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Boston Marathon Course
The Boston Marathon course is a fairly fast course. The history of the Boston Marathon dates back to 1897.
The Boston Marathon is a fabulous race with a great tradition. Unlike New York’s 26er, the course makes its way through suburban neighborhoods. The residents line the street with their lawn chairs for miles and miles and cheer on the runners.
The history of the Boston Marathon is a big ole pile of…well history. The sucker is freaking old! The first race was held on April 19 in the year 1897. John McDermott won in 2:55 which is admirable although the dude only had to beat 15 other runners, also the first race was “only” 24.8 miles. It wasn’t until 1927 that the Boston Marathon was a 26.2 mile, 385 yard monster. Why is the Boston Marathon on a freaking Monday morning? From 1897-1968 the race was held on Patriots’ Day. This holiday commemorates the start of the Revolutionary War. You might think it would be better to celebrate the end of a war, not the start. Well, 48 states agree with you as only Massachusetts and Maine observe Patriots’ Day. If April 19th fell on a Sunday the race was moved to the following Monday. In 1969 the Holiday was finally changed to the third Monday in April Boston Marathon Qualifying TimesQUALIFYING TIMES* AGE GROUP MEN WOMEN 18-34 3hrs 10min 3hrs 40min 35-39 3hrs 15min 3hrs 45min 40-44 3hrs 20min 3hrs 50min 45-49 3hrs 30min 4hrs 00min 50-54 3hrs 35min 4hrs 05min 55-59 3hrs 45min 4hrs 15min 60-64 4hrs 00min 4hrs 30min 65-69 4hrs 15min 4hrs 45min 70-74 4hrs 30min 5hrs 00min 75-79 4hrs 45min 5hrs 15min 80 and over 5hrs 00min 5hrs 30minYou may want to know what the weather will be like but I can’t possibly tell you. The event takes place in fickle New England on April 19 the temperature can be 40 or 80. The record high for April is 94 and the record low is 11! The average is 56, so pray for the average.
Boston Marathon CourseThe course is actually fairly fast. It finishes 480 feet below where it starts. It’s basically down hill for 16 miles. There is Heartbreak hill at around 20 miles. The good news is it’s not that steep or long. The bad news is it’s located at the point in the race where you are starting to die! But make it to the top and there’s plenty on gradual downhill to the finish.The trick is not to go out to fast. At the start, your legs are fresh and you are full of adrenalin and crabs. But don’t trash your quads going downhill because you’re gonna need them later, believe me. Boston Marathon Winners
The men’s record is 2.07:15 and the women’s is 2:20. These times should give you some comfort that you can P.R. at Boston. Here are the top results from 2009.
Top Women Finishers 1. Salina Kosgei (KEN) 2:32:16 2. Dire Tune (ETH) 2:32:17 3. Kara Goucher (USA) 2:32:25 4. Bezunesh Bekele (ETH) 2:33:08 5. Helena Kirop (KEN) 2:33:24 6. Lidiya Grigoryeva (RUS) 2:34:20 7. Atsede Habtamu (ETH) 2:35:34 8. Colleen De Reuck (USA) 2:35:37 9. Alice Timbilili (KEN) 2:36:25 10. Alina Ivanova (RUS) 2:36:50 11. Sher Piers (USA) 2:37:04 12. Elva Dryer (USA) 2:38:50 13. Mary Akor (USA) 2:41:09 14. Heidi Westerling (USA) 2:43:11 15. Anzhelika Averkova (UKR) 2:44:19 16. Veena Reddy (USA) 2:45:46 17. Jennifer Feenstra (CAN) 2:46:16 18. Adanech Zekiros (ETH) 2:46:51 19. Nathalie Vasseur (FRA) 2:47:04 20. Tomoe Yokoyama (JPN) 2:47:57 
Top Men Finishers
1. Deriba Merga (ETH) 2:08:42
2. Daniel Rono (KEN) 2:09:32
3. Ryan Hall (USA) 2:09:40
4. Tekeste Kebede (ETH) 2:09:49
5. Robert Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:10:06
6. Gashaw Asfaw (ETH) 2:10:44
7. Solomon Molla (ETH) 2:12:02
8. Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:12:45
9. Stephen Kiogora (KEN) 2:13:00
10. Timothy Cherigat (KEN) 2:13:04
11. James Koskei (KEN) 2:14:52
12. Grigoriy Andreev (RUS) 2:16:17
13. Lee Troop (AUS) 2:16:21
14. Brian Sell (USA) 2:16:31
15. Patrick Rizzo (USA) 2:17:05
16. Luke Humphrey (USA) 2:18:48
17. Sergio Reyes (USA) 2:19:22
18. Todd Snyder (USA) 2:19:55
19. Kyle O'Brien (USA) 2:20:55
20. Gino Van Geyte (BEL) 2:22:00
I would encourage you to do some weight training routines for the Boston Marathon. I remember what my good friend Bob Schug said after his first 26er. He complained afterwards that his arms were so dead he could hardly hold them up. Don’t make the mistake of running the Boston Marathon in running shoes that are light but don’t offer enough cushion. You can’t finish the race without your feet so take good care of them.
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