Heat in boston

StanfordRunner wrote:

was it REALLY that hot in Boston for the times to be that slow...?

No. Almost the whole field just had a bad day.

Does anyone have data for the temps along the route today? Just curious to see the actual numbers instead of the anecdotal evidence.

I don't see what the big deal is, everyone likes apples and pie. Put the two together: apple pie. boston was a good race, but high temps. what is the big thing here?

dqwwqdqwddwq wrote:

I don't see what the big deal is, everyone likes apples and pie. Put the two together: apple pie. boston was a good race, but high temps. what is the big thing here?

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StanfordRunner wrote:

was it REALLY that hot in Boston for the times to be that slow...?

Whether it was too hot has yet to be determined.

While most people use temperature as a gauge, everyone at letsrun knows the final judges of what is hot comes from rojo and Kevin Hanson

Kevin stands on the sideline, rojo sits in front of a computer 500 miles away. They then compare notes after the race is over and they tell YOU if it was hot when you were running.

I've run in hotter weather. They said it was 80 at the start. It may have hit mid 80s around newton.

It was warm for sure, plus no cloud cover, tailwind you couldn't feel, and little shade. Mixed with a fairly tough course (2:07 record just a couple years ago), it made for a rough day.

My fastest marathon was over 900 feet elevation gain/loss through the course, and 95 degrees at the finish.

75 degrees would be very mild temperatures in the west.

another voice wrote:

Does anyone have data for the temps along the route today? Just curious to see the actual numbers instead of the anecdotal evidence.

There should be data from the airport, if anyone knows what or where it is.

afjr wrote:

StanfordRunner wrote:

was it REALLY that hot in Boston for the times to be that slow...?

Whether it was too hot has yet to be determined.

While most people use temperature as a gauge, everyone at letsrun knows the final judges of what is hot comes from rojo and Kevin Hanson

Kevin stands on the sideline, rojo sits in front of a computer 500 miles away. They then compare notes after the race is over and they tell YOU if it was hot when you were running.

This is 100% correct. I still remember Kevin Hanson popping off after Chicago in 2010. Easy call when your ace isn't running guys.

It was hot. Really hot. I clicked the watch off at mile 12 so I wouldn't run hard anymore. I didnt want to be there any longer. 50 yards in front of the 23 mile clock was a bank with an electronic time and temp sign...86 degrees at 1:16pm. Over 70 at the start. Yeah, it was that bad.

I've never filled out the emergency contact info on back of a bib until today. Saw lots of folk (from wave 1, not from the buy-in wave 3 crowd) down in the street being tended to. Heard too many sirens as well.

It wasn't that hot. Man up.

Heat by 5.

Yes, the famous thread where those who didn't run knew more than those who did.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3741314&page=0

From Kevin Hanson (@hansonsrun) on twitter yesterday.

Congratulations to all Boston Marathoners. You just ran on the hottest day EVER in Boston during the month of April. #takethatoldtimers

I think the problem for many is that we train in cold weather all winter long and then suddenly on race day, it's almost 90 degrees. If this race were held in June under the same conditions, I think many would do a lot better.

A few minutes before the start, I drank down 20 ounces of water as I always do. The difference was this time, my mouth was already feeling parched just one mile into the race. The only water available in the first 5 miles or so was the BAA water stops. None of the spectators were handing any out until later. Makes sense most years but this time I was really wishing they were.

Every single chance I got, I was drinking and pouring water on my head. It still wasn't enough

Average_Joe wrote:

I think the problem for many is that we train in cold weather all winter long and then suddenly on race day, it's almost 90 degrees. If this race were held in June under the same conditions, I think many would do a lot better.

A few minutes before the start, I drank down 20 ounces of water as I always do. The difference was this time, my mouth was already feeling parched just one mile into the race. The only water available in the first 5 miles or so was the BAA water stops. None of the spectators were handing any out until later. Makes sense most years but this time I was really wishing they were.

Every single chance I got, I was drinking and pouring water on my head. It still wasn't enough

I hear what you are saying, but check the thread above.rojo famously told runners with experiences like yours to "grow a pair" on the front page....from the comfort of his home.

another voice wrote:

Does anyone have data for the temps along the route today? Just curious to see the actual numbers instead of the anecdotal evidence.

You can get historic hour by hour data at

for most locations.

Not to discount how tough it was this year and only looking at a few data points, it looks like 1976 was a couple degrees warmer and the race would have started two hours later thus being run during the warmest part of the day.

bu wait wait wait. i thought weather did not affect the boston marathon results. right?

If you go to the bottom of the page linked, there are links to a number of local weather stations. Most of these are unofficial stations. If you click on the link to most of these stations you can then change the date you wish to view and can get the temp and conditions at frequent points throughout the day. There is usually a google map showing the location of the station.

For example the first linked station is on the Newton Highlands

The page shows the readings updated every five minutes in both chart and graph form.