At last year’s Boston Marathon, I ran like fetid cow manure. I mean, I stunk up the place.
I should have known better. After all, I’ve finished more than two dozen Bostons. But, no. I ran like rotting kimchi. So dumb.
The thing is, I had a plan. I figured that would be enough. No random, willy-nilly, brainless race for me. Because I had a solid race strategy. Or so I thought.
In a moment I’ll tell you about my stupid race day. After all, I don’t want you to make the same mistake.
I’ll also give you loads of great advice from the world’s best Boston Marathon coach.
How I Ran Boston In 2024
Okay, I didn’t train great for last year’s Boston, mainly due to a strained groin muscle. These things happen when you’re 77. I missed too many days, and did too few long runs.
By race day, I figured I was in shape for a 4:45 finish. Only problem: I couldn’t find anyone else who wanted to run that pace with me, and I didn’t want to run alone.
So I came up with an alternative, or actually two. Let’s call them Gary and Chris, which happen to be their real names. Both had trained consistently, and run tune-up half marathons in just under two hours. Not bad for guys in their mid 70s and early 80s (Chris).
Here’s the plan I devised: I would run halfway with them–in solidarity and sociabilty–and then switch to a 3:1 run-walk. Sure, I’d give away 15 to 20 minutes the second half, but at least I’d enjoy a comfortable cruise to the finish.
As soon as I hatched this plan, I fell hopelessly in love with it. I was confident I had brainstormed a genius solution. It sounded so easy. Who can’t cruise for 3 minutes at a time?
Monday Morning: Ready, Set, Go
The three of us started together and hit our pace for the first 6 miles or so. Then we slowed slightly, as the day turned sunny and mild.
Gary and I passed the half marathon in 2:13–just over a 10-minute pace. We had lost Chris somewhere in the throng.
My body definitely felt the effort now, but I was bolstered by the thought of my genius run-walk plan. Soon, I’d enjoy a 60-second walk, and begin recovering.
The moment we hit 13.1 miles, I wished Gary good luck, and took my first walk break. It was heavenly.
A couple of minutes later, Chris rumbled past. I wished him good luck as well.
I felt reasonably good for three more miles. Then my world crumbled. Aerobically, I was fine, but my quads and hips began burning with every stride.
The Hills Are Alive With … Muscle Cramps
The last 10 miles were the most agonizing of my long running career, even though I kept trying to adjust. I walked longer than a minute on several uphills.
When three minutes of running seemed too long, I ran for two minutes. Nothing worked. Once you’ve fallen off a cliff, there’s no going back.
I was on Beacon Street for a loooooong time. The sun was shining, the crowds were cheering, the proffered beer looked great … and I didn’t enjoy a moment of it.
Yes, I did finish. And I didn’t need to be rushed to the medical tent or a nearby hospital. But I did accept a wheelchair in the finish chute rather than crumbling to the road.
My time was 4:59:58. In the following week, hundreds of friends congratulated me for what seemed like a perfectly executed sub-5:00 marathon.
Yeah, right.
Gary finished in 4:42:11, and Chris in 4:36:36 for third in the 80+ age group. A podium. He ran smart and strong.
Here’s the single, all-encompassing lesson you must learn from my story: Don’t run Boston’s first half faster than your fitness. Don’t even think about it. There’s no plan that can save you once you’re over the cliff.
The Boston course devours runners who go out too fast. It doesn’t just destroy your fantasy goal time. It ruins your whole Boston experience.
Advice From The Best Boston Marathon Coach
Jack Fultz is probably the most knowledgeable Boston Marathon runner-coach on the planet. He won the historic race himself in 1976, on a 90-degree day known as “The Run for the Hoses,” and two years later returned to finish in 2:11:17.
In the late 1980s, Fultz began coaching runners from the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. The charity group runs Boston every April to raise funds for cancer research.
More than 15,000 Dana-Farber runners have entered Boston over the past 36 years, and 98 percent have completed the challenging course. Their feedback has helped Fultz hone the training, nutrition, and pacing strategies that work best at Boston.
Q: Boston is a net downhill, non-record-eligible course. Does that make it fast?
Jack Fultz: Sometimes. Boston can be fast when runners have a tailwind, and plan their pacing perfectly. This doesn’t happen often.
Most runners go out too fast, fade on the Newton hills, and finish on dead legs. In fact, 95 percent of Boston runners end up with positive splits. This happens because all the downhills force the legs to contract eccentrically, which is highly stressful unless you’ve done a lot of downhill training. When your legs are gone, so is your race.
Here’s something good to remember. Despite the Newton hills, the second half of the course drops 135 feet from Wellesley to the finish at Copley Square. But you can only take advantage of this drop if you have planned to do so.
Q: What’s the most dangerous part of the course?
JF: The beginning. The first mile is severely downhill, and the first 5K only a little less so. The terrain sweeps runners along like a rushing torrent of water. If you get caught in the current, it’s difficult to get back out, and the downhills will punish your legs. Here’s my advice on pacing:
- Ease into the marathon. If you don’t feel like you’re running too slow the first 10 miles, you’re running too fast. It’s better to be 15 seconds per mile too slow in the first half than 15 seconds per mile too fast.
- Divide the course into manageable chunks. Boston is best run as a “10/10/10.” Aim for a 10-mile warmup, a 10-mile run, and a 10K race. Don’t bank time in the first half. Conserve your energy and your legs.
- If your goal is more than 4 hours, consider a run-walk strategy. Walk briskly, but not like someone who’s in a rush. This will help you stay relaxed. Also, walk through fluid stations to make sure you get, and can swallow, the drinks you need.
Q: The hills scare everyone. What’s the best way to visualize and run them?
JF: There are four hills from 16 to 21 miles, the last being the infamous Heartbreak Hill. Each hill is between 600 meters and 800 meters in length. The rest of that 5-mile stretch is flat, with some downhills.
Treat each hill like the Hippocratic Oath: Do no harm. Don’t attack them. Ease over them at a pace that doesn’t significantly raise your heart rate. Stay calm.
Q: Runners only have a couple of weeks left to get their taper right. What’s your advice?
JF: When it comes to the final two-week taper, my overriding principle is: “If in doubt, less is more.” Sometimes I’ll even pull out one of those old aphorisms like, “The hay is in the barn.”
The goal isn’t to get to the starting line as fit as you can be. The goal is to get there healthy, strong, and well-rested.
Then you only have to execute an intelligent race plan with appropriate pacing, and with adjustments for race-day weather conditions.
Q: What do you tell your athletes about carbo-loading, Monday morning breakfast, and in-race hydration and fueling?
JF: With the advent of race-day energy supplements (gels, blocs, etc), the classic carbo-loading diet during the week prior to the race is considerably less important. Runners still need to taper well, and to eat carb-rich foods. But they no longer need to splurge and possibly overdo it.
I tell all runners to have a light breakfast Monday morning in Boston, and to bring a small bag of simple carbs to Hopkinton for grazing throughout the morning. Bread, bagels, bananas–that sort of thing. Foods they are accustomed to, and comfortable with.
In-race fueling is a hot subject these days, with some experts recommending more gel (and other carb) intake during the marathon than used to be advised. I say: Be cautious. Don’t take more gels than you have practiced on long training runs. No one wants stomach issues during a marathon.
When it comes to hydration, runners should begin taking on a fluid early in the marathon, and keep sipping throughout the race. I also recommend salt supplementation in the form of SaltStick capsules (or the like), adding up to a full gram of extra sodium in small increments, especially on warm days.
Q: Despite all your advice, some runners are going to have a tough day on April 21. You have a background in sports psychology. How can runners avoid panicking when this happens?
JF: Yogi Berra said it best, “Ninety percent of this game is mental, the other half is physical”. To stay in a good mental space, I encourage runners to talk with others around them. You can collaborate and maybe come up with a team effort.
Also, research indicates that “cognitive dissociation” is an effective way to distract yourself from the aches and pains of marathon running. You could try singing a favorite song, or repeating a poem. Expand your visual field by looking at the trees or buildings around you, engaging with spectators, or high-fiving some roadside kids. Some runners like to count their steps for a while. Mantras you’ve prepared in advance can be very powerful.
Of course, you must always keep track of where you are, where you’re stepping next, where the next aid station is, and so on.
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