2022 Boston Marathon Thread (Read 173 times)

Hopefully, I’ll be running Boston for the first time in 3 weeks and a day. Those with past experience, what are the thing(s) you wish you knew before your first (Boston Marathon)? What are your top nuggets of advice?  Thanks much!

What I wish I knew before my first.  I didn't appreciate how hard the Newton Hills were going to be. I mean, I knew they would be difficult for me because I'm not a great hill runner but I didn't realize how never-ending that entire section of the course would feel.

Top nuggets of advice.  Off the top of my head:

• Hit the expo early.  I usually arrive on Saturday afternoon.  Some years, I've literally checked into my hotel and immediately headed over to get that part of the weekend over with.
• Visit the finish line before the race.  I tend to go on Sunday.  I enjoy seeing all the runners and jacket colors.
• Make Sunday dinner reservations early.  (Or order room service.)  It is really hard to get in to eat anywhere in the Back Bay.
• There's no need to catch an early bus.  Getting to Hopkinton super early makes no sense to me.  You will have plenty of time to make it to the starting line and are just clogging up the Athlete's Village.
• The walk to the start is about a mile but there are port-a-potties there and the lines are shorter than in the Village.
• There is water and Gatorade on both sides of the road so there's no need to switch sides of the road at the aid stations.
• Unless you really need the seconds to re-qualify, ease up at the end and enjoy the finish on Boylston.  It will give you chills.
• Wear your medal after the race.  You will feel like a rock star. Random strangers will ask you how you did.  I'll never forget how after my first Boston, two sketchy-looking guys in a car, probably smoking a joint or something, rolled down their window and legitimately asked how my race went.
• Find some time to walk on Boylston after the race.  I like cheering on runners who are still finishing late into the night.  One year, I happened to see Dave McGillivray finish, which was pretty cool.

I think I'd echo most of what Julia said. The only one I might change, although it's solely dependent on wave, are the busses. If you are in wave 1, I'd definitely recommend getting on the early busses. Getting to the village early removes any stress on arriving late.

 

The other one I'd add that you hear a lot but people seem to ignore: take it easy the first 2 miles. It's so downhill that if you go flying out you will trash your legs. I describe it as putting your car in neutral. Don't actively break going down the hills (a mistake some people make taking the advice to the extreme), but definitely take your foot completely off the gas and just float down them. If you want to be aggressive on the downhills, do it after 20.

 

And I'd echo the Netwon hills. I still remember climbing the first one (I think it's an overpass?) and passing a fellow forum member. I told him "I feel great and I'm going to pick it up after Heartbreak!" The exact opposite happened. Ran my worst positive split in a marathon to date and honestly had a bit of a brown out, ie the last 6 miles are such a blur in my mind because I was in so much pain. So the advice is don't make any sort of pacing moves until you're over heartbreak. If you feel good at that point, then go for it!

Yes to this.  You will feel like you're going too slow in the first few miles because everyone (it will seem) is passing you but let 'em go.  Be conservative and you'll pick 'em off towards the end of the race.

thank you for all the thoughts. very much appreciated.

any suggestions for the athlete's village? I have heard that wearing a throwaway pair of shoes and socks, and carrying the shoes/socks you will run in, is a good idea in case conditions are wet/muddy. Otherwise, it seem like what you can take is pretty limited unless you're wearing it?

thank you for all the thoughts. very much appreciated.

 

any suggestions for the athlete's village? I have heard that wearing a throwaway pair of shoes and socks, and carrying the shoes/socks you will run in, is a good idea in case conditions are wet/muddy. Otherwise, it seem like what you can take is pretty limited unless you're wearing it?

Yes, you'll be given a small bag to pack whatever you want to bring so don't plan on taking much.

As far as the shoes thing...  I don't think it's worth the trouble having an extra pair of shoes.  I've run Boston at least two years where the field has been wet and only once when it was so bad that my shoes literally got stuck in the mud.  Even then, my shoes/socks weren't so wet that it bothered me.  Maybe with all the adrenaline, I didn't notice.  Also, you can avoid the field if it's muddy.  The Athlete's Village is two fields with port-a-potties on the outer rim and a tent in the middle.  There's asphalt between the field and the school.  If it's a wet day, you can just hang out on the asphalt and use the port-a-potties near the start, thereby avoiding the field.

I would HATE to have to change shoes in Athlete's village.

I ran Boston in 2018 (the bad cold wet year).  I bought waterproof shoe covers from Amazon and wore those over my vaporflies in Athlete's village, removing them in the starting corral.  They worked perfectly.

So yesterday I officially gave up all hope of being fit and healthy enough to run Boston 2022.

After fighting threw the tough winter training in New York State I suffered a calf strain about 5 weeks ago and have not been able to run. Yesterday I went out for a run and broke down after just 3 miles and had to limp back to my car.

Don't know if I have the heart and motivation to try and qualify fr another BM.

Is there a way to know the bandings for different corrals,I'm currently in wave 2,corral 2 but that's based on my 3:07 and I'm not in that shape so think I'd be better dropping back a bit but don't want to go too far.