Tips for the Boston Marathon

As you know, my sister and I will be running the Boston Marathon in April 2013!! We are stoked but have very little idea what to expect, so we need some advice. Advice on running the marathon, advice on what to do in Boston, places to eat, and how to get around the city.

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Craig (my husband), Kristy (my sister), and I will be arriving on Friday (April 12) so that we have a few days to adjust to the new time zone (4 hours difference for me) and the climate (We could be talking about a 90* temperature change if it is anything like last year!).

So far, I know these things about the course:

– There are TONS of people cheering the entire way!

– The last 6 miles are downhill, so plan to train downhill on tired legs otherwise your quads will take a beating.

– Spectators probably won’t be able to see a runner more than once or twice??

Other than that, I need advice! Give me the details whether you have run the course before or you are familiar with the Boston area!

Hi, I'm Michelle

I love running around the lakes of Minnesota, running after my two boys, and racing anything from the 5K to the marathon. I have been blogging here since 2010 when I ran my first marathon. I finally secured my sub-3 hour marathon after trying for 8 years.

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10 Comments

  1. 11.7.12

    YAY!! congrats and super exciting for u and ur sis! i’m sorry, i haven’t run the course myself, but i’ve had my friends do it and they always say to not underestimate the downhills either! the downhill parts will put ur quads thru a beating too…and from there, obviously the uphills are tough too! 😛 u guys will do great!

    • 11.8.12
      Michelle said:

      Yeah, I knew about the uphills, but I didn’t know about the downhills until recently!

  2. 11.7.12
    Michaela said:

    I love Boston! I just spent a week there and had an absolute blast. There was an awesome vegetarian restaurant in Cambridge, near Harvard Square, called Clover that I’d recommend for a quick bite to eat. I also enjoyed walking through the Boston Common and the public garden. There was some great window shopping near there, too–in the back bay on Newbury street.

    If you’re looking for a city sight-seeing (as opposed to water/parks) run, I’d run from Faneuil hall towards the Boston Common, and then down Newbury to Mass Ave. Take Mass Ave to Harvard Square. There’s a Peet’s Coffee in Harvard square that would be a great place to finish a run.. you can take the T back to Faneuil hall from there.

    I wish I could have gone to see the victory gardens near Fenway but I didn’t have the chance.

    • 11.8.12
      Michelle said:

      Awesome! Thanks for all the tips!! I’ll have to keep all those things in mind!

  3. 11.7.12
    K said:

    I went to Boston this spring (Hubby ran the marathon, I spectated) and we loved the Freedom Trail.

    I spectated from about mi 21-ish (woodland something?) and took one of the trains out to that spot…the train was supposed to be an hr from Boston Common, but it was about double that. Have your spectators allow a lot of extra time if they’re going by train.

  4. 11.9.12
    Nate said:

    Do a hop-on-hop off trolley tour. We did one that included a harbor cruise and admission to the USS Constitution Museum (Old Ironsides). http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/

    I don’t know how you’re booking your flight and hotel, but I believe we got a discount through Expedia. We also stayed way out in Saugus, but the hotel had a shuttle to the airport and from there you can ride the T into the city. I’m really glad we didn’t rent a car–between the T, the bus, and the trolley tour, we got around just fine.

    If you can get access to a treadmill that has the ability to decline, do it. We had a really snowy winter so I could never run fast on downhills, and the downhills killed me at the race.

    Good luck!

    • 11.9.12
      Michelle said:

      I did find us a place to stay. I ended up booking a place through vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner) that is basically a mother-in-law suite attached to the owners’ house. They didn’t charge any extra for it being the weekend of the Boston Marathon, so I was happy about that.

      Oh yeah, good thought on the decline treadmill. I know it is going to be hard to find downhills that I feel safe running all-out during the winter here. I’m just not sure where I will be able to find a treadmill like that. Our cheap-o, pizza-serving gym is not fancy at all, so I know they don’t have any treadmills that decline.

  5. 11.11.12
    Desiree said:

    You will have a blast in Boston. A bit of tips, wear clothes that you plan to donate to the start line. I did ride the bus to the start and it was cooler. I donated my pants/sweatshirt at the start. Also plan to be there at the school for a while. I had a great time meeting runners. Some bring a trash bag or old blanket to sit on too. Yes the course does have a lot of down hill. Especially the first half. Quad killer. Save some fuel for later in the race. The drop bag system works wonderful. They bus all the bags to the finish. After you finish be prepared to walk a bit to the drop bags and family meat up. As far as the expo, enjoy every moment of it. I took a bunch of pictures at the finish line area the day before at the expo. It is so crowded day of race. We ate in the Italian district the night before. I met up with some friends from Alaska there.(I flew in from GA) and they did arrive a day earlier then me to adjust to the time zone. Congrats again and enjoy Boston. My favorite race so far. Love the city too 🙂