Boston to Big Sur 2023 the graphic novel

In 2017 I ran Boston to Big Sur. This is a special registration for special (aka crazy, committed, or stupid you decide) people. You run the Boston marathon on the East coast then 6 or 13 days later depending on the year you run the Big Sur marathon on the West Coast. I’m not that crazy I chose a year with a 13 day gap.

In 2023, my friend Christopher was running Boston for the first time, so… we decided to go all in and do Boston to Big Sur. The following is a comparison illustrated by yours truly (if you need a family portrait I do commissions) comparing the day in Big Sur to the day in Boston. This is the sequel to my Boston 2023 graphic novel race report.

2:15 AM Alarm goes off. When I registered nobody warned me I’d be getting up at 2:15 AM

2:15 AM in Boston, sleeping, get some rest I’ve got a marathon to run today

2:30 AM Stumble into the kitchen to make my brown sugar and cinnamon instant oatmeal. Nice to have a kitchen so I have a real bowl and spoon!

2:30 AM Still sleeping

2:50 AM Apply the body glide. Toes, feet, and other places that make we wonder why body glide with built in sunscreen exists

2:50 AM Zzzzzzzzzz

3:25 AM Christopher and I drive to the Embassy Suites to catch our assigned shuttle bus.

3:25 AM Roll over

3:35 AM hand over our ‘purple ticket’ for the 3:45 AM bus from Embassy Suites. Excited to be on a ‘real’ bus instead of a school bus

3:35 AM Still snoozing away

4:05 AM Try not to think about the fact this big bus is navigating a windy twisty road in the dark along a cliff.

4:05 AM Still snoozing

4:35 AM Our bus is one of the earlier ones to arrive so we nab spots on the grass next to the plastic fence race organizers set up to remind all the boy runners the risk of seeing all of nature as your urinal, since this particular region of nature is widely infested with poison oak

4:35 AM blissful sleep

4:45 AM It’s still dark out. Some of the port-a-potties are in areas without lighting. Once you close that door it’s pitch black. Ripping the wrapper off a new roll of toilet paper is remarkably difficult in the dark, but the fact I am the very first to use this stall makes me slightly less terrified of what might lie on the surface of the port-a-potty hidden in the dark

4:45 AM Alarm goes off (blanket magically changes color from red to green because I’m too lazy to redraw and I accidentally used the wrong color on the previous pictures)

5:20 AM Runner sleeping has a large spider sitting on his shorts, Spend the next 15 minutes discussing with other runners waiting around whether to flick it off. Because the spider doesn’t look poisonous and is right on his butt, decide to leave it unless it starts moving.

5:20 AM Grabbing the brown bag breakfast our hotel prepared for Boston runners since we leave before the breakfast buffet opens

6:00 AM Drop off gear check bag at the truck. Too late we realize Christopher’s inhaler is in his gear check. No they will not go sifting through the pile of bags in the truck to try and retrieve it

6:00 AM Sitting on the train headed to the finish line where you drop off gear check and catch buses to the start

6:20 AM Start heading to corral, Find Yvonne standing in massive line for the port-a-potty. She accidentally left her gloves in her gear check bag. I had already been toying with not wearing mine, so hand them to an appreciative Yvonne. Also tell her about the shorter port-a-potty line where we had been sitting earlier

6:20 AM Switched from red line train to green line train

6:43 AM In Corral B waiting to start, no plastic fencing and no poison oak in sight, so several male runners visit nature’s urinal

6:43 At the port-a-potties beside bag check, why are the seats always wet? No don’t answer, I don’t want to know and I will use the hand sanitizer when I leave

6:53 AM Crossing the start line, Start the Garmin

6:53 AM Walking with masses of other runners from the buses towards Boston Common for bus loading

6:55 AM Realize shoelace is untied. Move to side of road but runners are packed tight and faster runners are dashing to the side to get by. Christopher acts as barricade so I can tie my shoe without fear of being run over.

6:55 AM Walking along Boston Common to the security entrance for bus loading

7:20 AM 3 miles in (~5 km) Big Sur has the best mile marker signs! Despite the near perfect running weather. I do not get a speeding ticket.

7:20 AM They aren’t letting my wave go through security yet, sitting under a tree staying off my feet

7:44 AM 5.5 miles (~9 km) Meet a guy whose run Big Sur over 20 times! Ask him what he thinks of the weather today, his answer “We don’t know the weather yet”

7:44 AM It gets cold just sitting here waiting, bundle up in my mylar blanket and put on garbage bag and plastic shower cap to try and stay warm

8:10 AM at 8 miles (~13 km) OMG the wind, now I know what that guy meant

8:10 AM Seriously is any guy capable of not splattering the seat in a port-a-potty?

8:38 AM at 9.5 miles (~15 km) There goes another hat! I’m carrying my visor in my hand this wind, the only sound you can hear is bibs flapping in the wind

8:38AM Sitting on the bus on my way to Hopkinton, the start of the Boston marathon, glad I’m not sitting in the back like I did last year, less bumpy up front

8:46 AM 10.5 miles (~17 km) Group of Japanese drummers on side of road providing motivation on the biggest climb of the course. Stop to play one of the drums, because this is a great race for a PR (Photo record)

8:46 AM Are we there yet?

9:02 AM at 12 miles (~19 km) Take a photo of the amazing view at Hurricane point, genuinely concerned that the wind will blow my phone out of my hand and over the cliff

9:02 AM Try not to think abou tthe fact we have to run all the way back

9:04 AM Start running downhill from Hurricane point to Bixby Bridge but I’m not running any faster because the wind is blowing me back up the hill

9:04 AM Are we there yet?

9:17 AM 13.1 miles halfway (21.1 km) Pose for a photo by the grand piano at the halfway mark and amused by his girlfriend standing nearby wearing a shirt that says “Dibs on the Piano Player”

9:17 AM No really are we there yet?

9:45 AM at 16 miles (~26 km) See ponies on side of road and a sign saying “Free Pony Hugs”. Stop for pony hug

9:45 AM Yay! We finally got to Hopkinton and I was able to secure a dry spot under the tent

10:53 AM 23 miles Another hill … really?

10:53 AM Gun sounded for Wave 3 at 10:50 but haven’t crossed the actual start line yet ‘cuz I’m back in corral 8

11:10 AM 25 miles (40 km) ANOTHER hill? Not even the guy on the accordion playing Roll out the Barrel can make this fun

11:10 AM .5 miles (1 km) High fiving all the kids on the sidelines, running too fast because it’s that nice downhill at the start of Boston

11:20 AM, 26 miles (41.6 km). The sign says it all

11:20 AM thoroughly enjoying having lots of people in the crowds yell GO SUSAN!

11:22 AM 26.2 miles (42.2 km) Crossing the finish line!

11:22 AM 3 miles (5km) Overhear another runner asking out loud who is Susan? as they’ve been listening to people yell Go Susan for the past 2 miles.

12:54 PM Awards ceremony completed, hanging out in the VIP Tent with the other Boston 2 Big Sur finishers rocking our jackets, medals and Yvonne’s plaque for 3rd place in her age group

12:54 PM Running through Wellesley getting a kiss on a cheek from one of the girls

3:58 PM Showered, changed, and out celebrating two marathons on two coasts in 13 days at the pub with glasses of wine for Yvonne and I, non-alcoholic beer for Christopher

3:58 PM Sitting on the curb in the family meeting zone huddled in my mylar blanket looking for Christopher

8:35 PM Fast asleep

8:35 PM Celebrating finishing Boston with Smores and friends

Thank you to Christopher for sharing this coast to coast 52.4 mile adventure with me and to all my run buds, friends and family who support this craziness from near or far and to anyone who humours me by reading my race reports! Below are the photos that inspired my artwork. Any resemblance of the artwork to an actual photo is an unexpected surprise.

If you enjoyed this post check out my other race reports, running quizzes, tips and more!

Berlin Marathon 2022 Race Report

I just completed the 2022 Berlin marathon, my fourth Abbott major marathon. I’ll write a separate report on what you want to know if you decide to run Berlin, this report is about my race!

First you need a bib

I’ve entered the Berlin marathon lottery multiple times to no avail. So, I was pleasantly surprised when Christopher and I received the You made it email! As an added bonus my sister qualified for Berlin so yay group road trip! Berlin is clearly more interesting than most race destinations because all our spouses came along for the ride as well!

Gel trauma

For the past two years I’ve been running with Tap Endurance. I love maple syrup, so a gel that’s basically maple syrup equals happy Susan! But crisis! In 2021, they changed the packaging. I spent the entire CIM marathon swearing at Tap Endurance as I tried to rip open the new packages with my teeth. Throughout my Berlin training, my run-buds listened to me complain and made sympathetic noises when the package finally tore open squirting maple syrup all over my shirt and hands. So I decided it was time to jump on the Maurten gel bandwagon. I ran my last two long runs with Maurten gels. It’s a bit like taking a flavorless jello shot every 6 km so not as tasty, but my stomach didn’t mind, and I no longer spent half my run trying to use my sweaty shirt to wipe syrup off my hands so I decided I was good to go with a new product on race day (what could go wrong?) and ordered the Maurten supplies listed on their marathon fuel guide for my race.

To cheat or not to cheat

Okay cheating is the wrong word, as it’s completely legal, but I have now run a 5 km race and a 15 km race wearing Nike Vaporflys. These are the crazy expensive shoes with carbon fiber plates that wear out faster than regular runners. There are no shortage of articles explaining how these give you an advantage, and I did notice a difference in my 5 km and 15 km races. However…. I generally run in mild stability shoes. All the carbon shoes are neutral, so this means I’d be running in a shoe with a different profile for 26.2 miles… you know what they say about don’t try anything new on race day… I’ll pack my regular runners as well just in case I change my mind (what could go wrong?)

The race expo – Sh*t is getting real

I arrived in Berlin with husband on Sunday a full week before the race so I can play tourist and completely adjust to the time zone. Judy and Christopher arrive Thursday so we meet at the race expo at 5 PM. The expo is in Tempelhof, an abandoned airport with a fascinating history that includes Operation Vittles/ The Berlin Candy Bomber. We walked past the abandoned check in counters, out onto the tarmac and into the hangar for the expo itself, we were wandering around trying to find bib pick up, and finally asked a volunteer who sent us in the right direction. I got a gear check bag with my bib because I did not select the poncho (Berlin is kinda like the New York Marathon you have to choose one of the other). T-shirts are not included with race fee, but I had pre-purchased the finisher shirt so was sent to the pre-purchased clothing area to get my shirt. Now time to enter the madhouse that is the official marathon race shop for some serious spending! The jackets are Adidas and similar style to Boston jackets, but they have a cute little windbreaker that clearly needs to come home with me. There’s also a nice running shirt. There’s the usual fun of scouring the racks to find the correct size. Super glad we got there Thursday night, because some sizes are already in short supply. Once you exit the official gear store you have a lot more space. The expo is located in a hangar so there’s a good amount of room between booths.  We spend a pleasant hour or so visiting different vendors before walking back out onto the tarmac for one last photo op with the Candy bomber plane in the background before we leave.

And now for the final touch…

For pre-race throwaway clothes I researched German thrift shops. Christopher and Karin join along with the Piel clan. Christopher and I find our go to pre-race outfits… bathrobes!

While at the thrift shop Christopher tried on a hoodie and when he took his hand out the pocket, pulled out two used masks. Traumatized he went in search of Judy who fortunately had hand sanitizer in her purse (thank you Judy).

Pre-race traditions must be observed!

Christopher and I have a pre-race tradition of walking the last mile of the course, so we meet at Brandenburg gate to scope out the finish area. We locate our names on the hall of fame, and as an added bonus Christopher locates a pretzel and a NA beer. After we walk the last mile we meet up with Judy, Harold, Christopher and Sam. Judy and I find a bear for our traditional pre-race photo!

Scoping out the start area

The printed map in our race kit showing the course, is unhelpful with regards to the start/finish area. It doesn’t show where runners enter, the corrals or gear check locations.

The website and mobile app all direct you to the “interactive map” Well the interactive map shows a bunch of tiny icons that stay tiny even when you zoom in, it doesn’t rotate when you try to display it in landscape, and tapping the icons doesn’t do anything, and there is no legend explaining what all the tiny icons mean. That’s a few too many unknowns for me on race morning, so Trevor and I go off to scope it out in person. We find the runners entrance and family meeting area and we find a giant map of the start area posted on the fence with a legend! Apparently the little coat hangars are gear check. There are two of them in completely different areas (what could go wrong?), but at least I know which tiny icon is gear check now.

The day of rest

Saturday is dedicated to staying off my feet and race prep. According to the Maurten fuel guide I should drink 500 mL of water mixed with my Maurten 320 drink powder. I mix it up, take a swig and OMG what is this stuff! And why won’t it fully dissolve? It’s got floaties in it! It triggers my gag reflex. Still, I am determined to follow the nutrition guide so I take another sip. I do some stretching. I take another sip. I read for a bit. I take another sip. I charge my Garmin. I cut my toenails. I take another sip. I check the hourly forecast (cloudy and 12 degrees at 9 AM). I take another sip. I take a bath. I take another sip. Eventually I manage to drink all of it. I’m dreading the 500 mL of the Maurten 160 I’m supposed to drink tomorrow morning pre-race according to the marathon nutrition plan, but I premix it in an empty Coke bottle and put it beside my oatmeal and bowl for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Time to lay out my flat runner and pack my gear check bag. Now remember when I mentioned I packed my normal runners, just in case I decided not to risk the Vaporflys on race day? Smart right? Well yes, that’s smart if your luggage arrives with you. That’s right, It’s 6 days since we landed in Berlin and our luggage is nowhere to be seen. Our bags arrived in Berlin Monday, but the delivery service is apparently very very slow, and no, you can’t pick it up from the airport yourself. Fortunately I packed the absolute minimum to race in my carry on: Vaporfly shoes, Maurten gels and powder, shorts, compression tights, bib belt, hat, running bra, socks, shirt, arm warmers. I managed to find the German equivalent of Body Glide at a sports store in AlexanderPlatz, I got a new pair of Oofo recovery sandals and some gloves at the race expo, and I’ve bought lots of new clothes in general to get me through the week.

I lay out my flat runner with the Vaporflys. I pack my gear check bag with my new Oofos and I head out to meet Christopher and Karin for dinner at a Japanese restaurant because rice and fish or meat works for me as a pre-race meal. Christopher and Karin arrive a little late because they accidentally went to a different location/same chain, but I amuse myself trying to read the articles in the German version of Rolling Stone magazine and we still finish dinner well in time to get to bed early.

Sunday – Race day!

Berlin is a pretty late start for a major marathon. After copious searching of the marathon app, I finally find an FAQ that tells me specifically: the Elites start at 8:50 AM, corrals ABCD start at 9:15 AM, I’m in corral F so I start at 9:35 AM. I set my alarm for 6:30 so I can have my oatmeal and banana in plenty of time for it to digest pre-race. I even manage to drink my Maurten 160 and refill the Coke bottle with water to sip on the way to the start. Trevor decides to accompany me to the runners entrance. Christopher will meet me on the way. I don my stylish bathrobe and off we stroll.

Where are you?

At least I thought Christopher would meet me on the way. When we get to the designated meeting spot I get a message “I went to the wrong place because I’m an idiot, let’s just meet at the runner entrance”. When I get to the entrance I get another message “I’m at the meet area.” Turns out he’s at the family meeting area. “Lets just meet at the gear check”. While all this is going on Trevor has located a map of the start area with a legend mapping bib numbers to each gear check tent, so at least I know where I need to go check my bag. Trevor gives me a good luck kiss, I enter the start area. I head for bag check keeping an eye our for short port-a-potty lines (the next priority). I get another message from Christopher “At Bag check 26000” . Christopher has literally been getting the run around! Susan took the purple path. Christopher took the red path. Unfortunately, I’m at bag check 25000 which you can see from the image below is nowhere near bag check 26000.

Because I had looked at the gear check tents on the map earlier, I know where he is, so so off I go and YAY there are Christopher and Molly (Molly who I met at the Shamrock Shuffle).

The all important final pre-race pee!

Now that we are united, we all have one thing on our minds… where are the port-a-potties! As I was walking around I scanned the start village for the port-a-potties with the shortest lines. Unfortunately, there are nowhere near enough port-a-potties for this many runners. Not even close. I have never seen lines this bad! Someone said the lines are shorter near the corral, so off to the corral we go. As we walk Christopher scans for water, but no luck there either. I have an old Coke bottle in my pocket filled with water. COVID fears be damned, the three of us share it because we can’t find any other water or electrolytes in the start village. The port-a-potty lines continue to be atrocious. We notice a gap in the fencing where security is letting runners sneak into the woods to pee. We decide we aren’t that desperate…yet. We are almost at the corrals, we notice four garbage trucks along the fence and a few runners sneaking behind the trucks. We look at each other and nod. Behind the trucks are male and female runners squatting or standing as needed. It’s full frontal or full rear view depending on the gender. It’s also a narrow gap between the trucks and the fence so runners carefully step around each other to avoid being hit by an active stream. We do what we need to do and I can now tell you those puddles you see on the other side of the garbage trucks…that’s not water. Laughing we decide before we split up to take a selfie in front of the garbage trucks, and laugh even harder when we realize we are photobombed by a guy coming out from behind the trucks who was doing the same thing we did. FYI, We did find a few port-a-potties near the corral along with urinals for the men right beside the path. Not the discrete hidden behind a wall urinals you see at some North American races, these are just urinals right beside the path. This is Europe people, yes that guy has a penis, yes he needs to pee, get over it.  There’s a lot to be said for the practicality of that at times like this.

The corral

Christopher and I are in Corral F.  The lady checking bibs at the entrance is highly amused by our bathrobes. After all the complications, we have about 15 minutes until we start. They have a big jumbotron at the front of the corral and they show us clips of Eliud Kipchoge and the lead pack already out on the course. It’s warm enough I ditch the bathrobe right away (foreshadowing #4). We spot the 3:45 pacer but no sign of the 4:00 pacer that Christopher was hoping to follow. I have decided to try and run somewhere between 3:50-3:55 which means maintaining between 5:27 and 5:35/km pace.

We’re off

It’s time to start. Christopher and I walk to the start line together then split up, we need to run our own races. I feel good. I feel rested. It’s crowded for the first couple of km, but that’s not unusual for a big race. I take off my arm warmers right away and tie them to my bib belt, it’s warmer than I expected.

0-10 km

Did I mention it’s warmer than I expected, it’s actually a little humid as well. There are several spots where the road narrows and I get stuck behind other runners, but I’m feeling good. Easily keeping a sub 5:35 pace. Be nice if there were more water stops though.. first water stop is at 5 km, just water. I have my Maurten gel at 6 km as planned. I’m feeling pretty good, our bibs have our names on them. A random spectator calls out “Go Susan this is your day!” The second water stop is at 9 km. This one has water and the Maurten drink. Given the gag reflex it caused me Saturday, I pass and stick to the water. My pace varies from 5:23/km to 5:35/km I’m on track.

10-20 km

Wow this course really is flat! Still keeping pace, a few spots where my Garmin is slightly off, but my splits seem to be solidly on track. Passing lots of runners. Feeling good. 12 km is another water stop so I take another gel. I wish they had the paper cups instead of plastic ones, I’m spilling half the water all over my shirt. Hey look a Canadian flag, first one I’ve seen! Woo hoo Go Canada! At 15 km another Maurten stop, I stick to the water. That sun is getting warmer. A good number of spectators, not many silly signs though. At 17.5 more water, the water stops are busy but manageable. My pace is 5:25/km to 5:35/km still feeling good.

20-25 km

20 km is the next Maurten stop but I’m still sticking to water. Trevor and Karin said they would be at 23 km on the left. At 22 km I meet some guy from Spain, we run together and chat for a bit, both shooting for around a 3:50 both feeling pretty good.  We hit the 23 km water stop together and he’s still with me when we meet Trevor and Karin! Hi! Always a huge boost to see family and friends cheering you on the course!  Pace is varying between 5:25 and 5:30. Even at 23 km the course is still fairly crowded. Another water stop at 25 km, glad they are getting more frequent!

25-30 km

There’s a fair number of bends and turns, my watch is about 400 m ahead of the km markers so I start following the blue line. It’s not easy given the steady crowd of runners, but it’s manageable. Gels and water are falling into a pattern: 24 km gel, 25 km water, 28 km water, 30 km gel and water. At this point water stops only have tables on one side of the road. Since the Maurten stops only have water at the first few tables you have to spot them and move over quickly. At the 25 km Maurten stop, I overhear a runner who missed the water table and at each of the subsequent tables she’s calling out asking for water to no avail. Since the cups are quite big and always filled to the rim. I’m still holding mine. I’ve had my usual three gulps and was about to throw the rest away, I look over at her and say “If you are desperate, you can take the rest of mine” COVID be damned she needs the water and gratefully accepts the rest of my water. About a km later she catches up to me and says thank you, we chat and run together for a bit. We pass the 27 km marker, “we are on track all we need to is just need to hold this pace for 90 more minutes” she says cheerily! But I’m starting to slow down, the last two km are a 5:40 pace.

30 – 35 km

I take my gel at 30 km and it triggers my gag reflex. I manage to keep it down but that’s a bad sign. Trevor and Karin will be at 32 km. The heat and lack of electrolytes is beating me up, I stop for a short walk, my next two km are slower than 6 minutes. It’s humid, that cloud cover we had at the start is long gone, and I have not been treating this as a warm weather race. There’s Trevor and Karin, great to see them. Trevor’s sign is a huge hit! There’s a shortage of fun signs on the course today. I let Trevor know that the BQ is not going to happen today. At the next Maurten stop I try drinking some of the warm tea (no idea what benefits this has during a run, but clearly I need something other than water) and I manage to take a sip or two of the Maurten.  At the 34 km stop I dump water on my head. My pace is now closer to 6:30/km.

35-40 km

I start getting muscle cramps. For me, running at this pace, that’s a sign of heat/salt/electrolyte issues. First my hamstring threatens to cramp, then a couple of foot cramps (which I’m able to run through) but when my calf cramps, I have to stop to stretch it. On one occasion, I smile meekly at the two medics who are sitting right beside the fence evaluating me as I stretch. Clearly I pass the test as the don’t even bother moving in my direction to ask if I need help. I turn on my music to keep myself motivated. The number of people passing me has dropped considerably, maybe I’m not the only one out here hurting. I manage one full km without stopping. I don’t take my gel at 36 km because I’m worried I won’t be able to get it down and keep it down. At around 39 km beside  the Mall of Berlin there is a table giving away Coke… OMG yes please! I needed that. I want to keep going the last two km without stopping I really do, but my calf does not co-operate, so I average about 7 minutes/km as I approach the Brandenburg Gate. With 200 meters to go, my right calf tightens again and I start to limp, this will look amusing on the finisher video, but at this point I’m not stopping.  At around 100 meters to go, my other calf starts to seize as well. My running style looks a bit like Forrest Gump when he still has the leg braces, but I make it across the finish line! Woo hoo!

The finish

I get my Eliud Kipchoge medal and notice a handmade cardboard sign “New WR 2:01:09” .That’s really cool! Eliud Kipchoge did set a new world record today! Part of my brain notices a single table giving away mylar blankets, I’ll just grab one further up (oh apparently that was the only table giving out mylar blankets, good thing it’s warm). There’s a table with water. No thanks honestly I’ve had enough water today. I focus on getting to bag check where they read my bib and quickly hand me my bag. I collapse on the grass feeling slightly dizzy. I change into my Oofos, and manage to remove the timing chip from my running shoe. Did I mention they use the old school timing chips you put on your shoe? And they don’t give you zip ties to attach them, so you have to tie them onto your shoes and therefore untie your shoes to get them off after the race. After some amount of time has passed, I find the energy to get up and go in quest of food which I also seem to have missed. There are some runners walking around with white plastic bags. I spot a table with white plastic bags near the NA beer tent. Success! I now have the all important free banana along with an apple and some junk foods.

I start wandering to the exit so I can go meet up with Trevor. I can’t see anywhere to return the timing chip, I ask someone with an info flag, she says she can take the chip for me, thank you! I stumble out of the area and make my way to the “i” in the family meeting zone where Trevor and Karin are waiting. There’s a concrete post to sit on and Trevor has a coke for me. Happy Susan. Christopher isn’t far behind and soon the two of us are giving happy but exhausted grins for the camera.  I check the online results and see that Judy finished 4^th in her age group, amazing! My official time is 4:10:57.

Post-race celebrations

We celebrate at a German beerhall with Una and Todd who I met at CIM and also ran today. We finish the evening with a photo of the runners and a photo of our always important support crew!

Now we just need to pack up for our flight to Barcelona the next morning. Packing doesn’t take long since we still haven’t received our luggage. I give Judy a call to talk about her race, and while we are chatting Trevor gets a message on his phone from the front desk. They have our bags! What! Really! Trevor rushes downstairs and returns with all three of our suitcases!

No BQ today, so, I won’t be running Boston 2024, but I have my luggage back. I’m content. I did just finish the Berlin Marathon, and my 4^th Abbott World Major. For whatever reason today wasn’t the race I hoped for, I don’t think the Vaporflys messed me up, maybe I underestimated the heat and humidity, maybe I screwed up my nutrition, but maybe (none of like to admit this possibility) I was just undertrained, you never know for sure. It’s all those little mysteries that cause the strange addiction to the marathon distance. If it was easy and you always knew what was going to happen, it wouldn’t be such an achievement when you do run a good race. If you are thinking of running it, check out my (coming soon) practical Guide to the Berlin Marathon for the nitty gritty details a runner will want to know. If you enjoyed this you may want to check out my practical guides to various marathons, training tips, and other fun run related posts.

Vielen Danke Berlin!

All I want to do is run Chicago! Running Disaster Stories

In running as in life, things don’t always go as planned. This series is meant to remind us of those times. Sometimes we look back and realize that perhaps we made some poor choices, but sometimes events occur that are completely outside our control. This tale from Rita of her plans to run the Chicago marathon falls into the second category.

This is part of a series, if you missed it, check out the previous post “The 1958 Beer mile”

In 2011, I decided to run the Chicago Marathon. The sequence of events that followed are a reminder that there are things in life you cannot control, but patience and persistence (might?) pay off.

In the good old days of 2011 there was no lottery for the Chicago marathon, you could just register.  It has a great reputation as a fun and fast race, so, a group of running buddies and I registered for Chicago 2011.

Alas for me …it was not meant to be …  my brother was diagnosed with brain cancer. It was not a difficult decision, I stayed close to home to spend time with him.  Chicago could wait.

In 2013, there was momentum to return. A group of running buddies and I registered for Chicago 2013.

Alas for me … it was not meant to be… my father passed away the week before the marathon. Once again Chicago could wait.

By the time 2014 rolled around, Chicago had switched to a lottery system. It’s one thing to have a fun group trip with all your running buddies running the Chicago Marathon, it’s just not the same to go all by yourself. With the lottery system we couldn’t figure out how to plan a group trip, so my dreams of Chicago had to wait.

Fast forward to 2018, one of my running buddies noticed that you could get a guaranteed entry to Chicago with a qualifying time, and a good number of us had times fast enough to qualify! Enough to gather momentum, I registered once again, hopeful that I had correctly provided all the necessary details required to show I had run a previous race fast enough to qualify. As soon as I received the email informing me I had a bib, joyfully, I did a status check with my run buds, yes! They had all received the same email. We were in!

I set my sights on a 3:30 marathon… that would require taking more than 4 minutes off my Personal Best (PB), but my training that summer indicated that it was surely possible! Finally I was not only going to run Chicago, but I would use it to try and set a PB!

The Chicago Marathon is on a Sunday morning. I live in Ottawa, which is a bit far from Chicago to drive, and trains were impractical. Chicago does require you to pick up your own bib in person at the race expo by Saturday at the latest. Due to work and family reasons, my time in Chicago would be limited to a three day weekend trip.  I booked a late Friday afternoon flight from Ottawa to Chicago via Montreal.  On the  day of the flight I had all my bags packed and ready to go. I had planned to leave my car at the airport, and I set off for the easy 15 minute drive from my home to the Ottawa airport.

Clearly I hadn’t accounted for traffic patterns at that time of day….minutes passed, cars backed up, the clock ticked away. No, it couldn’t be, after all this, would a simple traffic jam keep me from running Chicago?

I arrived at Ottawa airport much later than anticipated. I thought I had been prepared, I even had prepaid parking, but when I got there, all the spots were full! I circled, and circled, and finally found a spot! I parked the car and ran into the terminal. To my dismay there was a huge line up for check in. I walked up to the airline staff and said “I think my flight is boarding.”  He answered “sorry to hear that, we’ll try to get you through as quickly as possible.” I get the feeling they deal with this sort of thing a lot. But I got checked in, and then  dashed to security and of course today was the day they pulled me over for a random check. I gave the security agent my best puppy dog eyes and said “I think my flight is boarding.”  FYI that really doesn’t work on security agents, no sympathy, they took their time, did their thing, and off I went again. I ran to the gate, the doors hadn’t closed yet, I  boarded. Okay breathe, I’m on my way to Chicago. Well actually I’m on my way to Montreal, but I’m on my way! 

The flight to Montreal was blissfully uneventful. I arrived in plenty of time to make my connection and boarded my plane to Chicago.  All good you are thinking? Maybe not…

Mid-flight I had the inflight entertainment system displaying the flight map that shows you the progress of your flight. It’s about 90 minutes from Montreal to Chicago, so it wouldn’t be long now. As I was watching the screen, I noticed the little line showing the route the plane was taking made a U turn. That’s odd, surely a technical glitch, or maybe not. 

No sooner had I decided this mysterious U-turn was nothing to worry about, the pilot came over the loudspeaker and informed us there was a terrible rain and wind storm in Chicago making it unsafe for us to land so we were… you guessed it… heading back to Montreal.

In disbelief, but convinced I couldn’t possibly have yet another Chicago Marathon attempt thwarted, I got up and asked the airline attendant “are they going to put us on another flight later tonight?”

“Oh no,” she said, “by the time we get back to Montreal, customs will be closed so you won’t be able to go anywhere tonight.”

Deep breath. I texted my friends already in Chicago eating deep dish pizza, to let them know my flight was heading back to Montreal and to stay tuned. I’ve got until 5 PM Saturday to get to the race expo and pick up my bib, it’s only a 90 minutes flight, surely…

We landed in Montreal and were directed to follow the crew’s instructions at the terminal. When we got off the plane, names were being called and hotel vouchers were handed out. I didn’t care about the hotel “What about a flight?” I asked.

“You’ll have to call this number on the back of your voucher, and they’ll rebook you on a new flight” was the reply. Okay I can do that. I started walking to catch the shuttle for the hotel with the rest of the passengers, and suddenly it dawned on me that every single passenger on that flight would be calling this same number with the same goal of getting an empty seat on one of the next flights to Chicago. I’ll be smart, I’ll call now *before* we even get to the hotel and beat the rush!

My plan worked, I got through to an agent, and explained my situation. The agent said sure I can put you on a flight tomorrow at 5 PM. Noooo! I protested and pleaded, “I’m running the Chicago Marathon (at least I hope I am) and I have to be there early Saturday so I can pick up my race bib in person before the expo closes.”  “Ok” she said sympathetically, “let me see what I can do, I’ll just have to put you on hold.”

So I sat there, with my cell phone, on hold. The hotel shuttle arrived, I was still on hold. I boarded the shuttle, I was still on hold. The shuttle started driving to the hotel. I prayed that the line didn’t disconnect as we drove under overpasses and down the road. We arrived at the  hotel, I was still on hold. I picked up my hotel room key, I was still on hold. Then “Hello?” the attendant came back on the line.

“So, I was able to get you the last seat on the 6 AM flight from Montreal to Chicago Saturday morning.” Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

It was around this point that I realized I hadn’t eaten and that to catch a 6 AM flight I would have to get up in about 2 hours to catch the shuttle back to the airport. Well, luckily I had a protein bar in my luggage. I at the protein bar, set my alarm and fell fast asleep.

At 3 AM my alarm went off. Groggy but determined, I got my belongings, went to the lobby, jumped on the shuttle, arrived at the airport and was greeted by a huge line up at customs.

At this point, you can probably imagine how I felt: tired, frustrated, hungry, defeated. But it was actually at this moment I stopped and did a reality check. Ok Rita, in the grand scheme of things, how bad is this, you might miss a flight and not get to run the Chicago Marathon. Talk about first world problems! There are people out there in food lines at refugee camps, you’re ok Rita, get a grip, get some perspective. Take a deep breath, and move forward, whatever happens, happens. 

Mentally in a much better state, I got in line, and I did in fact get through the line and arrived at the gate where I was thrilled to meet Anderson who was also running the Chicago Marathon.  We became fast buds.  Chaos and stress is much easier to deal with as a team. We agreed to work together to navigate our way to the race expo after we landed. Having someone else with me was such a boost to my mental state. The flight landed on time, I’m in Chicago, maybe it’s really going to happen!

No time to go to the hotel, we went straight to the expo from the airport, suitcase in hand. Next thing I know I’ve got my bib and I even had time to wander around the expo! With that out of the way, I boarded a shuttle to my hotel for the next two top priorities: food and sleep! Not necessarily in that order

After  a two hour power nap, I hopped on a bus to the restaurant where my running buddies were already settled in for supper. I think the grin on my face says it all

Not quite the relaxed pre-marathon rest day I had envisioned, but I’m here! Sunday morning, I’m in the starting corral. I’m finally going to run the Chicago marathon! My corral starts moving towards the start line. I remind myself that despite the chaos of the last 36 hours, my training went well, I’m fit, and I’m ready for this. No excuses, let’s do this!!!

5 km I’m on pace; 10km, hmm that was an impressive downpour but I’m still on pace; 21km I’m still on pace, 32 km I’m on pace. Of course the real race starts at 32 km! 35km, ok I’m off a bit on that one, it’s raining a bit, it’s a bit humid, no excuses Rita, hold the pace, keep going!

40k okay yeah I’m lagging 3:30 is not in the cards, but I so some quick calculations in my head, I can still get a PB (personal best). No excuses Rita! Leave it all on the course!

41km, seriously whose idea was it to put this hill here, 42 km, ok Rita time for your signature 200 metre sprint down the finish line, I just finished the Chicago Marathon YAY!! 

I glance at my Garmin, interesting. My thoughts turn to more practical things, walking back to the hotel, getting my medal, taking photos. I received a congratulatory text from a friend ”nice run Rita.””Thanks”, I replied, “you’re not going to believe this but I think it is the exact same time as my current PB.”

I grab a quick shower and when I come out there is another text from my friend “Rita, your previous PB was 3:34:10, your chip time for Chicago time is 3:34:09” I PB’d by one second (nine years after I set the previous PB)!!!  Woo hoo!!

So after a seven year wait and more hurdles and obstacles than I care to remember, Chicago 2018 was my year. Sometimes races have their own beautiful timelines and we just need to go with it. It was so worth the wait 🙂 On that note, remind me next time to tell you about the time I  registered for Berlin 2019…

Who is Rita?

Rita is a marathoner who trains in Ottawa, Canada through wind, rain and snow.  Her basic philosophy towards life is: Live Life Large, every day is a new adventure, giv’r your best and enjoy the ride.
She ran her first marathon in 2004 as a bucket list item. 24 marathons later, she recognizes that running has given her so much in life. Her basic philosophy towards running is to give it the respect it deserves as it serves so many purposes in her life including but not limited to social convenor, therapist, problem solver, and immune system booster. So much bang for your buck with every step you run. Her philosophy on racing is similar to her philosophy on life: giv’r and have fun but not necessarily in that order 🙂

If you enjoyed this post, check out the previous disaster story “The 1958 Beer mile” or check out the rest of my running related posts which include race reports, gear reviews, and other posts I write to amuse myself but that do occasionally amuse others.

Hamilton Marathon race report Road2Hope

(Apparently I wrote and forgot to publish this race report) I just completed the 2019 Hamilton Road2Hope marathon. This post will give you a runner’s perspective on the race so you know what to expect if you go.

Why run it?

Hamilton advertises itself as Canada’s #1 Boston qualifier, so it’s a popular destination for those trying to get that elusive BQ or Personal Best. in 2019, 22% of the runners qualified for Boston (myself incuded.)

Is it a fast course?

Let’s talk hills

Hamilton has a reputation as a fast course because of the long downhill from 22 – 28 km.  But don’t be fooled into thinking that makes this an easy course. Let’s be clear: there is no such thing as an easy marathon course. Don’t underestimate those little bumps at the start of the race

Yes, from an elevation perspective this course has the potential for a fast run. You get through all the big climbs early in the race when your legs are still fresh. You get a nice long downhill to carry you through 22-28 km and all you have to do is hold on for a very flat final 14 km.

The first 12 km is NOT flat. It’s basically rolling hills. 15 – 20 km is flat. 22 km – 24 km is a fairly steep downhill along the highway. 24-28 km is still downhill but not quite as steep.

The rest of the race is flat. Be warned, that long downhill can take a toll on your quads! If you do this race without any hill training (including running downhill) you could have a pretty rough time in the last 14 km!

There is a tiny climb in the last 50 meters just to remind your legs they are tired

Let’s talk wind

There are a lot of stretches on this race where you are very exposed. So if it’s windy that’s going to be a factor. The route does not have a lot of turns, but just enough that whatever direction the wind is blowing you are going to have tailwinds, headwinds and crosswinds.

If you total the distance in each direction you get approximately

• 12 km North
• 3 km East
• 5 km South
• 8 km West
• 4 km Northwest
• 5 km SouthEast

In 2019 the wind was 23 km/h WestSouthWest. We felt it most when running West. Unfortunately that included the stretch from 14 – 21 km along the escarpment which is very exposed. I also noticed it on 31 – 36 km to the turnaround onto the Waterfront trail. Of course that means when we did turnaround we had a tailwind for 37-42 km.

Outside of that how is the course?

This route is VERY different from the other big Hamilton race: Around the Bay.  It’s got some beautiful views in the first 15 km or so. The downhill stretch is kind of cool because they close one side of the highway for the runners. I’ve never run down a major freeway before. There’s a short stretch around the 29 km mark along a dirt path which includes two 20 meter stretches with these concrete squares with holes in them designed to prevent erosion which are a trip hazard. The last 5 km along the waterfront trail is quite beautiful if you have enough energy left to appreciate it 🙂

What can spectators and family do?

Races for everyone

There is a half marathon Sunday that starts and finishes at the same location as the full marathon. The half marathon starts 15 minutes before the full marathon. so you can travel to the start line together.

Saturday they have 1 km, 5km and 10 km races.

Things to do in the area

Got some time to explore Saturday or Sunday after the race?

• Hamilton is along the Niagara escarpment which is Ontario wine country. There are no shortage of vintners in the area offering tours and tastings.
• Niagara falls is only an hour’s drive away.
• Grab a coffee and donut at 65 Ottawa St N at Dunsmure – the first Tim Hortons.
• The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is open Saturday from 9 AM to 12 PM at Tim Hortons Field, 64 Melrose Avenue.

Tracking runners

In 2019, the app for tracking runners was not published to the store, but registered runners  received an email with a link to install the app on Android or Apple phones. You have to create an account to track runners, which is a little odd. Because bib numbers were not assigned until you picked up your race kit, you couldn’t see your runner listed until late Saturday. But, on race day the app worked beautifully. My husband was able to track my sister and I easily. There were timing mats every 5 km, and the app showed our projected time and location on screen

How about the race logistics?

The race expo

It’s a small race expo, but you’ll probably find any last minute items you need on site. The local running store Runners Den was on site selling running essentials and some nice Hamilton marathon race shirts and tops. The Runners Den booth is also open on Sunday after the marathon finishes.

Kit and bib pick up

You pick up your race kit and bib in the finish line area Friday or Saturday in a tent. In 2019, they didn’t assign bib numbers until you arrived at the expo. Shirt pick up was in the back of the expo. The race shirts included with registration were well… pretty ugly (sorry Hamilton organizers, I really didn’t like them), so I splurged and bought a really nice race long sleeved shirt from the Runners Den that has become a regular shirt in my workout rotation.

They did not provide any sort of drawstring back for gear check, so you need to bring your own.

Getting to the start line

The closest parking by the start line is at the Starlite Drive-in a 400 meter walk to the start.

Most runners park at the finish line and take advantage of the free shuttle buses to the start line so they have immediate access to their cars when they finish the race. The bus only takes about 15 minutes to get from the finish line to the start line. I recommend trying to arrive at the finish to park and catch your shuttle no later than 6:15, there will be a long line of cars. The volunteers do a good job directing everyone to parking spots and keeping things moving, but there is only one road into the park, so you can’t avoid a line up. They did run the buses past 6:45 AM in 2019 because there was still a line of cars coming into the lot at 6:35 AM.

The volunteers did a good job trying to make sure everyone loaded efficiently, managing hiccups like buses loading at the wrong locations as needed.

The start area

One of the awesome things about this race is your access to a school gymnasium at the start area. This means you don’t have to worry about staying warm and dry before the race starts. You can literally walk out to the start minutes before the gun goes off. This also means indoor bathrooms! As is typical there was no line for the mens, and a massive line up for the ladies. They also had port-a-potties outside which had noticeably shorter lines than the ladies room.

Bag check is in the gymnasium, so you can wait until the last minute to decide what to wear. NOTE: This is the first race I’ve run where you can be disqualified for throwing away your gear outside designated areas on the route. You can throwaway clothes for the first km, and at aid stations.  Not an issue, just important to know!

Pacers

They don’t have pacers for all the Boston Qualifying times, but they do have pacers for 3:20, 3:30, 3:40, 3:50, 4:00, 4:15, and 4:30. But keep in mind this is a smaller race with volunteer pacers, by sheer bad luck, in 2019 I was planning to run with the 3:40 pacer who was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, by sheer good luck, a Montreal runner who was completely capable of a 3:40, had run the Hamilton marathon before, and had experience as a pacer was planning to run with the 3:40 pacer. When he couldn’t find the official pacer at the start line he decided he would take over pacer duties and led a pack of at least 15 runners off the start line. He crossed the finish at 3:39:58!  Thank you Julio (for the record I didn’t run 3:40 but only because in the last 2 km I let him go, I finished in 3:40:29 a PB for me and Julio played no small part in that PB)

Corrals

There are no corrals. In 2019, there were only 677 runners, you could easily get into the corral and the pace bunny signs give you an idea of how far back to go.

Water stops

In 2019, they had Nuun and water approximately every 3 km. There were a few spots where water stops had to be a little early or a little late since you are running on a highway and that limits locations volunteers can access.

The crowds

This race has less than 1000 runners, so there really isn’t much in the way of crowds along most of the course. Because you have an out and back near the finish you get a cluster of spectators around the 31-33km and from 40km to the finish line which is a nice boost.

The finish area

I love races where I can see the finish line from a distance. There is a little hook at the very end of this race, you might want to walk that last km when you pick up your bib. You see the finish from about 100-200 meters away. I found the flow across the finish line to get your medal, water and food moved along nicely. There were lots of photographers and background for you to stop and get a picture with your medal if you so choose. I had my medal, a bottle of water, a banana and a bag of Old Dutch Chips (a personal favorite) in short order. The walk from finish line to the meeting area was blissfully short compared to other races I have run (Notably New York who torture you with long walks uphill to the exit)

The weather

This is a late fall race so heat is unlikely to be an issue, but you could run into cold or wet.

• 2021 partly cloudy low 2 C and a high of 16 C
• 2020 sunny low -2 C and a high of 4 C (race did not run this year, but this was the weather first weekend of November)
• 2019 cloudy with sunny breaks low 3 C high of 6 C
• 2018 cloudy with sunny breaks low -1 C high 6 C
• 2017 rainy low of 6 C high of 16 C

Summary

If you are curious how my race went, check out this personal race report, all in all this is a small but well organized race and a good place to try and run a personal best. If you found this helpful, you may want to check out some of my other running posts including additional race reports, gear reviews, and more.

Boston marathon 2021 the Role Playing Game Race Report

Welcome to Boston Marathon 2021  – the newest role playing adventure game.

Due to COVID, Boston 2020 was entirely virtual and just about every other in person race was cancelled. Many of us couldn’t even train with our run buds any more. When they announced registration for in-person Boston 2021, I really wasn’t sure I would ever reach the start line. Only 20,000 runners means tougher qualifying times, the in person race could be cancelled, and I didn’t know if I would be able to enter the United States. Getting to Boston this year has been like a complicated adventure game filled with puzzles, obstacles and setbacks, so that’s how I’ll approach this race report.. as an RPG (role playing game)… will you get to the start of the Boston marathon?

Stage 1 Getting a BQ

Begin your adventure with a wisdom check. Any wise person would realize going to Boston this year is not worth the hassle, so many hurdles to overcome, but if you are thinking of registering then you must have run at least one marathon already so therefore your wisdom score is probably low enough that you may register. If you are in the hospital with COVID when you register subtract 5 from your wisdom*

*We met a runner from India who was in the hospital with COVID when registration opened for Boston, but she had a BQ and she told her husband to bring her credit card to the hospital so she could register.

Roll 3d10 (that means roll a 10 sided dice 3 times), the first roll is the number of minutes, the next two rolls determine the number of seconds for the cut-off. 7, 4, and 7. If you ran your marathon 7 minutes and 47 seconds faster than the qualifying time for your age group proceed to Stage 2 Planning the trip. If you did not, you may register for the virtual Boston marathon or you can end your Boston adventure and choose an alternate marathon adventure.

Stage 2 Planning the trip

You met the cut-off time congratulations!

Book yourself a hotel. Make a wisdom check, if you pass your wisdom check you book a refundable hotel room, if not, do a wealth check to ensure you can afford to risk losing $600-$2500 for those outrageously priced marathon weekend hotel rooms if something goes wrong. Roll a d4 (four sided dice) to determine the number of nights you book. Subtract one from your roll if you failed the wisdom check (people who fly or drive home the day of the marathon are definitely a little crazy*). 

*Mike

We passed the wisdom check and rolled a 3. My sister booked an airport hotel ($150/night cheaper than downtown) for Saturday, Sunday & Monday.

Roll a d6 (six sided dice) to determine travel restrictions to Boston at the time you found out you got a bib.

• 6 you may travel freely to Boston
• 5 you may fly to Boston
• 4 you may drive to Boston
• 3 you may fly to Boston with a two week quarantine
• 2 you may fly to Boston with a two week quarantine in another country before you arrive
• 1 forget it they aren’t letting you in right now, better hope things improve by the October!

We rolled a 5. But it’s April and the race is in October, no doubt the Canadian/US border will be open by then, I’m not flying, that would be expensive and a hassle. Move on to stage 3 Training

Stage 3 Training

Roll a d6 to determine how many workouts you will complete this week. Do a wisdom check. Add 1 hill workout to your schedule if you passed your wisdom check. Do a motivation check, add 1 to your workout schedule if this is your first Boston, or if you are planning to PB at the marathon. Subtract one from your number of weekly workouts if you are just happy to run a race in person again, and don’t really care what your time is.

At the end of each week, complete a training check. Roll a d20.

• 20 critical hit, you had a fantastic training week, you are rocking it increase motivation by two.
• 15-19 training went well, your workouts went well, your motivation increases by one.
• 10-14 you got your workouts done, feeling a bit tired but basically okay continue training as usual.
• 6-9 that one workout did not go well, reduce motivation by one.
• 2-5 something went wrong roll a d10 and check the injury table to determine which body part feels off. 1 Critical miss! You have an injury that prevents you from running next week roll d10 and check the injury table to determine the injury, roll another d10 to determine the number of weeks training lost.

Injury Table

• 1 Toe*
• 2 Foot
• 3 Ankle
• 4 Achilles/calf
• 5 Knee
• 6 IT Band
• 7 Hip
• 8 Back
• 9 Shoulder
• 10 Gash in the head**

*Randy **Judy

If you had an injury, do a wisdom check, if you fail the wisdom check, you are ignoring your injury subtract one from next week’s training check. If you pass the wisdom check you add some stretching, yoga, physio, to your workout routine and continue to train as usual.

Repeat for 10 weeks then advance to stage 4 It’s getting real

Stage 4 It’s getting real

Roll a d6 (six sided dice) to determine travel restrictions to Boston six weeks from race day.

• 6 you may travel freely to Boston
• 5 you may fly to Boston
• 4 you may drive to Boston
• 3 you may fly to Boston with a two week quarantine
• 2 you may fly to Boston with a two week quarantine in another country before you arrive*
• 1 forget it they aren’t letting you in right now, okay now might be the time to start panicking

*We met a runner from South Africa who had to complete a two week quarantine in Namibia to get to Boston.

I rolled a 5. Well that sucks! We were planning to drive, time to look up flights. Roll a d2 to determine flight options.

• 15+ you find a flight that is fully refundable at a decent price
• 10-14 you find a flight that will provide you with travel credits or a reasonable price
• 5-9 you find a decent priced flight but non-refundable
• 2-4 ouch that’s expensive but no real alternative.
• 1 forget it! I’m switching to the virtual race

Next perform a hotel check to ensure your hotel nights line up with your flights.

We rolled a 13 and got flights on Air Canada which can be traded for full travel credit if we have to cancel, but we failed our hotel check because we land Friday night and don’t have hotel for Friday. We pass a luck check and are able to book Friday night at the same hotel we have for the rest of our stay but lose an additional $100 over what we would have paid if we had booked Friday initially.

Once you have your travel and hotel sorted advance to stage 5 COVID testing

Stage 5 COVID testing

You have a flight and you have hotel booked, now it’s time to research the current rules for entering the US. You require a COVID Rapid Antigen test within 72 hours of your flight entering the US. If you are travelling through another country to arrive in the US, do a luck check to determine if you require a different test to enter the country in-transit.

For each COVID test roll a d10 to determine the degree of Q-tip penetration into your nasal passage required to take a sample.

Roll a d20 to determine if your COVID test is negative, add 10 to your score if you are fully vaccinated, add 5 to your score if you wear a mask in public locations, subtract one for every meal indoors at a restaurant, movie, or large public event attended in the past 14 days. If you fail this throw your adventure ends here. If you pass this throw advance to stage 6 fly to Boston.

Stage 6 Fly to Boston

Complete your online check in, roll 2d10 to determine how many minutes you spend figuring out all the documentation you must submit to check in for your flight.

It’s time to fly, but airports as we know are fraught with complications, so for each flight roll 2d10 for wild magic and hope you make your connections and arrive successfully in Boston in time to get your bib**

**Each and every scenario below is based on actual incidents that happened to myself, friends, or family. You know who you are 😊

• 99-00 Everything goes fine
• 97-98 You read all the dire warnings about arriving early during COVID and arrive at the airport before the check-in counters are open, subtract 2 from endurance due to unnecessary lost sleep.
• 95-96 Rain (d10 minutes flight delay)
• 93-94 Fog at arrival airport (d20 minutes delay circling and 50% chance of aborted landing adding additional d20 minutes delay)
• 91-92 Flight crew has worked too many hours (2d10 minutes delay waiting for new crew to arrive)

• 89-90 Mechanical issues with the plane (2d10 minutes delay waiting for repair and sign off)
• 87-88 Small overhead bins (d20 minutes delay as they keep begging everyone to check bags at the gate and everyone ignores them and they have to check all the bags when they board and discover their bags don’t fit)
• 85-86 The seat beside you on the plane is occupied by a 4 year old who spends the entire flight telling you all about his favorite Pokemon in great detail
• 83-84 You have a middle seat between two squabbling siblings, half way through the flight one throws up in the air sickness bag and shows it to his brother  
• 81-82 You get an upgrade to first class
• 79-80 You are in first class but end up sitting next to a bratty 5 year old and have to cut his meat for him
• 77-78 You accidentally board using the boarding pass for the wrong flight causing mayhem because your boarding pass did not scan properly when you boarded and now number of passengers on the plane does not match the number of scanned boarding passes.

• 75-76 You carefully packed your race gear in carry on but your carry on does not fit in the overhead and they check your bag after you board the plane. Roll a d20 if you roll 5 or higher your bag shows up on the luggage carousel.
• 73-74 They lose your checked bags
• 71-72 You open the bag of pretzels and they fly open showering pretzels on your seat mates
• 69-70 You have a 7 year sitting behind you who keeps kicking your seat
• 67-68 You get an exit row seat with extra leg space
• 65-66 You get a seat that does not recline
• 63-64 Flight is overbooked you are bumped to the next flight.
• 61-62 They changed planes, your exit row seat is now a middle seat in the back of the plane
• 59-60 Thunderstorm at arrival airport (roll d20, if you roll a 1 they turn your plane around and fly back to your place of departure and you have to rebook on another flight, otherwise 2d10minutes delay)
• 57-58 You flew Southwest Airlines and they cancelled your flight due to staffing shortages during COVID
• 55-56 Bumpy flight
• 53-54 Smooth flight
• 51-52 Person in front of you reclines their seat so far back their head is in your lap
• 49-50 Short line at security, get an extra drink pre-flight
• 47-48 Long line at security, subtract one from endurance for sprinting to the gate
• 45-46 TSA Pre-check for security, get two extra drinks pre-flight
• 43-44 You have TSA pre-check but TSA pre-check is not open, subtract one from endurance for sprinting to the gate
• 41-42 Long customs line, subtract one from endurance from stress thinking you will miss your flight
• 39-40 Short customs line, get one extra drink pre-flight
• 37-38 Nexus or other express customs clearance, get two extra drinks pre-flight
• 35-36 You have Nexus or other express customs clearance, but the kiosks are not working, subtract one from endurance for sprinting to the gate
• 33-34 The paperback book in your carry on triggers a manual search of your bag at security
• 31-32 You get a pat down because you set off the metal detector
• 29-30 You forgot you had a bottle of sunscreen in your carry on, throw out your sunscreen because it’s a liquid over 50 ml
• 27-28 You get pulled aside for the explosive test on your hands and laptop
• 25-26 You spot another Boston runner at the gate, compare notes on marathons
• 23-24 Strong headwinds (d20 minutes flight delay)
• 21-22 Strong tailwinds (d20 minutes early)
• 19-20 In flight entertainment system has a movie you haven’t seen before and want to watch
• 17-18 You have in flight entertainment system but you only have Bluetooth headphones and can’t bring yourself to purchase in flight ear buds
• 15-16 Gate crew is not ready when you land (d20 minutes delay deplaning)
• 13-14 Dust in the door handle of the emergency exit in the exit row causes the door to emit a high pitched squealing noise, roll d20 to determine if sound stops after you reach cruising altitude
• 11-12 Plane is struck by lightning, no flight delay but add 10 to stress level
• 9-10 Propeller plane and you got the seat beside the propeller lose 5 decibel of hearing unless  you have noise reducing headphones, in which case lose 2 decibels of hearing
• 7-8 A fleet of antique airplanes is landing at your airport (d20 minutes delay)
• 5-6 Spot a celebrity on your flight
• 3-4 Your boarding pass says SSSS roll a d20, if you roll 11-20 you make your flight, roll 1-10 you miss your flight and have to catch the next one
• 1-2 Your name matches someone on the watch list – miss your flight into the US and catch the next one

If you survived the airport wild magic and arrived in Boston in time to pick up your bib advanced to Stage 7 Bib pick up

Stage 7 Bib pick up

Congratulations you have arrived in Boston and hopefully you arrived with your running gear. Proceed to Boylston Street and enter the Proof of Vaccination tent. Roll a d20 to determine if your vaccination is approved by the WHO and you get your runner’s bracelet. If you fail your throw, advance to the COVID test tent and roll a d20 to determine if your COVID test is negative, add 10 to your score if you are fully vaccinated, add 5 to your score if you wear a mask in public locations, subtract one for every meal indoors at a restaurant, movie, or large public event attended in the past 14 days. If you fail this throw your adventure ends here. If you make the throw accept your runner’s bracelet and proceed to the Bib pick up.

Look up your bib number. Roll a d4 to determine the number of people in line in front of you. Take a moment to appreciate how incredibly efficient the vaccination check and bib pick up were this year and don’t forget to thank the amazing volunteers.  Then look down in your hands and realize you are holding your race bib. Let it hit you, get a little emotional, it’s okay. Enter the expo. Roll 3d10 to determine the total amount of money you spend  on official Boston race gear and souvenirs. If you wear a Women’s size Small or Extra Small roll a d20 to determine if they have what you want in your size. Subtract 2 from your roll for every 6 hours the race expo was open because all the other women already bought the smaller sizes. Do a wisdom check to see if you can restrain yourself from buying the Medium because it is too big for you, but you really like that blue windbreaker with the dark blue sleeves.*

*My sister passed the wisdom check and did not purchase the size Medium windbreaker and I was relatively restrained this year only purchasing the Celebration jacket, a long sleeved shirt, two pint glasses, a pin, and a badge.

Roll a d6 to determine the number of hours you spend going to sporting goods shops across Boston because the reduced size race expo does not have ANY running shoes, gels, nip guards, socks, etc… anything you needed for race day will have to be purchased elsewhere, but, if you want a Sam Adams beer they’ve got you covered*

*Did you know there is a Marathon Sports store out by Harvard Square? They didn’t have my size at the Marathon Sports on Boylston.

Advance to Stage 8

Stage 8 Take it all in!

You’ve done all your running around, it’s time to take in the sights, maybe go find a cannoli or some clam chowder. Do a wisdom check, if you fail the wisdom check you eat the cannoli* or clam chowder the night before the race and make a port-a-potty stop mid-race. If you arrived Saturday, go for an easy run Sunday morning along the river or if you are staying by the airport, along the ocean at Revere Beach.

*James

Take a photo at the finish line, then get back to your room and lay out all your race gear. Tomorrow you run the Boston marathon! Advance to Stage 9 Get to the start line

Stage 9 Get to the start line

Get up early, dress up in your best throw away pre-race outfit and make your way to the school bus to drop off your gear check if you don’t have a convenient hotel or generous friend or family member to lug your stuff around. Then begin the walk to the bus, board the bus at the scheduled time for your bib colour. Roll a d20, if you roll a 1 the bus driver gets lost and you arrive at the start an hour later than planned*

*Yeah one of the bus drivers got completely lost on the way to the start, and took an extra hour to get to the start line

Once you arrive in Hopkinton, start walking to the Start line. Stop at the port-a-potties, roll a d10 to determine the number of people in front of you in line. Gain 10 minutes if you are a guy and use the open urinal zone.

Begin to discard your throwaway gear into the clear bags, garbage in the black bags. Do a wisdom check to determine if you do any stretches or warm up. Continue walking to the start line. Take one last photo if you have your phone because with the rolling start, as soon as you reach the start line your Boston marathon is underway! Advance to Stage 10 Run the marathon

Stage 10 Run the marathon

Oh my god, I’m here, I’m running the Boston marathon, there are runners all around me, there are fans cheering, try not to run too fast on that initial downhill. Hey look there’s the Ashland Biker bar. Oh wait, uphill now, but look at that cute Labrador holding the Boston Strong flags. Natick… more hills and there’s Santa Claus at the top of the hill. Framingham, more cheering crowds, more hills. Wellesley another hill and the famous Wellesley college girls scream tunnel but no kisses from the girls this year, I guess COVID has changed some aspects of the race itself. Water stops are soooo well organized, amazing volunteers, and here we are in Newton for even more hills! Lots of crowds to cheer you up the hills, good thing because that first Newton hill goes on and on and on. Boston college has a great cheering section too! Brookline and wait I’m confused is this section flat??? Haven’t seen much of that today, I really should have done more hill training.  Now entering Boston, one mile to go, Right on Hereford, left on Boyleston and it’s time to smile for the camera, you are about to finish the 125^th Boston marathon! The weather was not as hot as forecast you might even PB*

*Stephanie, Rachel

Stage 11 You did it

My feet hurt, my legs hurt, I just ran 42.2 km / 26.2 miles but as soon as I hit that finish line, the 400 m walk to the gear check feels like another marathon. I make it to the exit, my sister Judy is waiting for me, I greet her briefly and inform her when she wants to find me I’ll be collapsed on the grass in Boston commons. This picture was taken at least 20 minutes later because I found the strength to sit upright again 🙂 Congratulations you have completed the 125th Boston marathon!

For more of my race reports, including comparisons of Boston and New York marathons, the practical guide to Boston marathon weekend (pre-COVID), or Boston marathon treadmill settings visit my page of running related posts.

What does it take to finally run a strong marathon and earn a shoe in the process!

Was it a perfect race, no. But yesterday at the Hamilton marathon I finally ran the marathon I’ve been trying to run since fall 2015. You can tell from the expression on my face it didn’t come without effort, but I’m very happy with the result.

---

Previous marathons

I always liked 5 km and 10 km races. I blame my sister Judy and my friend Christopher for putting marathon ideas in my head, eventually I decided to give it a try.

• Spring 2014, I ran 3:53:05 at my first marathon in Ottawa. I was thrilled because that got me into Boston 2015. I ran it in 4:05:43. I was happy. It’s a tough course, I didn’t push it, I wanted to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the experience.
• Philadelphia 2015 I tried for a sub 3:50 and ran 3:51:47. I was happy to have a PB but a little frustrated trying to learn how to run this marathon thing. I tried again at Grandma’s marathon 2016. It’s a fast course but unfortunately it was miserably hot and I finished in 4:07. No fall marathon in 2016 due to hamstring issues.
• Spring 2017 I ran Boston 2 Big Sur, which mean two marathons in 2 weeks so suffice to say I did not try for a personal best, each race was over 4 hours. But, it gave me more confidence in my strength on the longer distances. New York City 2017 was my third attempt to break 3:50, trying to follow the pace bunny was a bit of a disaster, and I gave up on the pacer at km 26, I did hold on to run a PB 3:49:19 but it wasn’t pretty.

 

• Spring 2018 I ran the Vancouver marathon with a goal of 3:45. I still don’t know what exactly went wrong, probably heat? I’ll never know for sure. Suffice to say I felt great at the start was on pace for my 3:45 and it all fell apart at 21 km. I finished in 4:05:30 bitterly disappointed. My fall race was Chicago, a fast course, In January I had visions of 3:45 in Vancouver and 3:40 in Chicago. but after the disaster that was Vancouver, I needed a morale boost. So I decided to just try and run a strong sub 4. I had a great race, felt strong the whole way, finished in 3:52:30 smiling.
• Spring 2019 I was back in Boston, it was warm, first run in shorts since November. This is not the day to try and PB, so I set a simple goal of running my first sub 4 in Boston. It was close but I powered through the last km to finish in 3:59:25.

Working towards the goal

Through all four years, all my times on the track, and in shorter distances indicated I could run a marathon faster. I just couldn’t make it happen. People running with me on the track were posting sub 3:40 times. Why was I struggling so much just to break 3:50? The marathon is cruel that way 🙂 it teases you. You know you can do it faster, but you only get a couple of shots at that distance a year and I think that’s part of the appeal. It’s a challenge to run a marathon *well*.

I trained hard every season, I cross-trained, I did hills, I did speed work. 2019 things seemed to be coming together.

I was running well on the track, but I generally do run well on the track. That’s where I look the fastest compared to other distance runners. But, I was hitting some sub 7 minute 1600s. that was new.

I decided to take a serious shot at breaking 45 minutes on a 10 km. My current PB was 45:03.  I always had a mental block with the idea of running sub 4:30 kms for 10 km. I picked my race, I even did a ‘run your fastest 10 km’ 6 week training plan leading up to race day. I got my friend Randy to pace me. I jogged the route three days before the race to learn the hills and turns. Race day was not perfect. It was warm. But with some help from Randy, I left it all on the course and finished in 44:36. (as an added bonus I was 5th woman overall, I sneak in the occasional age group placing, but I’m not usually in the top overall).

So could I beat my 5 km PB? That requires a PB friendly race. There’s a 5 km in New Brunswick near my parents place, called the Joe McGuire race that is flat and fast! My dad drove me out while I was visiting, there was a little bit of wind, and it was a touch warm, but I managed to finish in 21:33 beating my previsou PB of 21:47.

So now I had the strength from my marathon training and my legs were remembering how to run fast. Could I put it all together? My fastest half marathon was a 1:46, which I *knew* I should be able to beat. I went out with the 1:45 pace bunny and posted 1:43:20 at the Ottawa Army Run in September and felt good the whole way. You can tell I am having a good race when I have the energy to goof around with the race photographers trying to give my pace bunny bunny ears.

Can I produce the results I want at a marathon?

The Hamilton marathon is advertised as a fast course. It has a downhill from 22 – 28 km. I struggle the most mentally from 21-32 km so this worked in my favour. The biggest issue with Hamilton is actually the long downhill. A lot of runners find it beats up their quads. One of the things I worked on after my first Boston marathon was my downhill running. I now take pride in begin a strong downhill runner. In fact I ran a leg at the Peak 2 Brew relay race which was 10 km continuous downhill with an average 6% decline this summer. I figured it would be good preparation for Hamilton. I trained for it and even  with the training, it took me 4 weeks to fully recover from that 10 km downhil run, but the training did 100% pay off! I pass a lot of runners on downhills now and it’s very satisfying.

I also knew that my best times always came at fall races. Training in winter and racing in spring does not lend itself to personal bests. It’s hard to run fast in winter on icy and snowy roads, and if you get a hot day for your spring race, you aren’t acclimatized and it can really mess you up. Whereas if you train through the heat in the summer, then you feel really fast when it cools off in the fall.  You do also learn from every marathon you run, even those where you are disappointed with your results. Even if a marathon does not go well the training you put it does build and make you stronger for the next one.

Okay so back to Hamilton… It’s a fall race, I’ve set PBs on 5km, 10km, 8 km, 15km, and 21 km already this year. It’s a fast course. It’s time to run that sub 3:45! I decide to follow a pace bunny since I know my Garmin runs a little fast (i.e. it will read 1.0 km when we are at .98 or .99 kms). I figure if I feel good maybe I’ll even try to pick it up at 37 km and get under 3:44.

My sister and I hit the thrift shop for our traditional keep warm at the start throwaway clothes (matching zebra outfits this year!)

But wait there is no 3:45 bunny in Hamilton. It’s a small race, there’s a 3:50 and a 3:40. Uh oh. Runnign with a 3:50 and then taking off to get under 3:45 sounds risky. Well, I guess it’s time to see what these legs can do. Let’s run with the 3:40 and see how long I can hold on!

The forecast is decent, not too hot, a little windy, but that’s okay, when you run with a pacer you can usually find someone to draft behind 🙂 I’m in the gynasium at the start line and I see someone holding the 3:40 sign. I walk over to ask his plan, will he walk water stops, will he run an even pace or negative split? He tells me he’s not the pace bunny, he was looking for the 3:40 pace bunny and they gave him the sign since the bunny forgot it. But he introduces himself to me, nice to meet you Julio and says “stay with him since I’ll get you there in 3:40”. We go to the start line. We can’t spot any 3:40 ears. He gets the announcer to ask the 3:40 bunny to come get their sign. At this point a half dozen other runners have come over to join us since he’s holding the 3:40 sign. Julio shrugs and says oh well, I guess I’ll be the 3:40 pacer.

Off we go, it turns out Julio has paced other races, including a recent 1:50 half marathon. He’s also run the Hamilton race before. He starts calling out to runners what to expect on the next stretch of the race and the planned pace. “we are 30 seconds ahead, we’ll lose time when we turn into the wind, but don’t worry we’ll get it back on the downhill at 22 km”.  He calls out the water stops. Since we had already chatted in the gym, I find myself running beside him chatting amiably.

An added bonus, one of my long run buddies Terry joins the pack! Terry has a goal of running 100 marathons before he turns 50! He will run 3 marathons in a month during peak race season. This is the first time we’ve been in the same race. Unfortuantely it’s end of race season, and 3:40 is too agressive given the strong race he ran at Petit Train du Nord and he drops off, but not before we get an official race picture together !

At km 13 another runner says to me ‘ you can run faster than 3:40 if you are able to chat that much’. Julio and I laugh, One thing I have learned is that staying relaxed as long as you can really helps. If I can’t talk 15 km into a marathon I’m probably not going to hold that pace! I had the pleasure of doing track work with a guy named Jim who would hum and sing to himself doing speed work while my friend Henry and I panted along trying to keep up.  When I finally ran a race with Jim I discovered he does the same thing during the race, humming as he passes you. Whenever I find myself tightening up in a race, I try to channel my inner Jim, I won’t say I can sing and run a marathon at the same time, but I do try to smile, and relax.

Julio was wearing gloves and holding the sign, so I open his gel packs for him and we continue to chat, other runners occasionalyl come up to join us and chat as well.

I am feeling good and suddenly I see a spectator in a K2J shirt (there were very few spectators on this race) and it looks like… it is, it’s Kanako and her husband Face!!!  Kanako is another of my long run buddies. Neither she nor Face is racing this weekend, what are they doing here? I run over give her a hug and my spirits are buoyed. Kanako is another fast runner who is always smiling during races. She is constantly getting her race photos picked for race advertisements!

“Okay this next stretch will be windy, we will go a little slower here to conserve energy and we will make it up on the downhill” says Julio. I drop behind the shoulder of Julio or other runners for a good chunk of the 8 km stretch with the headwine. I move out front whenever we approach a water stop. They are short water stops. I am not carrying any water, and with the stops 3 km apart I want to make sure I take something at each stop.

We finally turn off the windy bit and to our shock the police directing traffic stop the runners to let the cars drive through. Frustrated we jog in place afraid of seizing up until he lets us through. I make the comment ‘hope no-one misses their target by 30 seconds because that would suck’ but I shake it off and try to relax, getting angry won’t help my race, and we have just arrived at the top of our 7 km downhill! I am in my happy place, we cruise down the hill and by the time we reach the bottom we have 20 seconds in the bank. I’m at km 28 and still on pace for a 3:40!

Of course the downhill is over now, but it’s flat. Lots of people told me the flat would feel really tough after that long downhill, but honestly I was okay, I think that downhill training paid off. I start thinking maybe I’ll actually pick it up at 37 km and run sub 3:40!

We started with about 20 runners in our 3:40 pack. Once we left the downhill it thinned out fast. By 31 km there were only four of us left. One guy said “I’m going to pick it up the last 10 km, anyone want to join?’ I said no thanks, I might go at 37, but not until then, a lot can happen in the last 10 km. (Foreshadowing?  or experience ?)

Km 32-36 were into the wind. I had dropped behind Julio’s shoulder, and the conversation had definitely dropped off. I was running out of steam. I used my strategy of dedicating each of the last 10 km to a different person who *cannot* run a marathon do to illness or injury and would love to trade places with me right now. Rita, James, Krissie, Jesse, Mel, Chris, Rosanna, Guy. At km 36 I gave Julio his last gel and he said okay that’s my last gel, take off, make your move. I replied weakly ‘I’m just trying to hold on’ . There were two of us still running with Julio and both of us were hurting. km 37-38 I thought of Randy helping me get through the last few km of that 10 km PB and how much that hurt  but I had held on. km 38-39 I thought of the friends I had who were diagnosed with cancer in the past month, what did I have to complain about.  (Side note: Cancer SUCKS!) The last water stop was at km 39, Julio was 100-200 meters ahead of me, The other guy had dropped off. I decided to walk about 20 steps at the water stop. First time I walked the entire race. I was struggling, but I was still passing people. Hey a few spectators – please cheer me on please!!!! What I would give for a familiar face to show up and run me through this last km right now! I’m counting off every 100 m in the last mile. We make the final turn toward the finish – 100 meters to go? and *F*K* it’s uphill into the wind, ” Seriously uphill and headwind” I said out loud completely miserable. “Yes but you can see the finish line” yelled the volunteer. I mustered what I could and I won’t say I sprinted to he finish but at least I didn’t slow down. 3:40:29! FYI Julio finished in 3:39:58 all alone, but I did find him in the finish tent to say thank you, he really helped me pass the miles, and I appreciated not only his pacing but his company!

I feel like I finally ran a ‘good’ marathon. Could I have run faster? Not much! I certainly didn’t have anything left at the finish. I had run through the suck and held on to the end without completely falling apart. I didn’t just achieve my goal of 3:45 I had come within 30 seconds of my stretch goal (I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t been stopped at those traffic lights :))

A few years ago, I was congratulating Corey,  another K2J runner, on winning a race (yes 1st overall) with a PB and he said “well the pixies and fairy dust showed up’. I have always loved that phrase. You can train, you can prepare, you can do yoga or physio, you can eat right, but you also need the pixies and fairy dust to show up to get the performance you want on race day.

So thank you to all the running buddies who helped me learn to embrace the suck, to enjoy the good runs, to make sure you do a few races just for fun (Bay 2 Breakers anyone?)  to get through the crappy runs, to pick up the pace a little, to take a risk on race day, to appreciate every day you are not injured or sick because at least you *can* run, to run that optional 6th 1600m on the track, to drag yourself out there when you would rather stay in bed.  Thank you to all of you who kept telling me I could run a 3:40 and who will probably tell me I should now try for 3:35.  I’m good with the 3:40 for now thanks! Marathons are exhausting 🙂

Oh and with regards to the shoe… our running group K2J fitness has a K2J award, run a PB in a 5km, 10km, half and full in a 16 month period and you get to give them a shoe to have nailed to a piece of wood. It’s the highest award in our little running group. I love it because it’s all about achieving your *personal* best. It resets when you turn 50, 60, or 70 because at some point you have to accept you will slow down and you aren’t going to beat the PB you set at 25.  Setting lifetime PBs at the age of 49 feels pretty damn good, now if you will excuse me, it’s time go decide which expired running shoe to give the coach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago vs Boston marathon

I had the pleasure of running the Chicago Marathon in the fall 2018 and the Boston Marathon in the spring of 2019. In this post I’ll compare the two races. I hope one day you get to run them both but if you have to choose, maybe this will help you decide.

Getting a bib

Lottery

One of the reasons a Boston marathon bib is such a big deal is because you cannot get a bib through a lottery.

Chicago, like New York does provide the opportunity to get a bib through a lottery, though unlike New York, you have a decent chance of getting a bib through the Chicago lottery.

in 2015, 53% of those who entered the lottery received a bib. I have a number of friends who have successfully received a bib through the lottery in the past few years. Unfortunately, you cannot submit two runners together and request that you either both get bibs or both do not get bibs (i.e.if you want to be sure the two of you run the same year the lottery doesn’t provide that option). But! Chicago does provide the option of deferring your bib for one year. So if you get a bib and your friend does not, then you could defer your bib for one year (for a fee) and see if your friend gets in the lottery the next year.

Race	# Entries received	# Entries selected	% selected
Chicago 2015	54,800	29,044	53%

Time Qualifier

Almost all the Boston marathon runners qualify through a time system

Chicago also has a guaranteed entry for those who meet qualifying time standards

Here are the 2020 qualifying standards for Chicago and Boston

Age group	Boston Men*	Chicago Men	Boston Women*	Chicago Women
18-29	3:00	3:10	3:30	3:30
30-34	3:00	3:15	3:30	3:45
35-39	3:05	3:15	3:35	3:45
40-44	3:10	3:25	3:40	3:55
45-49	3:20	3:25	3:50	3:55
50-54	3:25	3:40	3:55	4:10
55-59	3:35	3:40	4:05	4:10
60-64	3:50	4:00	4:20	4:35
65-69	4:05	4:00	4:35	4:35
70-74	4:20	4:30	4:50	5:10
75-79	4:35	4:30	5:05	5:10
80+	4:50	5:00	5:20	5:45

*Unfortunately running your BQ (Boston Qualifier time) may not in fact guarantee you entry into Boston. Boston caps the number of bibs provided to time qualifiers. If too many runners register with a qualifying time, they reduce the qualifying times until they have the correct number of runners. For example in 2014, runners had to qualify with a time 1 minute and 2 seconds faster than their BQ times to get a bib in Boston and the cut off times are getting progressively harder.

2014 cutoff 1:38

2015 cutoff 1:02

2016 cutoff 2:28

2017 cutoff 2:09

2018 cutoff 3:23

2019 cutoff 4:52

Because the cutoff time was almost 5 minutes in 2019  they dropped all the qualifying times by 5 minutes for 2020.

Charity Entry

Both races provide the opportunity to fundraise for an official race charity. to get a guaranteed entry to the race, but Boston sets the bar high for charity entries.

Chicago 2019 fundraising targets start at $1250 if you claim a charity entry during the application window and $1750 USD if you claim a charity entry after the application window (i.e. if you decide to enter the lottery, and don’t make it then decide to do a charity entry because you didn’t get in through the lottery, you have to fundraise more $)

Boston 2019 fundraising targets started at $5000 USD.

Local races

Chicago provide the option to help local runners get a guaranteed entry by participating in local races.

Chicago has the Shamrock Shuffle

If you have run the Shamrock Shuffle 8k four or more times in the past 10 years and have signed up for the next Shamrock Shuffle you can guarantee a spot in the Chicago marathon.

Boston does not provide any sort of run x races get a guaranteed bib for Boston.

Tour Entry

If you really want to race Chicago or Boston and you have the financial means to do so you can purchase a tour package that includes a bib from one of the official marathon tour partners. Check the race website for a current list of official tour partners. There are a small number of entries available through tour groups for Boston outside the US and Canada but they sell out fast.

Cancelled Entry

If you get into Chicago and are not going to run the race, you can cancel/defer your entry once. You lose the registration fee but it gives you a guaranteed entry the following year.

Boston does not provide the option of deferring. Which might account for the people you see on the start line walking or wearing crutches 🙂

In Summary

Are you noticing a pattern here? Suffice to say it is MUCH easier to get a bib for Chicago than a bib for Boston.

Weather

Fall races are typically more predictable weather than spring races, but, Chicago is generally hotter weather than Boston and had a few years where heat was a major factor for runners (80F+) including the very infamous 2007 Chicago marathon when they had to shut down the course.

Here’s a breakdown comparing the weather at the two races the past 10 years. Since Chicago is not a point to point race whatever the wind direction you will spend about half of it as a tailwind and half of it as a tailwind.

YEAR	Boston weather	Boston Wind	Chicago weather	Chicago Wind
2010	49-55F Partly Cloudy	ENE 2-5 MPH (headwind)	59-84F Scattered Clouds	No wind
2011	46-55F Cloudy	WSW 16-20 MPH (tailwind)	57-80F Clear	ESE 3 MPH
2012	65-87F Clear	WSW 10-12 MPH (tailwind)	38-51F Mostly Cloudy	WNW 6 MPH
2013	54-56F Clear	E 3MPH (headwind)	46-65F Clear	NW 4 MPH
2014	61-62F Clear	WSW 2-3 MPH (tailwind)	45-65F Partly Cloudy	SE 8 MPH
	46-46F Overcast and rain	Calm	54-78F Clear	SSW 11 MPH
2016	61-71F Clear	WSW 2-3 MPH (tailwind)	50-63F Partly Cloudy	ESE 8 MPH
2017	70-73F Clear	WSW 1-3 MPH (tailwind)	56-73 Partly Cloudy	SW 8 MPH
2018	35-50F Rain	NE 14 MPH (headwind)	57-64F Drizzle	ENE 5 MPH

Pre-Race Experience

Packet pick up

Both Boston and Chicago are well organized for packet pick up and both provide a shirt exchange if you discover the shirt size you ordered does not fit.

You must pick up your own race kit at both races. Don’t forget your government issued photo id!

Race swag

Official race gear at Chicago is sponsored by Nike. Nike focuses on running clothes for the official Chicago marathon gear. In 2018 they sold find t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, tank tops, visor, and jackets. If you want coffee mugs, laptop stickers, and cotton t-shirts you will have to explore other booths in the expo. You may also want to visit the Nike store on Michigan to purchase your official race merchandise, the lines were shorter, and they have a DJ and a fun atmosphere Friday and Saturday before the race. The Under Armour store just down the road from the Nike store on Michigan Ave also had some marathon branded running gear.

Official race gear at Boston is sponsored by Adidas. There is the traditional celebration jacket which is the most brilliant marketing scheme ever, since you feel like you have to buy one every year (and it isn’t even a good running jacket). There are often other jackets which are nicer than the celebration jacket (which might account why I have never run Boston without coming home with two jackets). There are also a good assortment of other official Boston marathon merchandise – a wide assortment of running gear but also baseball hats, visors, pint glasses, shot glasses, pins, stuffed unicorns, etc…Chances are you will spend more money on official merchandise at the Boston expo. You will find even more merchandise at other booths in the expo as well.

Pace bands

Boston had pace bands available at the booth just outside the race expo. They had the pace bands tailored to the Boston course. Boston has some tough hills in teh second half so it’s nice that they have the race specific pace bands.

In Chicago, they had arm tattoos instead of pace bands. I prefer the tattoos because the font on the tattoos was nice and big (I need reading glasses and some pace bands use print too small for me to read :))

Race morning

Getting to the start

Boston

The Boston marathon is a point to point race, with a finish in downtown Boston. The race starts in Hopkington. To reach the start you can:

• take a shuttle bus from Boston commons (estimated travel time 60 minutes)
• drive to Hopkington parking lot and catch shuttle to athlete’s village

The race starts in waves. As of 2019, the male elites start separately from the rest of the runners, so the elites don’t have to worry about that one runner who really wants to be on TV trying to lead the elite pack for the first mile.

• 9:32 AM Elite Women start
• Elite Men 10:00 AM
• Wave one start 10:02 AM
• Wave two start 10:25 AM
• Wave three start 10;50 AM
• Wave four start 11:15 AM *

*in 2019 due to the weather forecast they chose to start Wave four immediately after Wave three so they would have less time exposed to the elements in the athletes village)

Shuttle bus times depend on your start wave

in 2019

• Wave one runners shuttles ran from 6:00 – 6:45 AM
• Wave two runner shuttles ran from 7:00 – 7:45 AM
• Wave three runner shuttles ran from 8:00 – 8:45 AM
• Wave four runner shuttles ran from 8:55 – 9:30 AM

I was in Wave 3, I set my alarm for 6:30. I met friends in the hotel lobby at 8 AM and we walked over to catch the buses, one of the friends was staying further out of town and had taken the train into downtown to catch the shuttle bus. i.e. you don’t have to pay the $350+ USD a night hotel and stay within walking distance of the start.

Chicago

The start is much earlier. Wave 1 starts at 7:30 AM. I was in wave 2, 8 AM start. I still set my alarm for 5 AM. My hotel, like many downtown Chicago hotels, was walking distance from the start line (I was at Ontario St and Michigan Ave).  All I had to do was walk. If you want to find a cheaper hotel, you can stay further from the start and take the Metro line to the start. Yes, the Metro will be packed with runners, the first train might even be too packed to get in, but once on that train, in 15-40 minutes you are at the start. Security is efficient and quick (just like New York).  You don’t have to worry about a bag check cut off time because the bag drop off and bag pick up are the same place. Since they don’t have to transport your gear anywhere, you can just drop it off 5 or 15 minutes before you walk over to your corral.  Getting to the start in Chicago is much less hassle and much less stress.

Port-a-potties

You can’t compare marathons without mentioning access to port-a-potties at the start!

Boston

In Boston you will find a good selection of port-a-potties in the athlete’s village, expect a line of 20 or so runners. Depending on how you enter the village you may pass a smaller field before you reach the main athletes village, that smaller field appeared to have shorter lines.  There are additional port-a-potties on the way to the corrals as well (with much shorter lines), but you can’t use them until your wave is called to the corrals. Guys – if you get to the corral and realize you need a pee PLEASE don’t pee on the clothes by the fences, that is really disgusting. If you really have to go, since you start in the suburbs, not the city, you do go past a wooded area in the first km and many a gentlemen runner takes advantage of that first set of woods to find a convenient tree.

Chicago

In Chicago The start area is split in two by the corrals. I found the lines for the port-a-potties shorter on the city side of Grant Park than the lake side of Grant Park. The lines at their worst were maybe 10-15 minutes long. Which is why there is NO EXCUSE for the dudes who were peeing beside the fence in the start corrals!  Witnessed by at least two of my running friends. Seriously! I have no problems with guys running out to find a tree on races past wooded areas, but peeing on the discarded clothing in the corral is really gross. Not what I want to see when I am walking over to the fence to toss a shirt or stretch. Boston and New York both threaten disqualification if you are caught doing something like that (FYI I have yet to meet a runner who has witnessed the famous ‘yellow rain’ on the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge in New York).

SIDE NOTE: Best solution I saw for this was the Vancouver marathon that had a fenced off set of troughs for guys who needed a quick pee before the start. This saved them a long wait at the port-a-potty and shortened the line for us ladies.

Corrals

Both Chicago and Boston divide up runners into waves, and corrals This helps spread out the runners and keep the start areas less crowded. Both Chicago and New York will check your bibs to make sure you are in the correct corral. Both races allow you to move to a slower corral but will not allow you to move to a faster corral. All runners have a common waiting area, so you can hang out with friends in Wave one before you start (as long as you get to the athletes village before they are called to the corrals).  FYI, it’s not encouraged, but I do know runners who boarded the buses for an earlier wave with friends.

Race course

Hills

Below are the hill profiles for Boston and Chicago. Note the difference between minimum and maximum elevation in each image.

Boston

Boston is a net downhill, but that does not make it an easy course! There are two notoriously tough sections late in the race. The Newton hills around km 25 and Heartbreak Hill around km 32. You won’t find many flat stretches in Boston. This is considered a difficult marathon.  I have my marathon PR and I have my Boston PR. They are 10 minutes apart and I am proud of both of them. It is possible to set a marathon PR in Boston, but let’s just say you had better do your hill work or you are going to have a VERY rough day.

Chicago

The big climbs in Chicago are less than 10 meters. My friend Christopher said Chicago is “waffle flat”. I think that’s a perfect description. It is flat, with little bumps here and there. There is one “big’ hill in the last half mile of the course, but that hill is about as hard as one of the rolling hills in Central Park, it just messes with your head because it is so close to the finish line.  Chicago is a much easier course in terms of hills. Chicago is a good course to try for a personal best.

Crowds and Energy

Boston has an estimated 500,000+ spectators. The Chicago marathon press release estimates they have 1,700,000 spectators.  That number will of course vary depending on the year and on the weather. Both races have great crowd support. In Boston, you have a couple of “scream tunnels”: the famous Wellesley college girls offering up kisses to runners, and dare I say it, Boston college may not be handing out kisses but matches or might even exceed the decibel level of Wellesley. I loved the dancing drag queens in Chicago. Each race only had short stretches with thin crowds except in locations where they cannot cheer such as the tunnel at the start of Chicago.

Boston has the added element of “Boston Strong” ever since the bombing at the Boston marathon in 2013 there is a spirit of taking back the race shared by both the spectators and the runners. This adds to the overall intensity in Boston.  Personally I got more more energy from the crowds in Boston, but both races were amazing crowd support!

Running your own race

In 2010 there were 26,632 finishers in the Boston marathon. In 2018 44, 571 runners finished the Chicago marathon. At no point in either race are you going to be running alone.

Boston

There may be a few patches at the start in Boston where you feel a bit trapped and have to move around to find your pace. It’s better than most races that size because just about every runner in Boston required a qualifying time. That means everyone else in your corral qualified with a similar marathon time to yours. You will all go out at a very similar pace. The only people you see going very slow or walking in the first few km will be runners who are injured but are determined to cross that start line because they worked hard for that Boston bib and they are going to do whatever they can! It’s not unusual to see at least one pair of crutches on the start line.

Chicago

In Chicago the wide roads reduce the congestion, and they do crowd management asking the spectators to move back off the road and leave room for the runners. As a result I found I was able to settle into my own pace within the first mile and only got stuck behind other runners very occasionally. I caught up to the 3:55 pace group and ended up following them for about 5 miles without any difficulty and I managed to pass them without a lot of dodging around runners as well (often pacers have a clump of runners around them making it hard to pass).

You can run your own race in Boston or Chicago.

International spirit

One of the things I love about Chicago and Boston are the runners from around the world!

In 2018 Chicago had runners from 105 countries

In 2019 Boston had runners from 99 countries

Spectator Experience

Getting around

Chicago has a fantastic spectator guide  you can pick up at the race expo, the best I have seen.

Elites at the race

Both Boston and Chicago are likely to have presentations by well known runners on the main stage. Sponsors may have an autograph session with familiar names as well.  In Chicago 2018, Maui Jim sunglasses had Meb Keflezighi signing autographs at the expo and you could catch Meb, Joan Benoit Samuelsson and Paula Radcliffe on the main stage. Boston 2019 had Deena Kastor, Sarah Crouch, and Meb was around as well (he was the grand marshall)

Prize money draws big names. Both Chicago and Boston offer big prize money

The prize money is the same for the men and women – Hey rest of the sporting world did you hear that! Same prize money for both genders 🙂 okay I’ll get off my soap box now.

Ranking	Boston	Chicago
1st place	$150,000	$100,000
2nd place	$75,000	$75,000
3rd place	$40,000	$50,000

There are also a variety of bonuses as well for running under a particular time, being fastest American, etc…

Boston elites in 2019 included:

Athlete	Gender	Top Finishes
Yuki Kawauchi	Male	2018 Boston Winner
Geoffrey Kirui	Male	2017 Boston Winner
Lelisa Desisa	Male	2018 NYC winner & 2x Boston winner
Lemi Berhanu	Male	2016 Boston winner
Wesley Korir	Male	2012 Boston winner
Desiree Linden	Female	2018 Boston winner
Edna Kiplagat	Female	2017 Boston winner
Caroline Rotich	Female	2015 Boston winner
Aselefech Mergia	Female	London winner
Mare Dibaba	Female	2016 Olympic Bronze

Chicago Elite in 2018 included:

Athlete	Gender	Top Finishes
Galen Rupp	Male	2017 Chicago winner
Mo Farah	Male	4X Olympic Gold
Abel Kirui	Male	2016 Chicago winner
Yuki Kawauchi	Male	2018 Boston winner
Dickson Chumba	Male	2015 Chicago winner
Brigid Kosgei	Female	2017 Chicago 2nd
Birhane Dibaba	Female	2018 Tokyo winner

Boston attracts a few more of the top elite. BUT! you are more likely to see a record setting run in Chicago

Four world records were set in Chicago

• 2:08:05 Steve Jones 1984
• 2:05:42 Khalid Khannouchi 1999
• 2:18:47 Catherine Ndereba 2001
• 2:17:18 Paula Radcliffe 2002

in 2018 Mo Farah set a new European record 2:05:11

Finish Area

Boston

When you finish in Boston you move into a finish chute to collect the usual medals, blanket, water, banana, etc… I have never checked a bag, but pick up is just past the turn off to the family meeting area.  Copley station is closed on race day since it is inside the secure finish area, but Arlington station is a short (though it feels long) stumble from the finish area if your hotel is too far waay to walk. I admit my hotel was only on the other side of the commons but I decided to take the transit rather than walk across the Commons even if that meant navigating a set of stairs to do it.

Chicago

In Chicago the walk from the finish line to the exit is similar to Boston. Bag pick up was quick and efficient and it was only a short walk to meet friends and family (although there was a short set of stairs, I think I felt all 6 of them 🙂

Both races insist you keep moving after your cross the finish line. If you sit down, a medic will be by quickly to either take you to the med tent or get you moving again. There are volunteers in the finish chute in Boston with wheelchairs ready to grab runners who need help.

Both races had the usual food and drink at the finish. I think Chicago had a slightly better selection than Boston, and the finish area and family meeting area definitely felt more celebratory in Chicago.  I got a kick out of the beer in souvenir beer cans in Chicago provided by Goose Island. Runners could also get a free beer at the tent in the next to the family meeting area. I don’t drink beer, so sadly wasted on me. As drinks go I prefer a chocolate milk post-race 🙂 Sadly neither Boston or Chicago offered chocolate milk, there was a chocolate protein shake in the kit I got at the race expo but that was all the way back at my hotel, so I had to settle for water and Gatorade.

Post-race atmosphere

Boston

After the race in Boston, everyone wears their celebration jacket for that race year. It’s kind of cool seeing the same jackets all over the place when you go out for dinner and being able to offer a smile and congratulations to each jacket you pass. Some hotels and restaurants will cheer you when you walk in wearing your jacket after the race.

Chicago

When I hobbled into a pub in Chicago with my thermal blanket, there was no cheering, but the staff took amazing care of me. In no time I had sugar, caffeine and salt in the form of a coke and some pretzel bites. When I asked for a couple of wet naps to wipe my face they even brought me a clean rag soaked in warm water. If you want cheering head to the Nike store post-race for the cheering staff on every floor as you proceed to the 4th floor for free medal engraving.  The next morning there was no shortage of runners walking around with their medals and/or race shirts. The local pancake house had quite the waiting list for breakfast but was worth the wait.

The Chicago Tribune lists the names of the runners and their times in the Monday edition.  I don’t think the Boston paper publishes the results of all the runners, but they will have race coverage.

Volunteers

Volunteers rock at both races. THANK YOU to all the volunteers at both races!

Summary

It is harder to get a bib for Boston and the course is tougher, but that’s what makes it memorable. There was a lady with me at the start line who was running her first Boston and I remember her saying with determination “Whatever it takes, I am going to enjoy this race, if I have to walk, if my leg hurts, I don’t care, I am going to enjoy this, I am running the Boston marathon!” There’s a lot of that in Boston. If you don’t want to be there, there are many, many, others who would happily take your place.  But it’s unlikely you will set a personal best on this tough course.

Chicago is a lower stress race. It’s easier to get to the start,its MUCH flatter. its in fall so weather is less likely to be a factor, and I found the water stops had enough tables that I could get water and Gatorade more easily than Boston. You are much more likely to set a personal best in Chicago.

You may have a different experience from mine in Boston or Chicago depending on your start wave and the weather.  But there is a reason these races are so popular. If you get a chance to run either race, do it!

If you are curious how these races compare to New York, I have compared New York and Chicago in another post  and I have also compared New York vs Boston.  If you are interested, I also have other race reports and running related posts

Big Sur Marathon Race Report “Beauty and the Beast”

(just found this post in my drafts…apparently I forgot to publish it last year :))

Apparently the Big Sur marathon is nicknamed Beauty and the Beast. I can’t think of a better nickname! If you run marathons, I highly recommend adding it to your bucket list.

I recently ran Big Sur with 5 members of my running club: Faye, John, Mike, James and my sister Judy. James suggested we all do Boston 2 Big Sur this year and at the time it seemed like a good idea 🙂

Tip #1 Give yourself a little time to explore the area

We arrived Friday in Monterey.  The race was Sunday. California lived up to its reputation for great weather. We had lots of sunshine. Yet it was cool enough in the morning and evening for a light jacket and warm enough in the afternoon for shorts and a t-shirt.

We took advantage of the views and the weather to rent bikes and ride along the coast, stopping to take pictures along the way. A sneak preview of the views to come on race day perhaps?

You won’t regret having a little time to explore the area. You can visit the Monterey Aquarium, check out the shops and restaurants along Cannery Row and  fisherman’s wharf.  The municipal wharf is a good spot to look for sea life and to see fishermen at work (we spotted sea lions and sea otters).  Rent a sea kayak and explore the shoreline. Walk, drive, or cycle to the coves where the seals have their pups. It would be a shame to arrive, race, and leave.

Tip #2 Wear your race gear around town

Big Sur race weekend has everything from a 3km race to a marathon. As a result it seems like everyone in or around Monterey has either run Big Sur or has a friend or family member who ran Big Sur.  Because we were wearing race shirts we ended up meeting a fisherman who tried out for the US Olympic marathon team and got free dessert at a restaurant in Carmel from a waiter who ran the race last year. It’s a great way to meet other runners and to connect with the locals!

Tip #3 Don’t worry about long lines at the expo

The Big Sur race expo is very small. Don’t worry, it has the essentials for everyone who forgot to pack something for race day: gels, body glide, water belts. It has some nice Big Sur souvenirs including coasters, shirts, and socks. You can buy posters with the names of all the marathon runners. You can meet the pianist who plays the piano at the half way mark of the marathon and buy his CD. They had runners doing seminars. They had Big Sur jewellery. My personal favorite had to be the booth with the Big Sur International Marathon wine! Bottle of red, bottle of white, it all depends upon your appetite! (for the record I picked up a bottle of the Pinot Noir)

Tip #4 Make reservations for dinner Saturday night

With an early start Sunday morning, Italian restaurants are popular places around 5 PM Saturday all across Pacific Grove and Monterey!  We found a fabulous little Italian place in Pacific Grove (my sister said it was the best Pasta Primavera she ever had!). Our restaurant was packed with runners.  Fortunately we made a reservation well ahead of time. Many runners enquiring by phone or in person left disappointed or informed that they could get a seating at 8 PM or later.

Tip #5 Stay on Eastern time

Or if you aren’t travelling from the East to race Big Sur, just go to bed early. The only way to the start line of the marathon is by bus. The buses leave at 3:30 or 4:00 AM. Allow time for your pre-race wake up and prep routine and time to make your way to the location where you board the bus and you should only have to set your alarm for somewhere between 2:30 and 3 AM!

Tip #6 Research where to stay

You can stay in Carmel, Monterey, Big Sur, Pacific Grove. You can stay in a Hotel, a motel, or rent a house.  There are options for different budgets, different comfort levels and different wake up times (If you stay in Big Sur or at the Marriott you can catch a later bus to the start).  If you stay in Carmel you have an easier ride home after the race. We rented a house in Pacific Grove and some of our friends had rooms at the Red Roof Inn.

Tip #7 Bring your phone

Not for phone calls or Facebook updates because you won’t have cell reception at the start area, but this is a race where you can set a new PR (photo record).  Yup, if ever there was a race where you want to take pictures this is it! Whether it’s the awesome caricature signs along the route or the amazing views there is a good chance you will want to take  a picture at some point. They even share photo etiquette in the race program (if you wish to take a picture during the race move onto the should of the road on the left side to take your photo, but don’t move too far to the left!) Apparently a number of runners spotted a whale just off shore in 2017! I am told whale sightings are not a common occurrence.

There are a variety of musical acts all along the course, and unlike most races you can hear the musical acts from quite a distance since the only other sound on the road is the pounding of runners feet, birds chirping, and the waves.

There are points along the route where you can see the road winding for miles ahead of you (which can be a bit depressing knowing you have to run all that way, but try to enjoy them :)). But wow, talk about gorgeous views. Driving the Pacific Coast highway is a bucket list item for many. We have it all to ourselves for this race with nothing but the occasional race vehicle sharing the road.

Tip #8 Bring clothes to wear in the start area

Many people live under the illusion that it’s always hot in California. Well if it’s 5:30 AM and you are sitting in a park in the dark, you may find that a singlet and running shorts are not enough to keep you warm.

Tip #9 Do your hill training

Did I mention the Big Sur has hills? Lots and lots of hills. Big hills. I knew about hurricane point, the big climb in the first half, but I did not realize that the second half of the marathon is basically continuous hills. The good news is after each uphill climb is a good downhill. So practice running uphill and practice recovering as you run downhill.

Tip #10 Forget the PR/PB and just soak up the atmosphere

You can run a good race at Big Sur, but running a personal best or personal record would be quite a feat given the hills and some years, given the winds. They joked at the start line that the PR you set at Big Sur is a Photo Record for the most pictures taken along the race course. The atmosphere is different from any race I have ever run. Because spectators can’t get onto the closed highway it’s just you, the other runners, the race volunteers, the musical acts, and a few locals who live walking distance from the course.  I saw a runner get startled by a mooing cow. The loudest cheer I got from a spectator in the first 20 miles was a lady with a wooden stick running it around the edge of a bowl of burning incense chanting “gooooooo  goooooo gooooo slowwwwww”

You can hear the Japanese drummers at the bottom of hurricane point from about a quarter mile away.  Someone told me you know you are approaching the top of hurricane point when you can hear the piano at Bixby bridge. I remember hearing the song “walking on Sunshine” well before coming across the lone guitarist singing in the field.

The water stops are small, but it’s a small race and I had no trouble getting water. They even had a bit of a local/small town touch because there are volunteers with water pitchers who will refill your water bottle if you wish.  One of the later water stops is famous for its fresh strawberries.

It’s a small race but even a slow marathon runner will pass others because there are lots of people who walk the shorter distances you pass along the way.

Don’t get me wrong, all those distractions and views are great but those endless hills in the last half are brutal.

If I have one complaint it’s that the start are was way too small for the number of runners. trying to figure out where the line for coffee begins is a challenge. Fighting my way through the crowd to the bag check was a challenge. On the other hand the start area had an impressive number of port-a-potties and each port-a-potty had a silly sign taped onto them such as “shoelace repair” or “luxury bathroom facilities”.

I would run Big Sur again. That’s not something I say often. Marathons require so much training, and I only get to do one or two a year why would I do the same races over and over again.  Been there, done that got the t-shirt, got the finisher medal, move on. But, if a friend asked me to do this one with them, there is a good chance I would go back.

I was in the finishers tent, exhausted, clutching a chocolate milk and a cookie, clay finisher medal around my neck, looking for a place to sit down, when someone (who I later discovered was the race director) asked how was my race. I said “that was gorgeous but evil!” He laughed and said and that’s why it’s nickname is Beauty and the Beast.

Here the rest of my running related posts and race reports.

 

 

 

 

Vancouver marathon race report

Thinking of doing the Vancouver marathon? Here’s my take on the race!

Perhaps it is not fair to write a race report when your feet still hurt from the race But I have 4+ hours to kill on the train to Seattle so here goes!

When my friend Christopher suggested the Vancouver marathon as a spring race, I was all in. I like Vancouver and the route looked amazing.

Why do it?

The views!

In terms of beauty the route did not disappoint! There were several spots along the route where I took a moment to simply appreciate the view. Whether it was a glimpse of the mountains in the distance across Burrard inlet, the stunning array of colors at the entrance to the UBC rose garden, or the driftwood along the beaches. From km 31 to km 41 you run along the Seawall, one of my favorite places in the world. No matter how tired you are or how focused you are trying to keep a particular pace do pause and take in the surroundings from time to time!

The city

I love Vancouver. You will find, great food, amazing sushi, art galleries with stunning Haida art, plenty of Tim Hortons and Starbucks, tons of vegetarian options if that’s your thing, lots of waterfront paths for biking or walking, and the gorgeous mountains in the background. There are a good number of hotels, so you should be able to find accommodations, although downtown hotels are pretty pricey.  Vancouver has got a bit of a rough underbelly. Within Canada, Vancouver is the city with the worst drug problems and largest number of homeless, probably due to the fact it has the mildest winters of any city in Canada (it would suck to be homeless in Montreal in February) so you do need to be a little careful about where you go wandering around.

One challenge with Vancouver is they don’t have Uber or Lyft type services. Your only option is a good old fashioned taxi. It’s not too hard to find a cab downtown, but if you are outside downtown expect a wait, especially if it is raining! Download the eCab phone app ahead of time. Ecab is your best bet for requesting a taxi if you can’t hail one down on the street.

So how was the race?

The race expo – 3/5 stars

The race expo was quite efficient for bib pick up, but, they made sure the sponsors got value for their money. T-shirt pick up was on the far side of the expo and you had to wind up and down every single aisle, past every single vendor to get there. They even had people to stop you cutting across aisles between booths! Fortunately there were only 5 aisles of vendors, but is was a little annoying to say the least!

You’ll find the usual assortment of shoes, clothing, gels, nutrition bars & races as you walk through. I didn’t see any great deals or discounts so I escaped with my wallet unharmed. I was interested in trying out some Stance socks so I stopped by their booth. I had a good chat with the knowledgeable staff but they were regular price so no real reason to buy them at the expo.

When we finally got to the end of the expo we picked up our shirts and a transit pass and transit map for race day to get you to the start line. For those a little further out, you could also sign up for a shuttle pick up. The volunteers can help you figure out your best option for getting to the start.

My favorite touches were

• free blue gloves for all runners (perfect disposable gloves for race day)
• a couple of good backgrounds for the mandatory “hey look here I am with my bib photo”
• A bear mascot (my sister and I have a tradition of always trying to get our picture with a bear at races!)
• a video booth where you can record a message for a runner that is played on a jumbotron when they run by. Christopher and I recorded one for Karin, when she wasn’t around, I wonder if she saw it!

Getting to the start line – 5/5 stars

The marathon starts at a very reasonable time: 8:30 AM. Bag check doesn’t close until 8:15 AM. So as marathons go, you can sleep in quite late! I set my alarm for 6 AM (as all runners know, you have to leave time for the digestive system to settle down), but I did not leave my hotel room until just after 7 AM.

If you stay downtown, getting to the start is really easy on the Skytrain. Just make your way to the Canada Line (don’t forget your transit card from the race expo!) and go north to Oakridge and 41st St station. It’s a 10-15 minute ride from downtown. From the station, it’s a 10-15 minute walk to the start area. This year (2018), it was a nice day and the walk was pleasant. You didn’t need to worry about getting lost, since pretty much everyone on the train was going to the same spot! I didn’t talk to anyone who took a shuttle, so I don’t know how well that service operated.

The start area – 4/5 stars

I got to the start area with time to spare. I had more than enough time to hit the port-a-potty lines. I think these may have been the shortest port-a-potty lines I have seen in a marathon start area. This might be due to the “Pit Stop”. A fenced off area of urinals, allowing the gentlemen at the race a quick and easy option for last minute bladder relief. The ladies also benefited from the reduced number of gentlemen waiting in the port-a-potty lines.

There were grassy areas where you could sit or lie down. Some large trees even provided some shady spots which I appreciated given it was a sunny and a touch warm. There was a road where you could do a bit of a warm up run. The gear check trucks were easy to spot. The start map shows a hospitality tent, but I never saw it, so I’d play it safe and BYO water & nibbles. I couldn’t find any official drop off place for my disposable pre-race gear, so I left it on a fence next to other discarded sweatshirts and PJs so hopefully someone collected it all for donation. I appreciated the effort to recycle and compost as much litter as possible. They even had a volunteer to help you figure out what garbage goes in each bin.

It was also at the start area that I appreciated the ability for runners to specify the name to appear on their bibs during online registration many months ago. I bet the fans enjoyed cheering on the tall lanky guy named “Sparkles”  and I got a laugh out of “John 3:16” Such a simple idea, and fun to spot the occasional runner who got creative while waiting around at the start.

Corrals 4/5 stars

There was signage indicating which way to go for the different color corrals. No-one checked my bib when I entered, but looking around, most of the runners in my corral did have the correct bib colors, and I didn’t have any issues with runners who were clearly in the wrong corral after race start. After the usual warm up and national anthem the first corral was off! Then the next corral walks up to the start line and waits for their designated start time. It was simple and efficient

Water stops 2/5 stars

There are water stops at kms 3, 5, 7.5, 9, 11, 12.5, 13.5, 16, 18, 19.5, 21, 22.5, 24, 26, 28.5, 31, 33, 34, 37, 39, 40. Basically they are anywhere from 1 to 3 km apart. There were a decent number of stops but it was a little confusing because the distance varied. I did appreciate the water stops at the bottom of the two toughest climbs.

The volunteers at the stops were amazing, frequently cheering you by name, and always making it very clear whether they had Nuun  or water (FYI – I am NEVER going to complain about volunteers! Anyone who gets up early to work at a water stop and cheers on the runners for hours always has my gratitude! THANK YOU!)

Unfortunately, almost all water stops were only on one side of the road and there were multiple stops where the number of tables was a little low and you ended up with a crush of runners all trying to move into a small space to grab a drink. Given the weather was on the warm side this made it almost impossible to run through a water stop and just grab a drink without a near crash. A couple of water stops looked like they were having a tough time keeping up with demand, I was in the four hour marathon range so there were plenty of runners looking for water after I went by.  They had Nu’un at about 80% of the water stops. There was one stop with CLIF gels ( I brought my own gels) and there were two stops with CLIF bars. There were apparently bananas at one stop as well. Sadly no sponges or ice at any of the stops which would have been really nice! I guess Vancouver doesn’t get as much heat as our races out East!

The hills

This is first race I have ever run where the hills are in the first half of the course and it flattens out in the second half.

There are steady rolling hills the first few kms but nothing too nasty.

There is one really *good* hill at 8.5 km : fairly steep and quite long. They even have timing mats at the top and bottom so everyone will know how much you slowed down. There were good crowds along the hill cheering us on, and because it was so close to the start of the race I found it tough but manageable. I didn’t see many people stopping to walk which is always an indication of a crushing hill. I would say it is similar to the toughest of the Newton hills in Boston. I am also told it is similar to Stone Mountain in Seattle, a well known hill to Seattle runners in the Green Lake area.

Then you have some more rolling hills, but as you come to the far side of UBC you hit a big downhill! It felt like about 2 km of downhill, some of it quite steep. Looking back I wonder if the reason my feet were so sore from the half way mark onwards was due to that long downhill stretch. Then you have a nice flat stretch along the beaches and THEN just when you are getting used to nice flat stretches, you hit the bridge. I would compare it to the Queensboro bridge in the NYC marathon. A long steady uphill climb. Not as steep as that first hill, but because it appears at around the 30 km mark it takes a lot out of you. I saw a LOT of runners walking on that bridge.

Once you get to the far side of the bridge, you have a nice little downhill and then the awesome flat of the Seawall. Once you hit the seawall you don’t really see another serious hill until the very last km where there is a gentle uphill to the finish. But the crowds, the Air France team cheering you, and the sight of that Finish Line banner will get you through it without too much difficulty (beyond the difficulty we all have in the last km of a marathon).

The crowds 3.5/5 stars

A huge shout out to the threesome who wore the big inflatable T-rex costumes and appeared at least 3 times along the route cheering us on. That brought a smile to my face every single time. Some of the volunteers had good race signs including “Chuck Norris never ran a marathon”, and I laughed at the radio station sign “Find a cute butt and follow it to the finish”. I think my favorite was the woman holding a sign that said “run like there’s a cute guy in front of you and a creepy guy behind you “.

I have to give kudos to family and friends who were not there in person, and posted pictures on Facebook with signs to cheer me on
The spectators who came out to cheer us were great! Thank you to each and every one of you it really helps. Extra thanks to the lady who handed me a freezie around km 28!

The reason I only give the crowds 3 stars was just a question of volume. It was gorgeous weather for spectators, but the crowds seemed thin. I wonder if the part of the reason is due to the half marathon starting 90 minutes before the full and on a completely different route. Anyone cheering on a runner in the half is unlikely to spend 2 hours there then traverse downtown to start all over again cheering on the marathon. There were a few spots with good cheering, and the finish line was wonderful, but for a race this size I expected more. Ottawa Race weekend has similar numbers in the marathon but better fan turnout. On the positive side, it was easy to spot any friends you have cheering and If you run the half marathon, you can get back to your hotel, shower and change and have plenty of time to go watch your friends cross the finish line, right Karin? If you are really dedicated you can catch them at the 32 km mark and again at the finish right Christopher? And yes it was appreciated!

One other word of warning, there are almost no crowds at all along the seawall. So as a volunteer told me at the race expo, you may want to save your best mental motivation tricks for the seawall, whether that’s dedicating different miles to different people you care about, or finding that upbeat song on your playlist, for the seawall.

The finish area 4.5/5

I love races where I can see the finish line from a distance. This race was great from that perspective. I also found the flow across the finish line to get your medal, water and food moved along nicely. There were lots of photographers and background for you to stop and get a picture with your medal if you so choose. I had my medal, a bottle of water, a banana and a bag of Old Dutch Chips (a personal favorite) in short order. The walk from finish line to the meeting area was blissfully short compared to other races I have run (Notably New York who torture you with long walks uphill to the exit)

The weather

It was sunny on race day with the occasional clouds. The temperature was 12 C (54 F) by 6 AM and the high was 19 C (66 F). There was a light wind that I appreciated on the seawall. Average race day weather is a low of 7 C (46 F) and a high of 16 C (61 F) so it was a touch warmer than usual but not outrageously hot.

Whether you judge that as good race weather depends on where you train of course! I had just trained through what seemed like an endless winter in Ottawa, so anything over 6 degrees would have seemed warm to me! There were over 300 runners from Mexico who probably thought it was perfect running weather 🙂 Spring in Vancouver could be 5 degrees and rainy or 25 degrees and sunny. This year, we got the latter. Fortunately there was some shade on parts of the course and there was a cool breeze along parts of the seawall that made it bearable, but it was pretty clear in the last 10 km or so that the sun and heat took it’s toll on a lot of the runners.

My race

So how did I do? Well, despite being a little nervous about heat I decided to try and PR/PB. I started out feeling strong, easily running my desired pace for the first 8.5 km. I slowed down on the big hill, but quickly found my pace again. I was feeling great! I kept to the shady parts of the road as much as possible. I dumped water on my head at every aid station. But, sadly the heat and the hills was clearly taking a toll. I slowed down a touch but then made it up on the long downhill at km 15. It was around km 19 that I realized I was likely in trouble. My feet hurt and my pace had started to drop even though we had a nice flat stretch. At 21 km I removed my large print pace band for the first half of the race, still on track for a Personal Best. Then about 3 km later I knew I was done for and decided to throw out the other pace band and just accept it was not a good day to PB. A few km later I turned off my Garmin, there were plenty of km markers to help me track the distance and I really didn’t need to know how much I was slowing down. I kept it slow and steady all the way up and over Burrard bridge and was very happy to see my friend Christopher at km 32 (although he would not give me a hug claiming I was too sweaty. I was happy to hear the other girls he was cheering on ignored his protests and hugged him anyway, sweat and all!)

As I mentioned at the start of this post, the Vancouver Seawall is one of my favorite runs ever! So I decided I would walk each water stop along the seawall and make sure I took a moment here and there to look out over the water to try and spot ducks (sadly only mallards and Canada geese today) or herons (one Great Blue Heron around km 40). It is all too easy in a marathon to completely miss the views because you are so absorbed in trying to run an exact pace or simply trying to run through your misery. I was determined not to let that happen on the seawall. My form was falling apart, my feet hurt, but I did still appreciate the smell of the ocean, the breeze off the water, the driftwood on the beaches. I was more than a little jealous of a couple of people taking a nap on the beach, stopping to lie down would have felt soooo good. But of course likely I would need medics to get me upright again. Fortunately I know pretty much every twist and turn of the seawall and as slow as I was, there were others even slower. Seems I was not the only person who took a beating on the course.

Once we left Stanley Park and back into downtown the steady build up of the crowds made up for the slight hill. I spotted Christopher once again exchanged a fist bump and continued on towards the finish. Apparently his wife Karin (the photographer in the photo above) was a little further up but at that point the finish line was within my reach and I was on a mission to cross that line!

Once at the finish I decided if I can’t have a great time, maybe I can have a great finish photo and did a little jump into the air (based on the effort I put into that jump I’d like to think I got huge vertical, but chances are I only got a couple of inches off the ground). I landed on both feet and almost tripped landing face first on the pavement, but fortunately I managed to recover my balance and no medics were required I fought my way past the photographers and headed to the volunteers with the medals. A 7 or 8 year old boy was at the end of the row with one medal to give out, so I walked over to him and he carefully placed the medal around my neck. Maybe not quite mission accomplished, but another marathon in the books! Around km 28 I really never wanted to do another marathon ever, but I do have a bib for Chicago this fall so…..

Here the rest of my running related posts and race reports.

Ack! What did I forget to pack for my marathon!

You decide to run a marathon out of town. It’s cool it’s exciting. But then you realize how much you have to pack!  Every time, I find myself making a checklist and worrying about what I forgot, so I am making this online checklist for myself, and if it helps you that’s great! If I forgot something on the list please tell me 🙂 This list works for Marathons and such but if you are running a Ragnar/Relay race that’s a different story, I’ll have to write a post on that later!

Just checked into your race hotel?

Time to take care of a few logistics

• GPS Charger
• ID or Runners passport for bib pickup
• Location and hours of race expo for bib pickup
• Details on how and when to get to the start line
• Do you want to check out the finish line area? Maybe walk the last half mile of the course?
• Suitable spot for supper pre-race?

Don’t forget to buy your pre-race breakfast supplies

• Banana (Thank you Randy)
• Bagel
• Peanut butter (and a plastic knife to spread it)
• Oatmeal (amazing what you can do with a hotel room coffee maker – you might want to pack a spoon to eat it with (Thank you Jesse), a bowl is nice but sometimes you can manage with the cups in the hotel room)
• A place to get coffee in the morning?

Waiting around pre-race

It’s all about keeping warm and dry before the race!

Staying warm

• Throw away hat
• Throw away gloves
• Warm jacket or hoodie
• Bathrobe or onesie
• PJ pants
• Throw away arm warmers (socks with ends cut off work nicely)

Staying dry

• multiple garbage bags or old post-race thermal blankets (something to sit on, something to wear)
• Disposable rain poncho (like the ones you buy at amusement parks before you go on a water ride)
• plastic bags and elastics to put over your shoes if ground is wet

Interesting suggestions from runners who ran Boston 2018, a very cold and wet race year with a start waiting area that was a field of mud! 2000+ runners treated by medical personnel, many of them for hypothermia.

• Throwaway pair of shoes and socks to wear until you need to change into your race shoes and socks
• rubber boots
• shower cap to trap heat
• rubber gloves or surgical gloves
• Hot shots (those little packages you put in your mittens to keep your hands warm)

Prepping for the race

• Body glide
• Sunscreen
• Sharpie for writing name on bib or arms & legs
• Pre-race gel

During the race

The basics

• Running shoes
• GPS watch
• Race belt for holding bib,  or bib clips for your shirt
• Running socks
• Sports Bra or Nip protectors depending on your gender
• Earbuds/headphones – if allowed
• Phone and a holder for your phone
• K tape

Fueling

• Gels
• Belt that can hold gels
• Water bottles
• Nuun or Gatorade powder
• Belt that can hold water bottles
• Salt tablets

Warm weather

(ah yes Grandma’s 2016)

• Singlet
• Short sleeved shirt
• Shorts
• Visor or hat

Cold or wet weather?

(memories of Boston 2015… not as bad as 2018 which I did not run)

• Long sleeved shirt
• Tights
• Compression sleeves for arms
• Hat or headband
• Gloves

Do you want?

• Sunglasses
• Compression sleeves for lower legs
• Compression socks
• Hair elastic
• Tampons (hopefully no, but it happens)
• Moleskin or tape to avoid chafing
• Pace band (I need to print my own, because the ones they give out at the expo are too small a print for me to read, either that or my arms are too short)
• Nail clippers
• scissors

Gear check for post-race

• Recovery sandals (Oofos or equivalent, if you haven’t splurged on these yet… they are awesome!)
• Warm shirt
• Dry socks
• Loose fitting pants
• Jacket
• If there is a change area, underwear and bra

Back in the hotel post race

• Ibuprofen
• foam roller, massage stick or yoga tune-up balls
• post race snack
• wine or beer to celebrate

Here the rest of my running related posts and race reports.