r/bostonmarathon

Hi All,

So I ran the Boston Marathon, 3 weeks ago and for the first time ever ran Sub-3 hours. First Boston, first Sub-3. I set my self that goal over 25 years ago and finally I made it happen. The race went beautifully, the hard miles through winter, the planning, Carbo-loading, pacing. Everything. It was just the BEST day I've ever had running.

Today I go back to my running club, for my first long run, since I arrived home from Boston and I'm chatting to some buddies. Btw, some of them won't even mention the marathon to me, not sure what their problem is, but one guy has made it a point to explain to everyone in the club that "PBs in Boston don't count, because it's point to point course and by the way it's also downhill". It's just a PB btw. It's literally just about my PB.

I'm a bit confused to be honest. It's a moment to be joyous about but now in this so called "community" it's being either downplayed or completely ignored. How should I be thinking or reacting to this?

What’s the typical way we handle things for the jackets? I ran Boston for the first time this year and got the jacket. Do I get another jacket next year? Do we just wear our first forever?!

what’s your favorite spot in or near Boston to do hill work? Trying to add these into my routine

The Erie Marathon in PA is set to take place September 13th. However the BQ window to submit a race and qualify is said to end Sep 12th. Does anyone have insight on this and if this race will be able to work for a BQ approved race?

I am turning 39 (male) next Thursday and am probably in 3:10-3:15 shape with a good 10-12 week marathon block. I have two goals: 1. Run sub 3 & 2. BQ.

Rather than rush my progression and get injured or burnout, I am planning on trying to kill two birds with one stone by running a sub three marathon next Fall after turning 40. Assuming qualifying times stay the same (a big IF) and I can get a couple mins under 3:00, I should BQ by going 2:55-3.

QUESTION: If I ran CIM December of 2027 does that allow me to apply for Boston 2028 or would I have to wait until 2029? Probably a dumb question but not sure how it all works. Thanks in advance.

so i’ve run 3 marathons - most recently did a 3:27 in nyc last fall and did a 1:35 half a few weeks ago. i’m signed up for chicago in october but decided I need a BQ now - fitness is there and have a few friends qualified for 2027.

here I am now desperate enough to try a late summer east coast loop marathon to get a qualifier inside the registration window… lol. so i’m thinking beantown or charles river invitational - any thoughts or other suggestions? must be local to CT area.

26F btw so 3:25 is bq but im shooting for the stars with a 3:15 goal!

This guy posted a full POV video running the 2026 Boston Marathon. I was able to find myself in his footage, which I thought was cool.

He started in Wave 2 Corral 2. His bib number is near the end of the video. You can compare your clock times to his in the BAA app and see if he ever passed you or you passed him. In my case I started after him, but finished before him. I figured out the timing mat where I passed him and watched that portion of the video to see me running.

hiii!

I'm a college student in the area and I'll be running the Boston 10k this June. I'm curious to see if any other college-aged people were running this race that wanted to train/run together.

there's always hella people at these races so knowing someone would definitely ease my social anxiety haha. feel free to dm!

Went into Boston thinking I was in around sub-3 shape, probably a bit over but close on a good day and a fair course. Training had been solid overall, but looking back now probably a bit light on volume – averaged ~55–65km/week, only hit 70km a couple of times. Did a lot of hill-based work and marathon pace efforts on rolling terrain, but maybe sacrificed a bit of overall depth for that.

Race morning didn’t go to plan. My gear drop was on the last table on the last bus and I just hadn’t factored that in, and having walked across from the other side of Boston common I’d quite a bit more walking than I expected. As a result, I missed an earlier bus, ended up standing around Boston Common for close to an hour and then queued again to get on the bus. Bit rushed after that – gear drop was further away than expected, had to change into race shoes on the bus, rushed to the start, quick toilet stop, and just made Wave 3 Corral 1 with a couple of minutes to spare. No real chance to settle or reset. I should have made the decision to plonk myself down and take a deep breath but I didn’t and I think I burnt some matches here. Overall I’ve spent 2.15 out of the 3 hours before the race on my feat..

From the start, things felt okay but not totally easy. That was probably the first warning sign. I wasn’t overcooking it, but it never had that “this is very comfortable” feeling you want early in a marathon.

First half in 1:29:50. Controlled, but by around 10 miles I was already managing rather than cruising, I know at that stage that sub 3 was not on and I was trying to ease out and manage the effort from then on to get me in with a pb. I let the pace sit around the 4:2x/km range which is where I was settling for low Z3 and focused on keeping things in check, especially with the Newton hills ahead.

The course is harder than I expected. Not just the hills – it’s the constant rolling, the early downhill loading, and the lack of rhythm. You never really get into a groove.

Around 30km I could feel things starting to go. Not a blow-up, more like I just couldn’t keep applying effort continuously. HR was still in a reasonable place, it never went above Z3 or very low Z4, legs weren’t completely gone, but I just couldn’t sustain it.

At ~32km I took a ~90 second walk before Heartbreak Hill. From there it became a run–walk to the finish. I could still run 4:20–4:30/km when moving, but only for short stretches before needing to reset again. Probably 8–10 short walk breaks in total, I took advantage of every aid station to get water at the first person and walk to the end of it and go again.

There was definitely a mental dip as well. Once sub-3 went, and then the PB started slipping, I didn’t fully re-engage. With about 5k to go I was still roughly on for ~3:05, but didn’t have the energy or the head to fight for it. The field is also just so deep, I’ve negative split my last 2 marathons and the physiological boost of that is amazing, it’s not so fun in reverse.

Finished in 3:09:52.

Training context:

• ~834km total over ~17 weeks
• ~70 hours running
• Averaged just over 4 hours/week
• Only 2 weeks above 70km
• 2 weeks fully lost due to a back issue in January

In hindsight, that’s probably the biggest takeaway, the volume just wasn’t there to sustain it late in the race and I had sacrificed by volume with the hill work. The legs actually were fine during and afterwards. It actually felt a bit like my first marathon again – ran out of juice rather than blowing up.

Final thoughts

Despite the tough race, I absolutely loved Boston.

The city really embraces the marathon. The support all weekend and on race day was incredible – crowds the whole way, loads of encouragement, and even small things like people offering drinks, food, and just constant “well done” and “congrats” everywhere you went.

It felt like a proper event, not just a race. You were made to feel like a super star

Didn’t get the result I wanted, but still very glad I did it.

Next up: a 10k over the summer, then back to Dublin for another crack at sub-3 – this time with a bit more mileage behind me.

 

Overall Goals:

• First Boston - Yes
• ~10 minutes inside BQ  - Yes
• Managed a tough day without completely falling apart – Yes
• Sub 3 – No
• PB – No
• Amazing experience - Yes