What was your qualifying time? I'm also in wave 1 corral 5!

I qualified with a 2:58:58 after taking almost 25 minutes off of my marathon time in 6 months ( which was set on a much easier course than my qualifying race )

Last year I was doing some ultra running and totally blew out my quads at the Squamish 50/50

As a result, in October I did my last race and legs seized up with a NASTY case of ITB issues as the quads healed super tight and adhered, I neglected some of my recovery post Squamish.

I had more than a month completely off, then beginning of Jan I was at 10k per week.

Took til mid Feb to build to 50k in a week, giving me less than 2 months to try and put something together as far as any real marathon fitness.

I was pretty well content to go and run easy, enjoy the experience, but my coach pushed me more than I thought, and I somehow hit a peak week of 122 km ( 76 miles ) higher than my last build, and I have zero niggles, ran my last hard 20 miler 4 minutes faster than the one going into my qualifying race, with more elevation gain and loss, felt easier, lower heart rate.

I think I am shooting for a 2:55 at this point, which would mean I somehow rebuilt to PR fitness in such a short amount of time, boding well for my triathlon fitness this year!!! Going under 2:55 makes for super easy math on the splits too! :p

Just waiting to hear back from my coach on his thoughts ( he hates race predictions )

We fly in from Canada on wednesday evening, and are staying with a friend 50 minutes from the start, so our marathon day will start a little earlier, but no need to worry about accomodations!

Wow that's cool. It sounds like you're going to have a great day. Hopefully you can pace it well!

My qual time is 2.59.30. I haven't really done a marathon under my own steam yet outside of ironman. I paced the 3hour group at gold coast marathon last year off the back of ironman training which is how I got my qualifier. I was on track for 2.58 low but stopped a few times in the last k to wait for people who fell off the bus.

Should be an interesting and painful experience I expect...

It's just about always safe. I might not run through the fens at 2 am.

It's always busy, but especially next weekend! Saturday is supposed to be really nice weather, so not only will you have to deal with 20k other marathoners in town, but a whole bunch of public wanting to be outside after a cold spring, AND the first day of the 2nd school spring break.

Great, looking forward to getting over there and getting amongst it.

It’s my first time doing Boston and am pretty exicted! Wave 2 corral 1. Hoping to run a 3:20.

I hope so too!! The shorter build up, and much less opportunity for specific pace work is leaving me a LITTLE wary, but the rest of the training data is pointing to some pretty good fitness.

As long as we don't get a torrential downpour race day.....

not looking good for monday to avoid the rain...chilly, windy and rainy. sounds pleasant.

A friend and I are both in Wave 1 corral 6 (3:02 qualifying). This will be my first and probably last Boston, I don't like open running races that much. I am going to be that slow guy in wave 1, just enjoying the race and treating it like a long training run.

Ha....that's funny.

Boston Marathon # 19 for me.
I'll be running injured so I just want to continue my streak, and hopefully qualify for # 20 but we'll see.
have fun everyone. It's a great race.

Nancy

what is the wind direction going to be doing on raceday? Any idea if its a head wind or tail wind?

Last year on race weekend running along the river, especially in the morning, was really nice. There were a lot of other runners out there, but it wasn't too crowded.

Best of luck. Don't go out too fast, that first downhill half can fool you.

Ive heard not to go out too hard at the start, even though it is downhill. I mainly run to feel but being the first crack at a marathon and with so many people around and a slight downhill it could get interesting...

It's difficult not to get caught up in the adrenaline of the start. Another thing to mention, the race is extremely crowded until it starts to thin out a bit around mile 4-5. That made the first few aid stations extremely difficult to get to - it was difficult to get over to the right or left, and you'd basically come to a standstill trying to get water. It might not be a huge deal with this year's forecast (it was quite hot last year), but be prepared for that if you want something, and if not then stick to the very middle of the road at the aid stations. It's just very difficult to maneuver those first few miles.

have fun and go easy in the first 13. The corrals are seeded, so everyone around you in your corral ran about the same qualifying time as you. Unless you are planning to run faster than your BQ time I'd advise hanging in the pack. If you are passing lots of folks then you are likely running too fast. This is #4 for me. In my first Boston I felt great and passed tons of folks heading down from Hopkinton. Man was that a mistake! All those people passed me in the later miles. The next year I told myself to go easy (by effort) until mile 21, after heartbreak hill. I finished strong , by that I mean I did not slow down in the last 5 miles and passed plenty of runners. My goal this year is to come close to that year's time.

Boston is a great race and the town is very safe in my experience. There will be tons of runners everywhere this weekend.

brian
#12695

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Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe

Awesome sounds good, I am trying to run ~ 15min faster than my BQ time, hopefully there are a few people going out at the same pace.

I think right now it's about a 18-20 mph headwind (east to west).

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I like analyzing things - http://engineeringfitness.org

Lucky I'm good at drafting then. I guess that's one plus of it being a big race there is always someone to run behind.

I'm in wave 1, corral 5 with a time of 3:00:16.

Aim is 2:55. Those 17 seconds have burned all year. No way I'm not going sub 3hr this time.

I was hoping for rain (I seem to run better in the rain but my cheering squad could do without) but I'm not so keen in the forecasted headwinds.

Awesome! Good luck I hope you nail it.

Not running this year, but have run twice in the past & recently qualified for 2019 with a race in Feb.

The race day forecast is looking like rain and about avg temps (high of 60), but it’ll probably be in the upper 40’s to near 50 for the start - so take along some throw away gear to stay dry and warm at Hopkinton HS (race village). I wouldn’t want to start with wet shoes, so maybe bring a pair to toss and your race shoes in a plastic bag to put on just before heading to the corrals.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
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Brett: due to Double Letter Cheater Identification Protocol, your BQ is currently under review

J/K: Good luck

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

But I had just broken up with my partner....it was a weak moment.....you wouldn't understand the troubles I have gone through!!

I don't think there's another marathon like Boston where you'll be surrounded by people the entire time. Fortunately for you most people go out a little quick because from my one experience running it (2015) it can be quite congested and can be tough to move up if your planning on running a lot faster than your BQ.

So rumour has it we're in for difficult conditions.