, breathe, & get ready to roll. 21-22 should be fast. Your only Boston goal should be to have legs at mile 21. The finishing miles are fast if you're ready for them. Split something similar to 15-16 here.

35k-40k- This should be your fastest 5k split of the day if you've nailed your race plan. Gradual downhills get you into Boston. The crowds are deep here. It won't be hard to find motivation. Run down everyone in front of you who burned their matches in Hopkinton & Ashland.

40k-finish- Make your way up & down the overpass by the Citgo Sign/Fenway. Crowds are going to be huge when you hit the 1 mile to go sign. This is where you leave it all out there. One more underpass to go down & up before making the two most famous turns in running. Make the right onto (Mount) Hereford. It's slightly uphill but just draw energy from the monstrous crowds. Turn left onto Boylston & take it all in. Use anything you have left here but measure your finish. You have something like 600m left to run, which will take most 2:00+. Keep your head down. Find good form. Move your arms. Feel the energy from the crowds that will be 10-deep. Cross the finish & know that you are a Boston finisher.

Boston is overrated.

The Marathon and the Band.

What has really changed in Summer Training since Summer of Malmo came out.

They weren't "original" ideas just a concise way of looking at it. Plays off the Oregon system and all, good for getting endurance and keeping speed. I don't follow the online guide anymore like I used to but It helped me learn a lot, doesn't mean it's outdated.

You have to learn how to run downhill effectively. It can save you dramatically. All those early miles the focus should be on floating downhill.

One of the most difficult sections is kind of detailed above but its 20-22.5. You climb heartbreak and then descend it, fairly steep in both cases. then you get a slight uphill again to Chestnut Hill Ave then a downhill into a turn at Cleveland circle. It really hurts.

IMO a moderate positive split is ideal at Boston, contra what people always say. The first half's hugely downhill, so you're giving away time if you intentionally run slow. Where people go wrong is going out WAY fast, either by overestimating fitness or just getting excited. My best times at Boston have come with a 1-2 minute positive split.

-Practice running by effort rather than locking on a pace target. Tempos on hilly courses are good for this.

-Fuel well even if you're feeling fine. Bonking in the hills is absolutely miserable.

-Expect the Newton Hills to suck, and don't get discouraged at your pace slowing. They're hills, you should be slower.

- Shake it off ASAP after Newton -- there's a solid downhill to the finish, and this is the true make or break part of the course. There's one mile in there that's like 100 feet downhill, so that's another ~20s if you're still in the game.

Run the Blue Ridge Marathon and Boston will feel like a walk in the park by comparison.

Just ran Boston in 2:29:53, PRing by just about eight minutes (off of NYC 2019), and did so running a 1 minute negative split

Really can't emphasize enough how much I think a conservative first 15 miles helped me, as well as a pace calculator that takes into account the hills as a general guide. I saved myself for the Newton Hills, but after the top of heartbreak you can really start to redline it for the rest of the race.

I think Boston is easier in this regard because this hills are earlier. In NYC the hills are in the last couple miles, so you really can't be on the edge before them without risking a total blow up.

I was aiming for 2:32:00, with 2:30 in the back of my mind if things were going well. I went up the first Newton hill, pretty much maintaining 2:32 pace (5:48) where my pace calculator told me to run it in 5:58. At this point I knew that 2:30 was a possibility

This is the pace calculator I found the night before the race:

https://runnersconnect.net/pace-calculator/

BostonBilly wrote:

Your only Boston goal should be to have legs at mile 21. The finishing miles are fast if you're ready for them. Split something similar to 15-16 here.

I think this is right. There is lots of time and places to be gained in the last 10k, but if your legs are trashed you won't be able to take advantage of the downhills.