I ran last year and had the time of my life. I complied a list of tips from numerous sources. You may or may not find some/all of these useful.
Enjoy your time in Baa-stin!
Wear a watch with a countdown timer set to your desired pace. It will beep as you near every mile mark, which helps keep things on schedule.
Note: All day on marathon day, flashing your official bib number lands you a free T ride.
Also in your gear bag, pack some warm stuff for after the marathon. At a minimum, you want hat, sweatshirt, warm pants, change of socks. Body Glide
Take a poncho or a large plastic garbage bag and cut a hole in it for your head in case race morning is wet. Take this to the race start. If it isn’t raining, at least you’ll have something to sit on.
Bring a snack and a drink to the race start area. You’ll most likely get to the starting area two hours early, and you’ll be getting hungry well before the noon start.
Remember, there are stations on BOTH sides of the road – first on the right, then on the left. If you skip the right (where everyone goes), you can get some on the left.
If you’re like me and you BYOG (Bring Your Own Gu), try pinning your gel packets to your shorts waistband, then flip them inside so they don’t flop around. They only hand out Gu at mile 17 and that’s just too late for me.
Finish line. You can always take the T, but Copley station is closed and you have to walk to Arlington. Avoid the Copley Square T (it’s closed), and go to Arlington Street, the Hynes Convention Center, or Back Bay Station. And try to stay awake for a postrace party.
I have to warn you that miles 22-25 are pretty boring.
Miles 0-2.5:
From an initial elevation of 472 feet, Route 135 drops like a roller coaster as it rambles into Ashland.The gnarliest section of the descent comes in the first 0.6 of a mile, but Boston’s strict seeding system, the size of its field, and the narrow road should help prevent you from careening downhill too fast. This is a good thing, so don’t fight it. Stay in the middle third of the road and let the jackrabbits sprint along the edges. You’ll get your chance to pass them later.
Miles 2.5-5:
The course continues to lose altitude through this stretch. Resist the temptation to “Bank” minutes for the second half of the race-you’ll lose twice as many when you wind up walking on Beacon Street before the finish. At the same time, avoid braking so hard you expend precious energy reining in your strides.
Miles 5-7.5:
Around the 10-K mark in Framingham, the course traverses the first of seven sets of railroad tracks. By now, Route 135 has flattened out, allowing runners to find a consistent rhythm. If you’ve ignored our advice and gone out too fast, when you hit Framingham, you need to settle in. “The mile splits you’d planned, those are what you should be running now,”
Miles 7.5-12.5:
The course undulates as it skirts Lake Cochituate and proceeds into downtown Natick. “Some of the grade changes are imperceptible, but they do help you,” "But if you keep the same cadence and the same heart rate, you’ll be okay. Wellesley College, mile 12.5.
Miles 15-16.5:
On its way into Newton Lower Falls, Route 135 plummets 150 feet in a half mile, the steepest drop since the opening plunge out of Hopkinton. “It’s a terrible hill,” noting that what makes it so troublesome is the punishing haul up the bridge over Route 128 that immediately follows.
Miles 16.5-17.5:
“If you’re under pace, this is the point to really slow it down and regroup, and make sure you’re truly getting ready for the last hills,” Pieroni says. Anyone who feels their legs fading here should “go to their arms,” suggests Rainsberger. Driving your elbows back a bit harder than normal helps bring up your knees. “And that’s going to spread out the workload.”
Entering the 17th mile, you’ll find volunteers distributing Power Gel on both sides of the course.
Miles 17.5-21:
Newton Fire Station Here we go: Take a deep breath, set your eyes on the road ahead, and motor on, tackling the slopes one at a time as you start up the series of rises that ends with the famous Heartbreak Hill. “The first one is pretty long, but it has the gentlest grade,” The second hill rears up just past the Johnny Kelley statue-on the left side of the street, opposite Newton City Hall-and leads to a short, level patch of road that fools some fatigue-addled runners into thinking the worst is over, when Heartbreak proper still looms.
Miles 22-25: are pretty boring
Before entering Cleveland Circle at mile 22, the race turns abruptly right onto Chestnut Hill Avenue, then left 300 yards later onto Beacon Street. By mile 23, you’ll be descending steadily; in the twenty-fourth, the downward pitch becomes even more pronounced.
If you’re still feeling good, “the course is finally sweet to you at the end,” Rodgers says. “It gives you all this good downhill, and you can just glide.” If you’re struggling, Rainsberger advises taking things a few shuffling steps at a time. “Break it down into smaller sums. You can see the darn CITGO sign forever, so don’t look for that. Look for the next water station or mile marker.” As you approach Kenmore Square, beware the Mass. Pike overpass near Fenway Park. It’s just a bump, really, but it won’t seem like that now.
Landmark: Cemetery Mile, mile 23. "People get to the top of Heartbreak and they say, ‘Damn, I made it!’"Meyer says. “Then they go charging down the hill to Boston College, and then their legs are finished.” After crossing Lake Street, anyone who commits that error will be left to suffer in relative solitude.
Miles 25-26.2:
Near mile 25 and the CITGO sign. A straight shot down Common- wealth Avenue leads you to a right onto Hereford Street and a final short incline before hooking a left onto Boylston. Keep the legs churning and the arms swinging. And most of all, soak in the Olympian roar-and the view of the finish-once you make that turn. “You’ve reached the point of no return,” McGillivray says. No matter what the race clock reads, “you can claim victory now.”