I saw tons of residents dishing out ice. The people of Boston are quite amazing in how they welcome and support the runners. The race is a matter of civic pride. Many people probably get annoyed by the road closures and assholes peeing on private property in the first 10 miles. But overall the town comes out strong to support this event. Ultimately, that is what keeps me coming back.

I got some ice, water, & freeze pops from people at the side of the road, which I really appreciated. (Didn't understand all the people with orange slices...) But all hot weather tris I've done have had ice at the aid stations. The official aid stations were well stocked with water & Gatorade, so maybe this is nitpicking, but some ice chips as well would've been nice.

Damn that was tough. I was hoping for my first ever sub 3 hours. Finished in 3:23 (3:08 last year). The heat really messed with me, the last 6 miles where brutal. I was just happy to finish. The crowd support was amazing, I really needed the handouts. Thank you people of Boston.

My wife and family were on the side of the road on the hill before Heartbreak. She passed out over 300 cups of water that she had bought and filled herself along with some ice soaked sponges. And there was many more like her out there, between the BAAs efforts, and the work of local communities and residents, that's a lesson in how to handle a hot weather marathon.

I thought I was in PR shape to run a 2:42-2:43 on a good day. Took it out easy in 6:20-6:25s, went through the first half in 1:24 and the second half in 1:28 for a 2:52 finish. A 4 minute positive split would make me happy in Boston on a normal day, so I was thrilled. Most people I talked to were 20-30 minutes of their PRs, so I was happy being 10 minutes off.

And thanks to Uli, he stressed to me the ability to shoot for a good finish on a day like this. Last year a 2:47 put me in the mid 400s, this year a 2:52 put me in the mid 200s.

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Portside Athletics Blog

if the Hawaii Ironman had deferals like the 8% increase in DNS this year at boston they be less then 500 on the starting line at hawaii with the 90F+ temps ;-)

Boston.com reported that the BAA said there were 300-400 deferalls. There was a drastic increase in the number of people who did not start, but very few of those were actual deferalls who picked up their packets at the expo and completed the deferral process.

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Portside Athletics Blog

Mark,

I tracked a bunch you guys from here and the Let's Run site today. Congrats on a good run, on an epic day. I look forward to sharing some miles with you later this year.

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

Nice way to create artificial demand for next years race. I've run 4 hot marathons in 80+ degree weather.. not including Iron trots in 80+ Offering a deferment has pretty much eliminated the last shred of credibility that the BAA had with me.

Artificial demand? First of all, I doubt they need to create artificial demand for a race that easily fills. Second, something like 300-400 people actually deferred, I'll wager it has zero impact on field size and demand for next year. The volcano a couple years ago had a much bigger impact.

The BAA playing it smart and showing exactly how to handle a hot weather early spring marathon makes them lose credibility for you? Give me a break. Lucky for them it still has credibility with a majority of the best runners in the world.

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Portside Athletics Blog

Congrats on a solid race, I was hot just standing there watching. I noticed most people that I knew who ran around my time from last year were 30-60 min off those times this year. So well done indeed.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Certainly not my best time, but maybe my best performance, it can feel as good to run a smart race sometimes as it does to run a fast race.

Thanks to Uli and JoeO for consistently beating the theme of how to handle pacing in the heat over the past few days, if it wasn't for reading there advice over and over I probably would have been in the 30+ minute positive split crowd.

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Portside Athletics Blog

Indeed, I can only imagine the rush you felt passing hundreds of trainwrecks throughout the latter part of the course!

LOL and beat me and my comical shuffle at the finish! :)

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Given your splits I probably passed you late, I made it my goal to get 50 people in the last 5 miles, think I got around 40. Thanks again for the advice in this thread over the last week.

Worst comment of the day was when we passed the 5k mark and the guy next to me who was slapping his way down the hill said "I just set a 5k PR", I can't imagine that turned out well for him.

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Portside Athletics Blog

Quite the experience for my first 'Boston' today. Two weeks ago I was thinking mid 2:50's were in the forecast. I ended at 3:12, and was pretty happy with my effort. I went out at what I thought was a pretty conservative pace, hitting the half-way point in 1:32, but the heat and Newton Hills led to a 8 min positive split. The crowds were amazing, and the extra water on course was nice as well. Got a popsicle and a bag of ice to help cool down along the way. My comparable place (1154th) last year was 2:57, so a 15 minute difference.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
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Really would have liked more ice and sponges out there but that probably comes from being used to it at tris. The organizers did great given the conditions but the residents handing out water, etc. was HUGE. The non-official water was colder than the official water by the second half!

It was not a day for a PR but an excellent early season test for the summer racing season.

I think one thing many people are missing about the BAA's deferral allowance is that very few people have had an opportunity to do much training in 80+ sunny temps leading into this race given its date. People are just not adjusted to that type of heat this early in the year.

A marathon is a unique animal combining speed (relative to longer events) and endurance. It's really a recipe for overdoing things without caution. The other factor is that Boston beats you up even on a good day. Faster downhill running on asphalt takes its toll no matter what the temp.

Personally, I don't like the deferral. But I understand why they would offer it.

Yeah, he was a year ahead of Dathan at Rockford (MI) HS. Which is about a dozen miles from Grand Rapids West Catholic HS, where Greg Meyer (last American man to win Boston) was a major stud in the 1970s.

West Michigan has quietly produced a whole bunch of good distance runners over the years.

Like many others. What did you wear? Compression socks? :)

I could have had a full on conversation while barely able to jog. I'm glad to see that my hard training did indeed pay off in the last years. Today I learned that I suck when I train less which is not always the case.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Of course it is and of course it depends on many factors and is highly individual. Call it ballpark 20-30mins. but that wasn't the point here.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Was shooting for 2:50. Knew at 10k that wasn't going to happen. Didn't listen to my body until 14 miles. Ended up running my slowest marathon ever. I am definitely humbled by this course and the downhills. I was really cold and had goose bumps from mile 18 on. Could not drink enough water for some reason. Ended up 3:05:49.

Yup, death march is the word. Went in with less training than my qualifying marathon (recipe for disaster). Was careful to start off slow (~30 sec./mile slower, even with the downhills), but was still reduced to shuffling/walking by mile 16. I was feeling so lightheaded that I was seriously worried that I wouldn't finish. Still, it was a great experience, the people of Boston were awesome!

Nice job. You split more evenly than me. I was 1:21 and 1:30 for a 2:51 finish. We were trying to win the masters team title but ended up in second place by only one lousy minute...

Similar story here - started with what seemed like it should've been an easy pace, and then slowed more. Usually the first half of a marathon I'm all relaxed & slapping hands, engaging the crowd, but that took up energy today. I knew miles 16-21 would be hard but thought I could recover from there. Instead I ended up just trying to keep moving forward.

Were you the guys in yellow singlets or was that the winning crew?

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

We were yellow singlets with black trim (black panels on the sides -- though mine was just solid yellow). The winning team (BAA) had yellow singlets with blue trim -- the same colors as the shirt they gave out for registering. My teammates and I ran together until around 16 or so when we started breaking up.

heard it got to 90 degrees in the 13 mile area. dialed it way back to stay on my feet. double edge sword go slower for no major problems but it extended my race time and kept me in the heat that much longer. saw way to many people swoon, and watched the medical tent fill. i personally droped 8 lbs despite drinking water every chance i got,
horrible race time
tremendous race memory