You guys and your Boston talk is really interesting to me. I'm in my very long training attempt to qualify for Boston. Really just for the prestige of it. But the weather and $$$ has me like I'll still try to qualify in the next few years though. #werk
I ran an easy 4.5 on the 'mill. Nothing special or interesting. Although I got no sleep last night, so I'm hoping all the minions go to sleep early so I can, too. I'm heading into my highest mileage week since...2015? Yay!
I loved it! I would do it again 100% if I had not before.
Definitely. We were strictly talking about running it multiple years
Great post Eric. I'm glad you had some free time today
So Boston is that expensive eh? How much are we talking like with flight, hotel, entry, food, etc? Im assuming your looking at $1500 or so?
How do you think the cost of Boston would compare to Berlin or Amsterdam?
PRs:----- 5k: 17:48 (2019) 5M: 29:36 (2020) HM: 1:24:37 (2017) Scheduled: ???
For me it was a little bit south of $2k, but not by much. It came in stages though; I paid for the air fare in June, registration in September, the jacket in February (I think) and the hotel at check-in.
For what it is, it delivers. I had/have no issues or qualms with any of it except the start time which understandably, is what it is.
I see Boston as an unattainable goal. It would mean making my 5k PR pace my marathon pace....
Maybe I would do it with a charity bib but that's really the only way. Unless I get way faster in like 20 years Because it's so far away from reality, it in no way defines my running like I think it does for some people. "I'm not a real runner unless I qualify for Boston" I'm glad so many people can use it for motivation and work really hard. I love reading about everyone's attempts to qualify and then their races in the crazy weather!
Okay--good to know! So the whole, "Boston, you have stolen my heart" thing didn't really ring true for you guys, Cyber & Onemile?
I get why people love it. Been there, seen that, and it is something else.
I guess I see it like somebody who spends every family vacation at Disney (never been there, but I hear it's something else). I don't think I'd do that. But some people do. And it's ok.
Back to Boston, maybe if I had run like 50 marathons, all over, I'd realize that there's no place like Boston, and I'd go every year.
But for now, I know Boston was great, now I want to see/try some other big marathons so I can make my own mind about Boston.
So it didn't steal my heart enough that I know that I'll never live anything like that. No. But it was a great experience.
Montreal, which I have done two times, also has many points in its favor: I get to sleep in my own bed, I know every street in the course, I hear my name all over the course as it is my local marathon and I know people, it is cheap, the start is at a decent time...
Boston is great. Maybe Boston is not the greatest.
I wouldn't rule it out. I remember being thrilled to run a 7:45 paced 5k and that was a huge PR. Running 50+ mpw consistently and doing regular speed work made me faster than I ever imagined I could be. I remember thinking I could never bq. Now I'm like 23 minutes under my bq time.
Great post Eric. I'm glad you had some free time today So Boston is that expensive eh? How much are we talking like with flight, hotel, entry, food, etc? Im assuming your looking at $1500 or so? How do you think the cost of Boston would compare to Berlin or Amsterdam?
It cost me about $1200 (Boston). But I was living in a cheap AirBnB appartment in Somerville. I did not buy the jacket. I drove there, and the parking was included at the apartment. I was using the train (subway) to go around town.
It would definitely cost more to go to Berlin, but maybe not that much more for Amsterdam. Never looked at the hotel prices during marathon time. Berlin is a hugely popular marathon, with the elite, so it must be expensive. I hear Amsterdam is just as flat and fast, and a much smaller event.
The Boston marathon is all about making you feel special so it's a little different in that way. Or everyone treats the runners that way. Which I didn't experience at other marathons. From the pilot wishing the marathoners luck on the plane when we took off, the blessing of the athletes at old south church, the people in the city offering to help post race or offering congratulations or even security at the airport letting me skip the line because I was a cripple post race.
I spent around $1500 on Boston I think (including airfare). You can easily spend near that much on plane tickets for Amsterdam or Berlin
Yes. I was there a few days before, and in many stores and restaurants I went to, the people working there would ask me if I was there for the marathon, and I'd get thank yous for coming to run their marathon. That was surreal. The VIP treatment runners get all over the city. And the BAA have the art of organizing a marathon down to a T. Everything is perfect.
And THAT is what makes the Boston marathon so special and the reason I think it was great. I agree 100% with Onemile.
4 miles. Still hot AF. Tonight the bugs were out, got bit by a stupid horse fly. And then at the end had to listen to a pissed off deer snorting at me.
I ran Boston last year, qualifying on my 3rd marathon. Being over 60 is a real advantage for races that have qualifying times. Looking at the list, I could conceivably run most of them, if I had the money. I BQed again at Boston and have really mixed feelings about the upcoming registration. I would love to do the race again. Once I qualified, I participated in a couple of Boston FB groups. There is so much excitement surrounding the race - starting when people qualify, then at registration, then in the months just before the race when people compare their training and goals, and then afterwards when we all shared our stories of race day. It feels like a huge international community that is really united in the goal of running Boston. I haven't done any other big races, so I don't know if there is that kind of online excitement about them. I do know that Boston is different from most races. I liked the course, what I saw of it. I did well and think I could do better if I ran it when I wasn't half frozen. The on-course support is incredible. People who have run the race before said there were fewer people cheering, given the horrible conditions, but everyone who ran had stories of the incredible people who were out there in the downpour, cheering, handing out snacks and dry socks, helping frozen runners etc. I was really impressed by the numbers and enthusiasm I witnessed. That said, I won't be running again next year because of the cost. To get a decent hotel in town is $300-600 night. A motel out of town is cheaper, but then you have to deal with transportation and not participating in some activities because it is more of a hassle getting in and out. I would like to see what Boston is like in a more normal year, and perhaps I will someday. I just couldn't justify two very expensive years in a row. Instead I'm signed up for Myrtle Beach next March, which costs less than $100 and where I can get a motel for less than $100. If money were no object though, I'd be signing up next week for Boston.