Anybody running Boston?

[kamper]

I just found out that I'm going to be there watching and I figured it'd be cool if I could spot some of the ATHF running stars.

 

[SWScorch]

Not this year, but I know a ton of people who are going. One guy from my area is turning 60 this summer and running his 40th consecutive Boston marathon!!

 

[Matt915]

I live in Boston; go to the early sox game last year and this year, but I'll watch the 'thon afterward. Where will you be?

 

[Bateluer]

Can't, not fast enough to make the cut off for my age group. :/

 

[kamper]

I live in Boston; go to the early sox game last year and this year, but I'll watch the 'thon afterward. Where will you be?

I'm going to the sox game on Saturday too My dad somehow managed to become one of the VIPs that gets trotted out on field before the game (he's running). Also, they're playing the Jays and I'm from Toronto so that'll make it double fun, especially if both teams keep playing the way they've started the season

As for where I'll be, probably as close to the finish line as a spot can be found is all I know right now. I've never been to Boston so I don't know the area.

 

[kamper]

One guy from my area is turning 60 this summer and running his 40th consecutive Boston marathon!!

Wow, running a marathon at 60 is an accomplishment in itself. To run marathons for 40 years is even bigger, and doing it at Boston? That's quite something. I'll keep an eye out for him, I'm sure he will be getting some publicity.

 

[kamper]

Can't, not fast enough to make the cut off for my age group. :/

Me either. I ran my first marathon last year and watched my qualifying time tick by at about the 32km mark

 

[Matt915]

I'm going to the sox game on Saturday too My dad somehow managed to become one of the VIPs that gets trotted out on field before the game (he's running). Also, they're playing the Jays and I'm from Toronto so that'll make it double fun, especially if both teams keep playing the way they've started the season

As for where I'll be, probably as close to the finish line as a spot can be found is all I know right now. I've never been to Boston so I don't know the area.

I'm looking forward to the game; I think my dad and I are going to turn it into a tradition...although I do like wandering off drunk at 11 AM to go hit on girls, gonna be weird with him there. Picture Mardis Gras, or cancun on spring break; that's Boston on Patriot's Day. It's to celebrate the battles of Lexington & Concord, and is only celebrated in Maine (formerly part of MA) and Massachusetts. Boston basically turns into a 2 million person party, and it starts early. Bars are usually at capacity by 11 a.m., so be prepared. Also you have to actually be buying food at a place to use their bathrooms, so be ready for that too. Pee a lot at Fenway. It's a blast though, it really is my favorite day of the year

As for the marathon, it will be very hard to get to the finish line. I got down one year by basically shoving people for a half hour. The finish line comes after a left turn, if you're on the opposite side of the road you can't cross so you can't get there, you have to basically back track and find a way around and then scuttle up to the finish line. Here's a couple pictures...in the first one that blue banner is the finish line, and in the 2nd a tree is blocking it. Later on it's easier to get close to the line as people filter out.

oh, and one more for the Canadians

 

[kamper]

I'm looking forward to the game; I think my dad and I are going to turn it into a tradition...although I do like wandering off drunk at 11 AM to go hit on girls, gonna be weird with him there. Picture Mardis Gras, or cancun on spring break; that's Boston on Patriot's Day. It's to celebrate the battles of Lexington & Concord, and is only celebrated in Maine (formerly part of MA) and Massachusetts. Boston basically turns into a 2 million person party, and it starts early. Bars are usually at capacity by 11 a.m., so be prepared. Also you have to actually be buying food at a place to use their bathrooms, so be ready for that too. Pee a lot at Fenway. It's a blast though, it really is my favorite day of the year

I'll be at the game Saturday not Monday, so there'll be time to do what I need to do at the hotel before going out to find a spot. And I'm not planning on drinking large amounts of beer

As for the marathon, it will be very hard to get to the finish line. I got down one year by basically shoving people for a half hour. The finish line comes after a left turn, if you're on the opposite side of the road you can't cross so you can't get there, you have to basically back track and find a way around and then scuttle up to the finish line. Here's a couple pictures...in the first one that blue banner is the finish line, and in the 2nd a tree is blocking it. Later on it's easier to get close to the line as people filter out.

I figured it would be pretty packed. At any rate, my dad will be coming in late enough (over 4 hours, and starting in the last wave) that I expect the worst of the crowds to be cleared out from the finish area. What I don't know is if we'll be able to see him around the 3/4 mark and then drive closer to the finish to see him again.

oh, and one more for the Canadians

Thanks

 

[Capt Caveman]

My next door neighbor is running. One day, I'll run it. Will probably be hanging out along Commonwealth Ave near the BU bridge.

When you and your dad go pick-up his number, plan to spend some time at the Sports Expo that's there, tons of vendors and other cool stuff.

 

[Megatomic]

I have no aspirations to run another road race, not even boston.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I find watching soccer, autoracing and golf boring but I love watching triathlons and marathons. I could watch the whole Boston Marathon every year.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Two close finishes, especially the women's race.

 

[kamper]

I didn't see the finish because I was out at the 17-mile mark watching my Dad but I'll bet it was exciting.

What I did see though I didn't find particularly inspiring. There were a lot of people running without bibs, some apparently doing the whole thing, some just doing part or running with a friend for a ways. I don't necessarily object to going out and supporting a runner you know if there's room on the course, but around the end it got to the point where there were more joiners than actual runners and sometimes it was hard to tell if someone had ran the whole way or not.

That, and around the 5 hour mark, there seemed to be a lot of people who had run the whole thing but were really taking it easy. Again, not anything really wrong with that, but most marathon finishes that I've seen were really more dominated by people who were really clearly giving it all they had and that's a lot more engaging to watch.

Dad did work hard though. He was battling a sore back and knee and popping pain killers during the run so he was pleased to finish the whole race running. We got to see him at about the 17 and 25 mile marks.

The weather was fantastic: sunny but cool. Comfortable both for running and watching. My mom and I took the mbta out to Woodland (the 17 mile mark) and that was probably the slowest, most congested public transit ride I've ever taken, since obviously many people were doing the same thing and the red sox game was also starting around that time.

 

[Bateluer]

I didn't see the finish because I was out at the 17-mile mark watching my Dad but I'll bet it was exciting.

What I did see though I didn't find particularly inspiring. There were a lot of people running without bibs, some apparently doing the whole thing, some just doing part or running with a friend for a ways. I don't necessarily object to going out and supporting a runner you know if there's room on the course, but around the end it got to the point where there were more joiners than actual runners and sometimes it was hard to tell if someone had ran the whole way or not.

That, and around the 5 hour mark, there seemed to be a lot of people who had run the whole thing but were really taking it easy. Again, not anything really wrong with that, but most marathon finishes that I've seen were really more dominated by people who were really clearly giving it all they had and that's a lot more engaging to watch.

Really? Most of the marathons I've done haven't been friendly to bandits, people running without bibs. If you want to support a friend running, you pay the entrance fee and run at their pace.

 

[kamper]

Really? Most of the marathons I've done haven't been friendly to bandits, people running without bibs. If you want to support a friend running, you pay the entrance fee and run at their pace.

Yeah, I was pretty surprised. I actually jogged about a half k with my dad at 17m and felt a little bad about it, but I think it pepped him up a good bit. Near the end though it was really bad. Big groups of friends running around with signs getting people to cheer for the runners, parents taking their kids out with them for the final mile, etc. There were some people who were dressed to run and looked like they actually joined for a couple of miles. I definitely didn't want to add to that.

I guess the thing about Boston is that you can't just pay the entry fee and go, it's actually really hard to get in for most people. I think they probably were just letting this happen for the long tail of runners at the end though. Anywhere from maybe 4 hours or under was too fast and the runners were too dense on the course for people to hop in.