Boston Marathon goal and pacing question

Darn good for a 52 year old. What have you run in your prior marathons?

I would say shoot for 2:46-48. Go out at 6:20ish pace, see how it feels, and maintain it through 16 if it feels okay. 16-21 is the hilly part, so that will slow you down a little, but then back to 6:20s or faster if you can for the final five. Have you run Boston before?

You should be able to run 2:48-2:52 with those times but if it's your first marathon I would aim for 2:50-2:55. You can always pick it up at the end and knock off a couple minutes if you feel good, but you don't want to go out over your head and die in the hills.

As far as pacing goes, check this stuff out:

read the whole thread, great advice.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=78427&thread=74386

Enter your info in the calculator and get splits for each mile.

http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/baasplit.html

Half marathon time x2 + ten minutes is a good rule of thumb. 2:50-55 sounds right for you. If you are able to train on hilly roads similar to Boston, go for just under 2:50. If not, be happy with anything between 2:50-55. You will definitely be in the top few for your age group.

As for pacing, be careful that you do not go out too fast. There are some big down hills early and it is easy to smash up your quads without knowing you are doing that to yourself. You really need to feel very fresh at 13.1 in order to be able to tackle the hills and still have enough to finish well. I would shoot for a relaxed first 13.1, a steady controlled effort through the hills and go for it the last 6 mi.

run miles 1-2 about 6.40 per; or about 4.05-4.10 for km's 1-3.

then pick it up to 6.20-6.30 and monitor how you feel.

Don't get swept out of the start too fast; you only pay later and risk bonking.

keep a steady effort thru the hills; don't push unless you feel really good.

Excellent tips so far - thanks. As for prior marathons, my best is 2:57:35 in the fall of 2007 (Richmond). I ran 3:04:46 at last year's Boston but my training leading up to it was hit or miss with some achilles issues that have gone away. I have not run a marathon since last year's Boston. I have set PRs at every distance since then. I live in Florida so hills are hard to come by.

The best advice I have read for Boston Marathon virgins is to not even think about "picking it up" until after you are through the first three Newton hills at mile 20.

You want to conserve energy through all the ups and downs to 16 and have a lot left for the 4 big climbs ahead and the final big long downhill from Boston College.

RE: No hills. Treadmill set on an incline not a good enough substitute?

Like many big marathon's, Boston has it's fill of idiots. Many times while starting out, I have had people literally sprint past me in the first mile. I mean sprinting. Where do you even begin to try to explain to someone how many things are wrong with this?

So, watch out. Like some others have suggested, do not get swept up in the starting line hoopla, bands, cannon firing, and idiots sprinting by you. run a comfortable pace for the first 2-3 miles. Settle in, and ease into your goal pace. A few seconds here and there will get back the 30 or 45 seconds you added in the beginning.

Remember, in the marathon, no one is impressed how hard you go out. It's only how you finish that counts.

Glad to see you're still humble, Tony.

Just try to break 3 hours. I ran times similar to yours before Boston, and didn't break 3 there. Go through the half in 1:30 (I hit it in about 1:28...ooops).

Of the 43 runners over age 50 that ran under 3 hours last year at Boston, all were under 1:30 at the half. I was thinking that my half marathon goal time should be in the 1:27-1:28 range. Any thoughts on this?

RI runner wrote:

Like many big marathon's, Boston has it's fill of idiots. Many times while starting out, I have had people literally sprint past me in the first mile. I mean sprinting. Where do you even begin to try to explain to someone how many things are wrong with this?

So, watch out. Like some others have suggested, do not get swept up in the starting line hoopla, bands, cannon firing, and idiots sprinting by you. run a comfortable pace for the first 2-3 miles. Settle in, and ease into your goal pace. A few seconds here and there will get back the 30 or 45 seconds you added in the beginning.

Remember, in the marathon, no one is impressed how hard you go out. It's only how you finish that counts.

They sprint so they can get up there with the big boys and get on tv.

T. Black wrote:

Of the 43 runners over age 50 that ran under 3 hours last year at Boston, all were under 1:30 at the half. I was thinking that my half marathon goal time should be in the 1:27-1:28 range. Any thoughts on this?

Here's my thoughts, Tony Black. If you're so smart, stop talking about your running and go figure it out. It ain't rocket science.

Assuming your fitness hasn't decreased or increased you are probably looking at the low 2:50s. The first half of Boston can be quick. 16 to 20 or so is a little slower.

Keep your training on the concrete. It is good preparation for the pounding you get the first half of the race

But of those 43 runners how many actually negative split? or stayed within a minute even?

First of all, congrats on your results and your training, very impressive for a 52 year young runner. In any marathon, ideally you want to even or negative split. The best in the world are very good at it, most of us weeken warriors aren't so fortunate. Negative or even splitting, as you probably know, at Boston is a little more difficult than Richmond(I've run both as well). I'd say sub 2:50 is within reason based on your times this year and a solid negative split in Richmond in '07. Go out at 1:25 which should be more than comfortable and try to run 1:24:59 coming back. Weather is always the X-factor in Boston(and any race for that matter). If you catch a headwind(like in 07 when everybody ran slower), be prepared to back off. If you catch a tailwind day, let it rip. Having said all that, I wouldn't get too locked into a time because you're setting yourself up for disappointment. I went to Boston in '07 in good shape and a Nor'easter blew through the morning of the race. Assume the weather will suck and be prepared to adjust your plan at the start line based on the weather and how you feel on that particular day.

I'm thinking 1:26/1:25 is his ideal race- weather permitting. I also ran '07- what a picnic that was!

Great times for your age! I think you can dip under 2:50. Go out in about 6:45 for the first miles on the steep decline and forget about all the crazies. If everything is going good start picking it up around the all-girls college. Hang in strong through the hill section and start pushing after 20. I bet you're good for a sub 39 min. last 10k as long as you haven't mashed the quads earlier. You'll be passing a lot of death in the last miles of the race. Good luck!

I really appreciate the input and find it very helpful. Thank you. To MarathonMind, I went back and looked at the splits for the 43 runners over age 50 that broke three hours last year and unless I missed something, none of them negative split. There were 2 or 3 within a minute. Nobody ran slower than 1:29:02 for the first half and still broke 3 hours.

Since you seem to have the opportunity to do the research, I'd try and find out some of their HM and 10K times. That will give you a good idea of what your plan should be.

Good luck, and while I am also running this year, I'll be a bit behind you- like half an hour!