Forums >Racing>2015 Boston Marathon Thread
Does anyone know if it is difficult to get dropped off at the start rather than taking the shuttle? I'm thinking about staying in Milford the night before since the hotels out there are much more reasonably priced and I would only be about 5 miles from the start. I don't want it to turn into a big Cluster F though, so I was wondering about people's experiences with that, especially last year with the heightened security in place. Thanks
Does anyone know if it is difficult to get dropped off at the start rather than taking the shuttle? I'm thinking about staying in Milford the night before since the hotels out there are much more reasonably priced and I would only be about 5 miles from the start. I don't want it to turn into a big Cluster F though, so I was wondering about people's experiences with that, especially last year with the heightened security in place.
Thanks
It's not super difficult. A friend of mine had his wife drop him off last year and only at the last minute did I decide not to go with him. I regretted it.
In the past, I've gotten dropped off at the Hopkinton state park and taken the shuttle buses from there (which are supposed to be for spectators) to the town center, bypassing the "athletes village" altogether. Last year, with the heightened security and also wanting to get the full Boston experience, I took the bus from the common to the athletes village like a regular person. Yeah I'm all set with that.
I'll be getting dropped off, probably at at Hopkinton state park, and just figuring out how to get to my corral from there.
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Thanks for the info. I think I am going to go ahead with getting the room in Milford. I will be staying with a friend in Wellesley otherwise, but I think it makes the most sense to get a hotel close to the start the night before.
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Whenever the field limit has been reached. The trend lately has been a week or so after registration opens, so mid-September 2015 most likely.
so must run a qualifying race between now & mid september 2015 to be in the mix? 6 1/2 -7 months before Boston in April 2016?
Boston 2015 will be my 3rd Boston, not consecutive. Goal time <2:50 which right now is feeling like a long shot. My training plan will be loosely based on Pfitz 70/85 with some longer trail runs (50k) thrown in and more emphasis on hill training so I stay ready for summer Ultras.
Count me ALL in. This is my 3rd Boston and 4th marathon. Going to train for a sub 3 and use Fernando Braz's coaching service "going the distance" . Will do some races along the way. Looking forward to this thread.
You doing the Boston / VCM double?
4th Boston, goal is 3:15; pfitz 15ish/70
Rhode Island Road Runners
Hahah I need to gauge my sanity this winter to decide. I don't think I can run Boston as a training run, but if training is going poorly (like now) then it is a good possibility. Also, if I feel good after Boston then I will do VCM. I have already given it a lot of thought so there is a 65 percent chance right now. And I do want to do the whole series at some point. ughhh
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It's not super difficult. A friend of mine had his wife drop him off last year and only at the last minute did I decide not to go with him. I regretted it. In the past, I've gotten dropped off at the Hopkinton state park and taken the shuttle buses from there (which are supposed to be for spectators) to the town center, bypassing the "athletes village" altogether. Last year, with the heightened security and also wanting to get the full Boston experience, I took the bus from the common to the athletes village like a regular person. Yeah I'm all set with that. I'll be getting dropped off, probably at at Hopkinton state park, and just figuring out how to get to my corral from there.
Last year I got dropped off at Hopkinton state park at the exit designated for runners and took a shuttle bus to the athlete's village. No problem. The only downside is that you can no longer check a bag at the athlete's village. If you take a shuttle from Boston, you can check a bag at the common before taking the shuttle bus to the start. I just planned to meet my husband at the finish and he brought my stuff for me.
My acceptance card with my updated time came in the mail today.
I'll probably take a local club bus in that morning as I've done in past years. The increased security last year made this a bit trickier, but it was great to sleep in my own bed (I live in Western Mass) and then have my "stuff" on the bus beforehand and also afterward (after a stiff legged walk from the finish).
The training is going well so far probably because I am mostly taking it easy after lots of fall racing and a birthday 50 miler. The speed work and hill repeats start to show up with regularity in the next weeks. The training plan is a modified McMillan/Lydiard plan mostly based on time, but probably peaking at 70 miles per week.
Good training and healthy body part wishes to all!
Ooh, I just found this. Can I join in?
2015 will be my first Boston, 8th marathon overall. I'm not positive of a goal time yet - probably would like to requalify. I get 10 more minutes for 2016, so only need 3:55 this time. I'm using (loosely) Pfitz 18/55. The first 2 weeks have featured too many unscheduled rest days. All my kids were home for Christmas and life has been crazy. This week we had 7 people (me, husband, 4 kids, one daughter in law) plus 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 rats, 3 fish, 1 snail and a snake in the house since our 2 older ones were home for the holidays and brought their pets, too. Hoping to get back in the swing this week.
As a slower. runner mostly, I really never thought I'd qualify so I'm super excited!
I'm about 5 weeks in to my spring marathon training.
The Good: The paces on my runs have been really strong. I'm running most medium and long runs in the 8:05-8:25 range, running most of my easy runs really easy (9:00+ pace), and I even hit goal marathon pace (7:30 pace) during a tempo run. I've also been doing short hill sprints every other week. I figured it was time I work on this flaw in my running. My goal marathon features a two mile climb and of course, there's the hills in Boston.
The Bad: I'm having so much trouble getting out of bed in the morning! It's so bad that I've been doing runs during lunch or after work. It's screwing up my schedule for the next day's run and my rest.
The Ugly: I ended up slogging though the end of yesterday's 20 miler. It was only two days after that GMP workout and I think I needed more rest. I think I was also overheated. It was in the upper 50s at the end of my run and I was in a thermal and tights.
Looking Ahead: I have a couple races in the next few weeks. I won't taper for them but will make them my speedwork for the week.
It's been great seeing so many runners in their Boston gear out on the trails. I'm even thinking of getting this top. The material looks suspect, though.
Happy training everyone!
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
Ooh, I just found this. Can I join in? 2015 will be my first Boston, 8th marathon overall. I'm not positive of a goal time yet - probably would like to requalify. I get 10 more minutes for 2016, so only need 3:55 this time. I'm using (loosely) Pfitz 18/55. The first 2 weeks have featured too many unscheduled rest days. All my kids were home for Christmas and life has been crazy. This week we had 7 people (me, husband, 4 kids, one daughter in law) plus 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 rats, 3 fish, 1 snail and a snake in the house since our 2 older ones were home for the holidays and brought their pets, too. Hoping to get back in the swing this week. As a slower. runner mostly, I really never thought I'd qualify so I'm super excited!
I had to do a double-take on this part. Keeping these three away from one another must have been crazy enough. LOL!
Good luck getting back on schedule.
I just had my first 50-mile week since October. Small victories!
After a disappointing and injury-riddled fall season, including running the Manchester City Marathon just to finish for the grand prix points, I have taken the last bunch of weeks to heal and very slowly build back to normal mileage. No real workouts yet, just 2 medium-long runs (one that was not a jog) and some strides this week. Otherwise all short, easy runs.
I drew up an 18 week training plan working backward from Vermont City. So my "marathon training" starts January 19th. Until then I'll continue to gradually increase the mileage so that a 60 mile week feels normal by the time the schedule starts. Boston falls at the beginning of the 14th week of the plan, just under 5 weeks before Vermont.
I have an idea in my head for my goal at Boston ... I'd like to run the final 10k in under 40 minutes. That's my PR marathon pace, but for just the last 10k. I think if I'm able to do that it will force me to keep things well in check for the first 20 miles, it will have maximum workout value with minimum (for a marathon) recovery, and it will be a big confidence boost heading into the final few weeks of prep for Vermont. I'll see how things are going as I really get into my training, but right now that's the plan.
And thank God the holidays are over--I'm about 8-10 lbs above racing weight right now. I'd like to drop about 4-5 of it before the end of January because trying to push through big tempos and hill workouts carrying this load will be no fun at all.
Happy trails, all.