{"id":38851,"date":"2016-04-02T08:15:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T12:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=38851"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:02:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:02:12","slug":"guide-to-running-boston-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/guide-to-running-boston-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run the Boston Marathon Like a Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Boston
Photo: FayFoto \/ Boston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ve heard about Heartbreak Hill, the Citgo sign, and the amazing crowds at Wellesley. You\u2019ve probably even envisioned yourself crossing the iconic finish line on Boylston Street. But if you\u2019re running the Boston Marathon<\/a> and want to have your best Patriot\u2019s Day possible, you\u2019re going to have to handle the infamously challenging course. With our insider\u2019s guide to every hill, twist and turn from Hopkinton to Boston, you\u2019ll know what it takes to toe the line April 20 with the confidence of a pro.<\/p>\n

The Boston Marathon Course Overview<\/h3>\n

Beyond its rich history and amazing crowds, the Boston Marathon is also known for its difficult route. \u201cIt has humbled the greatest of runners,\u201d says Chief Running Officer of Runner\u2019s World, Bart Yasso. \u201cYou can blow your race in the first five miles and not realize it until after the half-way point,\u201d says the man widely recognized in the running community as \u201cthe mayor of running.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The 30 Best Marathons in the Entire World<\/a><\/p>\n

For this reason, to run Boston well you have to know and understand the course, says race director Dave McGillivray. \u201cNot many people run Boston to the best of their ability the first time through,\u201d he claims. \u201cKnowing what you\u2019ll be facing is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even 2014 winner Meb Keflezighi<\/a> admits it took him three attempts to get it right. \u201cThe course is unique in many ways,\u201d says the Skechers-sponsored athlete. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging because of the Newton hills. You can feel great during the first half but then be in pain during the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Meb Keflezighi Tells All: How Much He\u2019s Willing to Hurt for a Win<\/a><\/p>\n

The Start <\/strong><\/h3>\n

While traditional thinking is that the best marathons are run with an even pace<\/a>, Boston is a tough place to execute that strategy. Instead, our experts recommend you plan to hold back<\/a> as much as possible in the opening miles and aim for a negative split \u2014 running the second half faster than the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mind will start to challenge you and you\u2019ll have a degree of uncertainty here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It all begins with the downhill miles heading out of Hopkinton<\/strong>, where the rush of excitement and gravity make it easy to go too fast. \u201cHere\u2019s where you need to hold back and focus on shorter strides so that you don\u2019t beat up your quads,\u201d says Yasso.<\/p>\n

Keflezighi agrees and in fact ran the opening miles of Boston conservatively enough last year that he was able to maintain his pace even in the late miles. \u201cThis is where you have to compose yourself,\u201d says Keflezighi. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to get overly excited with the crowds. But stay composed and establish your rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around mile six, the course starts to flatten out a bit and you can start cruising toward your goal pace. You\u2019ll have this flatter, slightly rolling terrain for a good stretch of time, passing Lake Cochituate in Natick and traversing several sets of railroad tracks.<\/p>\n

Next up: the town of Framingham. \u201cThis is a great place to do an assessment of how you\u2019re feeling,\u201d says McGillivray. \u201cAre my quads sore<\/a>? Am I laboring? If so, then pull back a bit. If not, this is the place to run at goal pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>The 15 Best Spring Marathons in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

Settling In<\/h3>\n

By mile 10 in the town of Natick<\/strong>, you should have a pretty good indication of the kind of day you\u2019ll be facing, McGillivray adds. \u201cIf you\u2019re feeling bad at mile 10, it\u2019s tough to recover,\u201d he says. \u201cSo assess and make a decision on how to proceed.\u201d That could mean staying on goal pace if you\u2019re in a good groove, or pulling back to play it more conservatively so that you don\u2019t hit a wall later on. Regardless, you want to ensure you\u2019re not being too speedy this early on because you could pay for it big time when the hills hit.
\n
\n<\/strong>From here your next big course landmark is Wellesley College<\/strong>, approaching the half-way mark at 13 miles. You\u2019ll hear the screaming crowds before you see them, which makes it easy to start nudging your pace up too fast if you\u2019re not careful. \u201cUse the crowd to your benefit and draw energy,\u201d says Keflezighi. \u201cBut at the same time, don\u2019t do anything crazy<\/a>. Remind yourself how much is left in the race.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are prepared for the hills from your training, you will be OK. If not, it will be tough but you can do it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is also a good spot to check in on your fueling plan. Have you been taking your gels and drinks as planned? If you\u2019re off schedule, make note of it and try to get back on track.<\/p>\n

Marker 13 to 16 after Wellesley is often thought of as the loneliest stretch of the race, says McGillivray. \u201cYou still have a long way to go and you haven\u2019t hit the hills yet,\u201d he explains. \u201cYour mind will start to challenge you and you\u2019ll have a degree of uncertainty here.\u201d To combat that, McGillivray recommends another assessment to determine how you are feeling and what you\u2019ve got left for the remaining 10 miles. By mile 16, however, be ready to start an uphill climb.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>10 Lessons Learned While Running 100 Marathons<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The
Photo: FayFoto\/Boston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Climbs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cNewton<\/strong> begins a series of four hills,\u201d says Yasso. \u201cIf you\u2019ve run a smart race up until this point, you won\u2019t really notice them so much. But if you\u2019ve had a bad day, they can feel like Everest.\u201d
\n
\n<\/strong>This is where you have to start to work, says Keflezighi. \u201cYou need to use your technique<\/a> in this section of ups and downs,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf you are prepared for the hills from your training, you will be OK. If not, it will be tough but you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Running Tweaks That Took an Hour Off My Marathon Time<\/a><\/p>\n

[clickToTweet tweet=”‘Qualifying for the #BostonMarathon is huge, and so is crossing that special finish line.\u201d -@dmse” quote=”‘Qualifying for the #BostonMarathon is huge, and so is crossing that special finish line.\u201d”]<\/p>\n

Concentrate on effort here, not pace, so that you don\u2019t take too much out of your legs. Use shorter, choppier steps to get up and over the crests and let gravity be your friend coming down the other side.<\/p>\n

The most famous of the hills \u2014 Heartbreak Hill<\/strong> \u2014 comes at mile 21. This is where whatever energy you conserved comes into play, says McGillivray. \u201cYou can even get a bit of a reprieve because you don\u2019t have to be fast on this section.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>The 15 Fastest Fall Marathons to Earn a BQ<\/a>
\n<\/a>
\nTo that end, Yasso recommends running the hills by feel. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to get your splits here, so don\u2019t look at your watch,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ll be much better off listening to your body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve crested the big one, you get a significant elevation drop down to Beacon Street<\/strong>. The tough part is behind you. \u201cYou know you\u2019re going to make it to the finish line once you\u2019re here,\u201d says McGillivray.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Hate Running? 25 Ways to Learn to Love It<\/a><\/p>\n

The Final Stretch<\/h3>\n

Now that you\u2019re beyond the rolling humps and nearing mile 22, things start to flatten out and even descend again for the remainder of the course. \u201cIf you\u2019re feeling good, you have a chance to pass people here,\u201d says Yasso. \u201cYou need to concentrate on keeping your legs moving here and if you do, you can start flying toward downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up, comes the turn onto Beacon Street, and your first glimpse of the Citgo sign<\/strong>, famous because it marks one mile to go on the course. \u201cSeeing the Citgo sign helps emotionally<\/a> even if you are hurting physically,\u201d says McGillivray. \u201cEven if you are really tired here, you can pick it up because you\u2019re so close you can afford to use up what you\u2019ve got left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boston
Photo: Yvonne Mucci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Miles 25 and 26 are all about working off the crowd\u2019s hype. \u201cThey carried me to the finish line last year,\u201d says Keflezighi. \u201cThe support and encouragement you get from the spectators is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, all that\u2019s left to do is soak it all in. The final left onto Boylston Street<\/strong> brings on a flood of emotions, but keep in mind that it usually feels longer than you\u2019d expect to reach the finish line, says McGillivray. \u201cDon\u2019t start sprinting<\/a> as soon as you make the turn,\u201d he cautions.<\/p>\n

When at last you reach the finish, it\u2019s time to celebrate, says Keflezighi. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to win or set a PR<\/a> to celebrate,\u201d he points out. \u201cQualifying for the Boston Marathon is huge, and so is crossing that special finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published April 2015. Updated March 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The iconic Boston Marathon is just around the corner. Follow our pro guide to running your best from Hopkinton to Heartbreak Hill and beyond. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":33935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[104,111,110,108,341,357],"class_list":["post-38851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-goals","tag-marathon","tag-race","tag-running","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}