BOSTON MARATHON: stay near finish or near start

After a long hard marathon, the last thing you want to do is go travel anywhere. Stay as near the finish line as you can.

so what you're saying is that boston is like any other marathon...i wanted specific areas in boston to stay

What do you think we are?

Fucking Uri geller?

b0B

i've got a sneaking suspicion that you're a tool, actually.

and an unhelpful one, at that.

my question as well. But since the race is on Monday, that means we have to take off work on Monday and Tuesday and get a hotel for an extra night. Also, the race starts so damn late that by the time we even start, you have to check out of the room and have no where to shower, unless u get the room for an extra night. Who\'s brainiac idea was it to host a marathon at noon on a Monday???

Yeah, damn those jackasses for having the marathon on Patriots Day, a Boston City Holiday. They've had 110+ marathons on that day, lets change it for you because you are a cheap bastard.

I\'ve raced Boston 11 times.Stay at Holiday Inn Brookline its at the 24 mile mark and the green line is across the street.Also affordable too.Good luck

stay near finish...many hotels will allow late check out for free or fraction of cost...if not they'll let you check your bags and offer a room to shower after the race

MF

thanks for any input...mr. geller, can you tell me where i might stay so i don't have to check on availability

thanks

I've stayed at the Hilton and Sheraton both in Back Bay (near the finish). They both allowed me to take a shower in their fitness rooms after the marathon. Don't worry about getting the room an extra night.

Also, I wouldn't stay near the start because you can't get close to Hopkinton with all the interstate exits "roped" off (except for buses). I've seen people walking from the interstate exit to the start - at least 3 miles.

The bus system they setup is very reliable.

I stayed at the Marriott Copley last year. It was my first Boston so I just decided to save up and foot the bill. It was about 3 blocks or so from the finish. very close to everything, but there are also many, many others just as close or closer. Getting around and catching the "T" is easy from there. I liked the hotel even though expensive, I just split it with 2 other friends of mine.

I will tell you this though, I really loved the benefit of having the room so close to the finish line after 26.2 miles. I sure did not feel like riding the train or catching a cab somewhere further out. it is quite crowded downtown on that day.

However, if I ever go again, I am usually conservative and tight with money and would probably stay further out and less expensive.

stay near the finish, that way you have loads of choices for eating and entertainment and packet pick up/expo, all close by, plus the big city excitement of seeing other marathoners, etc. Also, try to go to the post race awards ceremony and/or evening post-race bash, it is nicely done, as is everything they do. Spend Monday night and fly out Tuesday, that way you can get the Tuesday papers and all their excellent coverage of the race.

If it is your first time running it, it will be hard to PR, if you do plan to walk around some beforehand, plus that course eats quads for lunch and dinner, at least it had mine by 22 miles.

stay away from Boston, unless you just like a parade of 20,000 runners who have been sitting on their butts for 4 hours in the sun. It is definitely not worth trying to go and PR

Confucius we don't want you anyway. Boston isn't about PRs, it's about kickin' ass and taking names on Heartbreak Hill, it's about Bill Rodgers winning in a t-shirt he made himself, it's about Comas Ndeti 3-peating and naming his son "Boston," it's about guys from BC in jeans running alongside you at mile 21 with a beer in their hand, it's about THAT.

So I'm not gonna sit here, and let you badmouth the United States of America. Now who's with me!

Confucius is right. Boston had its glory back in the old days....but time to pass the torch on to Chicago, or some better run marathon as "The Marathon".

A social party more than a race

People who complain about Boston Marathon being a "has been" marathon are most likely the ones who either have not or will never qualify.

Go run with your idols from Runnersworld and leave Bill Rodgers and the other legends of Boston to us.

I'm with Mr. Fitz on this one. No matter how good Chicago is (and I hear virtually nothing but good about it), it has one hell of a way to go before it can even think about being a race with history. Mr. DeMar, both Johnny Kelleys, Bill Rodgers, and a boatload of Canadians, Japanese and Finns have taken care of that. Boston IS different by virtue of both history and "requiring" qualification.

Wayne

dogscalder wrote:

so what you're saying is that boston is like any other marathon...i wanted specific areas in boston to stay

Actually, Boston is like any other marathon. But it did not sound as if you were asking for a specific place to say, it sounded as if you were asking whether it was better to say near the finish or the start, which is why I gave you the answer I did. I was not attempting to be a wise-ass

dogscalder wrote:

so what you're saying is that boston is like any other marathon...i wanted specific areas in boston to stay

Actually, Boston is like any other marathon. But it did not sound as if you were asking for a specific place to stay, it sounded as if you were asking whether it was better to stay near the finish or the start, which is why I gave you the answer I did. I was not attempting to be a wise-ass