Rookie nerves...I see it all the time!!<br><br>
Bus pick-up to H'ton = piece of cake. Meet on Boston Commons, walking distance from the expo/finish line. Just follow the runners from your hotel. Pick-up times are based on bib #, but you can pretty much show up whenever. Have your bib handy since you need it to get on a bus.<br><br>
@ Hopkinton - be ready to sit around for awhile so have some throwaways. It's not as bad as when the start was @ noon, but it's still a bit of a wait (esp if you're 2nd wave). The drop bag system is slick - you drop your stuff off to a school bus as you walk towards the start area from H'ton High School/Athlete's Village (1 bus per 1,000 runners, each window is labeled by your bib # so you know where to go, and more importantly the pick up is pretty smooth as well). Volunteers all over the place will tell you where to go.<br><br>
Some good ideas to be more comfortable at Hopkinton - a newspaper to read, maybe a garbage bag to sit on if the ground is wet. I usually end up snoozing on the ground for a bit so I dress pretty warmly just in case. I've seen people with inflatable rafts to sit on, disposable folding chairs, etc. I'm not quite that wasteful but they sure do look comfortable!<br><br>
Post-race - it's usually cooler in Boston when you finish (closer to the water) so have some dry stuff to change into in the finisher's area so you don't freeze your butt off walking through the crowd. Have a specific place to meet and put your cell phone in your drop bag so you can connect. It's quite crowded down there, and you have to walk several blocks after finishing to get your stuff and exit the finisher's area.<br><br>
Course Intel Report:<br>
Same as what you'll hear from lots of people. The first 10k is pretty significantly downhill, then it rolls for several miles , flattens out for a bit near the half. The Newton hills start at 16.5 when you make a 90 degree right turn and is a series of hills. After the crest of Heartbreak Hill at ~21, there is a substantial downhill - like going up a roller coaster and hitting the top, you pause for a second and then start flying downhill. The last 5 miles can be fast IF, and only IF, you have your legs under you. If your quads are pulp, you won't enjoy it much at all. There's 2 minor bumps late in the race - a highway overpass at about 40k and an underpass with about .5-.7 miles to go they put in last year for traffic reasons, and Hereford is a subtle climb, but that's about it for the last 5 miles or so.<br><br>
The advice to follow is to go out easy - don't brake using your quads, but don't go pounding down the hills either. Lean forward and roll down the hills Let the corral system slow you down a bit - most BQ'ers are used to being in the front of the field and don't like being crowded. Use it to your advantage and let the crowd slow you down the first several miles. Don't blast past Wellesley - it's hard not to because the girls are pretty loud (and you can hear them a ways before and after Wellesley). Slow down and high-five the ladies (or kiss them if you're so inclined). Don't charge up the hills either - think steady pace, keep your head up and slowly reel in people ahead of you. You can start ripping it after the hills and you'll pass a load of people if you're moving good...people that started too hard and have trashed quads.<br><br>
My strategy is to aim for pretty even splits - negative is hard to do at Boston (and you may feel like you left too much time in the first half) and you never want to plan for a big positive split, but shooting for even if +/- 45 seconds or so TO ME feels aggressive yet cautious enough in the first half that you can replicate it or come close to that same time in the 2nd half. If you're a good hill runner, you can start pressing the pace from a little further out...otherwise wait until after the hills and then release the hounds the last 5 miles.<br><br>
Water stations are on both sides of the road so pick a side and you'll figure out the rhythm of the water stops (it's usually right hand side first, water first then Gatorade, then the same on the left side a little further up the road). DOn't dive for the first cup and don't spend energy swerving around to get a drink. Just pay attention and you'll be fine. Consider bringing a throwaway bottle so you can bypass the first few water stops if they're crowded. Guys - bring a wide mouth bottle to the start as a pee bottle so you can get one last squirt in before the start of the race.
