I think I had a similar experience to most who have posted. I felt great until about 14mi and was on pace for my goal time (3:30) then absolutely hit the wall. The heat really got to me at that point, then the hills etc....second half was about 25min slower. That was my first marathon so I'm still really inexperienced when it comes to pacing so I'm sure that didn't help. I probably should have backed off more in the first half given the heat...rookie mistake:)

Given the weather and my inexperience I'm happy with my performance. Most of the people I spoke with at the finish line were saying they were 20-30min over their projected time, so I guess 25min over my goal is in line with what most people experienced.

I'm from Boston and it was great to finally be a part of the race. The fans were great with the hoses, ice, water etc. Unbelievable experience.

I am no Uli, but I had a great race. I ran a 3:10:23, which was essentially my goal time. I ran a 3:12 last year in perfect conditions. I took a page out of the Macca playbook and bought kitchen sponges at CVS. I soaked them in ice in a ziplock and then tucked a couple in my tri shirt and held the other two in my hands. I just soaked the sponges at every water stop and the crowds were constantly handing out water and ice. I just somehow stayed ahead of the heat and had an excellent run. I really wanted to re-qualify at Boston and somehow made it happen. With bib # 6560, I finished 1043, so it was fun to pass people all day. I feel very lucky. I'm also extremely sore and my legs are pretty cramped up.

For all the ST'ers out there bagging on Boston runners, cut them a break. One of the charity runners I know spent the night in the hospital after passing out and people were dropping like flies out there. One of the sub-3 hour guys I know couldn't finish and most people were at least 20-30 minutes behind their goal time.

Congrats to all the finishers!

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John Snyder @URNotAsCoolAsMe

It was totally brutal. I was more than 10 minutes slower than last year and more than 20 minutes slower than my marathon PR set in January this year. But, I survived. 3:03.

I did accomplish my post race goals. First - I got to some cold beers as soon as my stomach was ready. Then, I secured a big nasty/greasey cheeseburger and fries. It was delicious. I will consider this a success.

I think you passed me at 12ish. Then I think I saw a couple of you detonate while the one with M50 on the back stayed strong.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Yeah. We were all together then. One guy fell off going through Wellesley Hills. The 50 year old got 2nd in his division. He fell off fast 16 (and I had not picked up the pace) but I started dying at 19 he caught me at 23.5. Put 3 full minutes on me in 2.5 miles. I was not a pretty sight then. I was literally saying -- out loud -- "ow!" with every step I took

It was nice to meet you on the line Joe. I passed your teammate with the sideburns somewhere around mile 23 or 24 I think, he was walking at the time, but I guess got it together and finished pretty close behind me. I appreciated the invite to go out with you guys in 6:15s, but I'm glad I didn't :-)

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Portside Athletics Blog

I ran step for step with my wife today. Her first marathon. We both crashed at 20 miles and suffered through the last 10 k...heat conspired to significantly alter our plans. Still a great day. Had a great time with my best friend. I promptly dropped are the finish line. Very funny.

Special thanks to the coors brewing company for the pick me up post race. Btw, he city of Boston and her fans were simply amazing. We went for the experience and got way more than we asked for.

All you charity haters share my breadsticks.

:)
V

You should be even more glad when I tell you that we didn't go out at 6:15s either. Perhaps if we had we would have actually won that masters team title. Or maybe not. Anyway, another mile or two and you would have gone by me.

Like

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What I do: http://app.strava.com/athletes/345699

Yeah, my target was 6:30s early and I went out in 6:20s and all but one of you disappeared within the first few miles.

But, your group (and I) made the Boston.com photo gallery, pretty nice shot of you guys.

http://www.boston.com/...ong_the_course?pg=39

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Portside Athletics Blog

Not only you. It was so awful. My legs are shattered. Is that really so bad because of the added dehydration due to heat or are we just not well trained?

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Not to rub it in, but my legs feel pretty close to fine. I don't know if it's because I had trained to run a 2:42 and therefore the pounding of a 2:52 didn't feel like as much (sort of like how a slower IM marathon isn't as painful). I did run a lot of hills in training, both up and down.

I feel pretty exhausted, light headache, etc., but my legs feel Ok.

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Portside Athletics Blog

It's gotta be the combination: I know that the sooner in a race I feel that I am running tired, the sooner my form starts to suffer (even if the changes are minor), and so the sooner I start feeling beat up.

Boston's hills of course make that fatigue happen sooner. So does Heat/dehydration, going out too fast, and being poorly trained.

That's why I am so confused! My fitness was - I believe! - also 2:42ish (I ran 2:34 and 2:33 in NYC 08 and 09 so it's not a stretch) but they hurt really bad from half ay already.


I thought I did, too... Well, I guess it's safest to assume that I just wasn't in good shape.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Who knows that happens at the crazy end of the spectrum when it comes to people's bodies and the weather.

I drank a large amount of Gatorade on Sunday, probably 80oz or so, and then another 40oz or so before the start. I certainly think it helped going in with the tanks topped off.

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Portside Athletics Blog

I did, too. I guess everyone did. There were some wild detonations so I guess I'm still fine given I was 5-10 mins. slower than I thought I could be on a cool day.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

I caught one guy around mile 21-22, as I was approaching him he looked absolutely fine, probably running mid to high 6's. In the matter of a few steps he started staggering and as he was about to fall over backwards I saw a cop and pointed him to the guy and he was able to catch him. From mid to high 6's to in a cop's arms in a matter of 15 feet.

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Portside Athletics Blog

I think this is lame. Even if the race was in 100 degree heat, they folks should run the race. Not like they call the race off in Kona if it's "too hot." What about all the people trying to qualify for 2013? Now they get screwed b/c it's a little too hot.....come on, just plan on going a little slower.

Can someone please second the motion that people stop comparing the Boston marathon to Kona. It's apples and oranges. Kona in October is always hot. Boston in April is VERY VERY SELDOM above 80F. The season leading up to Kona forces most athletes to acclimate to the heat. The season leading up to Boston prohibits most athletes from acclimating to the heat. Most importantly, an open marathon is undoubtedly harder on the body than an ironman. Anyone with sufficient experience racing in both scenarios will attest to that.

As I said, apples and oranges.

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"The right to party is a battle we have fought, but we'll surrender and go Amish... NOT!" -Wayne Campbell

i felt that as a triathlete, we had a leg up on the pure runners. i treated yesterday like an ironman im all the way and it worked out fine. was 30 slower than my average boston time, but enjoyed the day nonetheless. i agree that the specatators were amazing. they were the ones offering ice, ice-pops, hoses, etc. it was an awesome day:)

I also find a marathon "harder" (lots of experience in both) but that's relative and personal. The mile is also a painful bitch and let's not get started on 100 miles of running.

Two observations:

(1) A marathon is run at a higher intensity which leads to higher body temps quicker. At the same time, the absorption of fluids is hindered due to the lack of blood in the stomach. You can eat a Pizza while you walk but not a gel if you run hard.

(2) Marathoners rarely have to train for races in heat. I think triathletes have a better understanding of how to deal with it. It seemed to me that I took better care of cooling down than the guys around me. That may be personal preference but maybe it's also what you learn when racing in the heat at a triathlon.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

the faster you run the more heat can start to limit you.
heat probably wouldn't slow me down much, at ~3:40 marathon time I am not running fast enough to heat myself up much.

but you guys, thats a lot of energy! and nowhere for it to go on a hot day!

don't feel bad about your times, weather matters!

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

My legs are completely trashed today. This is my third Boston and I was bringing my best marathon form ever but can't recall my quads ever feeling so hammered. I was wondering what was going on during the long downhill after Wellesley - my quads felt unusually sore. I guess some slight cramping must have been to culprit?

I trained plenty on hills but not enough fast down hills at the end of my long runs, that's what I'm doing differently next year!

I was shooting for 2:55 before the weather alerts.
At the start, I really thought 3:00, 3:05 at teh worst was a reasonable 'backing off' time.

When I came to the realization that I was going to have to dig deep just to stay under 3:05 (ran a 1:32 conservative first half, and I knew I wasn't going to go even splits on the day), I backed off.
I ended up 3:13, and I'm pretty good today other than the sunburn.

I've run faster, I've run slower.

Blackwater Duathlon a few years ago was hotter, but I've NEVER run a marathon at those temperatures.
It really was brutal.

If it were not for the spectators handing out ice, i think it would have been much, much worse for a lot of people.
The Gatorade at waterstops was undrinkable several times, it was so hot.

This was my fourth, and with the n'oreaster in '07 I've now seen the full range of Boston weather in April.

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Seconded. I did IMAZ in April 2008 when it was 97 degrees. Yesterday in Boston was easily twice as painful. It's been debated here at least a few times over the years, and an open marathon (that's hoestly raced) is almost universally rated tougher than an IM. Factor in the diabolically perfect placement of Boston's hills and it's an even wider gap. And the point about where Boston lies on the calendar and lack of opportunity to train in heat leaing up to it really cannot be overstated.