Can he get the CR, we haven't seen him race a hilly marathon. Thoughts?
Hope he does so he can retire contented with Boston and New York under his belt. It hurt to see Bekele having to ride off into the sunset after such a glorious career without getting that one more thing he wanted so much.
Okay Kipchoge doing Boston that's nice but it would only be of the utmost relevance if the incomparable Dion Marquise Hayes announced the same. I'd take DMH any day of the week in that matchup.
Huge tailwind with a 447 foot net downhill would make a sub 2 very possible. If Ryan Hall ran 2:04:58 that year and 2:06-2:09 for his other good races then a guy who is consistently 2:01/2:02 would probably be sub 2.
First off, he’s obviously NOT banned. You don’t release a professional you tube video announcing your spring marathon on the eve of your ban.
Second, if the conditions are not horrible, he will shatter the course record and finally we can stop listening to the ridiculous question, “can EK run hills?” Can’t wait for an end to that nonsense.
Any tips for spectating? Somewhere decent to stay near the course, but not good for participants, so not stupid expensive? Is there anything like 1st and 5th ave in NYC where you can easily catch someone twice?
First off, he’s obviously NOT banned. You don’t release a professional you tube video announcing your spring marathon on the eve of your ban.
Second, if the conditions are not horrible, he will shatter the course record and finally we can stop listening to the ridiculous question, “can EK run hills?” Can’t wait for an end to that nonsense.
Some of you are delusional, he will not "shatter" the CR. Outside of the year where they had a hurricane at their backs, nobody has run faster than 2:05:52 here. Its an unpaced race and the hills near mile 20 are legit and will hurt his time. If he decides to go early, he will certainly break that mark, but some of these low 2:02 proclamations are way off base for this course. He is not running within a minute of his Berlin time here, barring another wind-year.
The course is truly a point to point. The first 90 degree turn is at mile 17.6. So if you have access to a car and some great advanced planning then you can drive along back roads and catch the race at about 3 or 4 points. Otherwise, you're sort of left with watching at mile 17 and then jumping onto the MBTA Green Line and taking the T into downtown Boston (although there's no guarantee you will get to the finish in time assuming Kipchoge is able to run that whole stretch in 45 minutes....).
As for a Hotel - there are some ones along Route 128 in Newton that may be serviceable for you. Fair warning, there is not nearly enough hotel capacity for this race so the rates will be higher everywhere.
First off, he’s obviously NOT banned. You don’t release a professional you tube video announcing your spring marathon on the eve of your ban.
Second, if the conditions are not horrible, he will shatter the course record and finally we can stop listening to the ridiculous question, “can EK run hills?” Can’t wait for an end to that nonsense.
Some of you are delusional, he will not "shatter" the CR. Outside of the year where they had a hurricane at their backs, nobody has run faster than 2:05:52 here. Its an unpaced race and the hills near mile 20 are legit and will hurt his time. If he decides to go early, he will certainly break that mark, but some of these low 2:02 proclamations are way off base for this course. He is not running within a minute of his Berlin time here, barring another wind-year.
Ok, shatter is hyperbole, but he’ll break 2:03 if it’s cool, dry and no adverse wind. If he runs in 2011 conditions, he’s going to be under 1:59:40. If it’s hot, stormy, etc., who knows what will happen.
Super excited for this! Kipchoge has only run a couple of tactical marathons in championship settings so it'll be interesting to see how he attacks this course based on the weather. Going out fast on a great day will be interesting just to see how he manages the hills but it would also be intriguing to watch the typical 2:09ish race that Boston usually is. Would be awesome to still see him packed up going up Heartbreak Hill. & then to see what happens if someone like Kipruto can blast a 14:0x 5k from 35k-40k. Really looking forward to this.
Stay somewhere near Route 128/95 if you want to save $$$. Element in Lexington is a good choice and it's right next to a terrific trail for running (Battle Rd. Trail). Assuming you're renting a car, drive into town and park on one of the side streets in Brookline near Coolidge Corner then walk to the bottom of a hill near Beacon and St Paul St. You will get a good view and it's not too crowded. There won't be any problem finding on street parking because a lot of the locals leave town for the long weekend. Vantage point is about two from the finish.