Forums >General Running>Is Boston or CIM harder?
Also a lot of truth in the statement I made above. PR'd the half and the full, Boston never has the weather CIM does, and while Boston is more net downhill (which no one EVER cares about until CIM comes up) it will probably be harder for me than CIM. If Boston had low 40s starting temps and a light breeze with 12,000 runners I'm positive the same runners would claim Boston was harder. The two people I've know to talk about the courses with more experience with Boston have said CIM hurt more and they still say Boston is harder. It can't be that 75% of runners go out too fast at Boston and CIM attracts runners who are smarter with their racing and pace themselves better for 22 miles of rolling hills with a pancake flat finish. Mikey Nope. I walked all the hard ones. Revel Mt. Charleston 2019 and Chicago 2018.
Also a lot of truth in the statement I made above. PR'd the half and the full, Boston never has the weather CIM does, and while Boston is more net downhill (which no one EVER cares about until CIM comes up) it will probably be harder for me than CIM. If Boston had low 40s starting temps and a light breeze with 12,000 runners I'm positive the same runners would claim Boston was harder. The two people I've know to talk about the courses with more experience with Boston have said CIM hurt more and they still say Boston is harder. It can't be that 75% of runners go out too fast at Boston and CIM attracts runners who are smarter with their racing and pace themselves better for 22 miles of rolling hills with a pancake flat finish.
Mikey Nope. I walked all the hard ones. Revel Mt. Charleston 2019 and Chicago 2018.
From my individual results history:
Fastest: CIM (2:48)
2nd - Boston (2:50)
3rd - CIM (2:51:17)
4th - Boston (2:51:36)
5th - Los Angeles (2:53:02)
It makes me think if only Boston had a good weather consistently, like CIM. I agree that Boston is a little harder course (but the only thing I can actually remember is those few hills at miles 16-21 - they are really annoying , but the crowd support is second to none comparing to CIM especially.
Chicago is not a hard course, it has the same problems like Boston with weather plus it's boring as hell...
paces PRs - 5K - 5:48 / 10K - 6:05 / HM - 6:14 / FM - 6:26 per mile
Mmmm Bop
I was going to recommend NYC as it’s not a boring race/city, but I forget that you only run potential PR courses.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
Well - come and run Los Angeles marathon (I ran it twice) and then tell me if it's a PR course. Also, The Avenue of Giants - an awesome, beautiful course, but check its profile for being a PR course. Anyway - basically, again, for the thousandth time I am telling you - I run CIM because it's my local marathon, very simple, inexpensive and well ran race. If I live in LA, I am certain I would run LA marathon every year, if I live in NY or Boston or in Tokyo or in Berlin or in London or in Chicago, I would run those marathons every year for sure (though I hated Chicago course) - because it's just the simplest thing you could do. And again - my PR time in Boston is just a few seconds slower than your ALL TIME LIFE PR in London
I run CIM because it's my local marathon, very simple, inexpensive and well ran race.
+1. And, for me, it's on the USATF-PA Long Grand Prix so I get to race with long-time friends/competitors.
Yes, but it’s 83:94% AG.
Big deal - it's 82.73% in my case. But sure - enjoy this short time of being ahead of me
Well you’ll need to run a 2:52:17 this year to go 83.95%. And time trials don’t count, so it could be a long time. 😝
Well... That's your custom made rule about TT. I would say it's more difficult to run TT than a real race with dozens of people around you. So, I might count it as a real result in a view of the current situation, After all - you will have an access to my GPS data and you can judge if my TT eligible or not. Btw, 2:52 sounds easy - I ran 4 times faster than that
Well the TT would have to be on a proper legit course similar to what JMac did for his half...and not some downhill point to point route of your choice with the potential of a tailwind. 💨
It's impossible to find certified marathon course around here that would not cross bunch of big streets. So, I was thinking about 0.68 loop not far from here in some local park with +/-20 feet elevation change per loop. And actually, I do not care about if my time is legit or not - I will care more about final time and what shape I am in. There will be time for legit races, so, no worries For now it's more about keeping myself motivated enough. Plus, I am not planning for any TT for probably another 10-12 weeks maybe? And by then there is a big change something bad happens anyway - injury, fall, sickness?
Mother of Cats
A few weeks ago, early in the cancellations, I saw quite a few people running loops of Hains Point (our local three mile flat loop) with an intent focused look.Checked the Strava Fly-bys, and yup, a lot of people making up for their cancelled races, including some 26.2x runs....
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
Coastal Trail Runs/Zoom has a certified course at Quarry Lakes in Fremont. Doesn't cross any streets and fairly flat. It is 2 loops tho, but hey, that beats 39!
From the web site:
The Half Marathon (CA19047RS) and Marathon courses (CA18047RS) are USATF certified.
Oh, and to stay on topic, it is difficult for me to separate the course/weather. I've run 3 CIMs and 2 Bostons. CIM has always been favorable to me 2 BQs and both of my Bostons have been warm and disastrous (performance wise). So, yeah CIM seems way easier to me. But, CIM is close to a local race for me and Boston involves a 5+ hour plane ride.
Ray
Coastal Trail Runs/Zoom has a certified course at Quarry Lakes in Fremont. Doesn't cross any streets and fairly flat. It is 2 loops tho, but hey, that beats 39! From the web site: The Half Marathon (CA19047RS) and Marathon courses (CA18047RS) are USATF certified. Oh, and to stay on topic, it is difficult for me to separate the course/weather. I've run 3 CIMs and 2 Bostons. CIM has always been favorable to me 2 BQs and both of my Bostons have been warm and disastrous (performance wise). So, yeah CIM seems way easier to me. But, CIM is close to a local race for me and Boston involves a 5+ hour plane ride.
Wow! Thank you so much! 2 loops definitely beat 39, for sure. Thank you for your advise, really appreciate it - will try to research on the course and maybe try to test run couple of times first. That should also shut down those people from Britain who require course certification even for time trials. It is so cool!
Coastal Trail Runs/Zoom has a certified course at Quarry Lakes in Fremont. Doesn't cross any streets and fairly flat. It is 2 loops tho, but hey, that beats 39! From the web site: The Half Marathon (CA19047RS) and Marathon courses (CA18047RS) are USATF certified.
Turned out I ran that course in Feb 2013 - it was called Bay Breeze HM organized by Brazing Racing. I was learning the course last night a lot I think after I run it at least once it should be easy to remember. It's absolutely flat as I remember. The only problem could only probably be people with dogs. But it's a couple of months away, so, no need to get too excited that there is such course which even Mikkey have to accept
IIRC, Bay Breeze/Summer Breeze starts up in San Leandro near the Oakland Airport and heads south and yes very flat. Brazen has their Western Pacific race at quarry lakes, but I believe the course is slightly different. Western Pacific is certified, but I don't think the Breeze races are.