The athletes who typically perform best at Boston are not necessarily the fastest, he adds, but “those who can tackle the hills and still have enough left in the last couple miles to bring it home.”Īnother challenge for athletes is the fact that New England weather is “very unpredictable,” says Lotsbom. Instead, “I like to say the runners who are grinders, who aren’t afraid to push their limits tend to do the best,” he says. “If you were to put all the fastest runners on paper in order, it very, very rarely finishes that way where the fastest person coming in finishes first,” explains Lotsbom. But when it comes to doing well at Boston, athletes typically need an additional dose of grit. After all, they’re tackling 26.2 miles in one straight push, which is no easy feat. Of course pretty much all marathoners, no matter the course, have impressive levels of fitness and perseverance. Athletes who are especially gritty tend to do well in Boston. “It’s three, four, five people deep sometimes," says Lotsbom. “I’ve rode the press truck a couple times, and when you’re a good half mile away, you can already hear them cheering.” The final mile of the course is particularly raucous. Around the halfway mark, college students at Wellesley are known to cheer runners so loudly that this point of the course has been dubbed the “Wellesley Scream Tunnel,” says Lotsbom. “Even in the early miles, through the towns of Hopkinton and Ashland and Framingham, there are people lining their front yards cheering the runners.” The closer runners get to the city center, the larger-and louder-the crowds. It helps that the race is always held on Patriots' Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts when many residents are off work. Though it’s hard to count the exact number, Lotsbom says between 500,000 and about a million people typically watch the event live. “It’s very hard to find a spot where there are no spectators,” says Lotsbom. Through the difficult hills, and really the entire race, athletes are continually cheered by spectators, which marks another special aspect of this race. It's known for drawing tons of spectators. It’s “really the tough part physically,” says Lotsbom. The Newton hills coincide with the time when many marathoners hit the wall, or feel extremely fatigued. That becomes a problem between miles 17.5 and 22, a particularly hilly section through Newton that includes multiple inclines, including the infamous Heartbreak Hill around mile 20. When combined with the excitement of beginning the race itself, this makes it easy for runners to start out too fast, explains Lotsbom. The first early miles are significantly downhill. According to B.A.A., the course has been unchanged since 1924 and charts through eight different cities and towns in Massachusetts, beginning in rural Hopkinton and finishing in downtown Boston.
Then there’s the course itself, which, as mentioned, is typically considered one of the (if not the) most challenging courses of the World Marathon Majors. The spirit of the Boston Marathon has become stronger than ever.
Ever since 2013, when a terrorist attack at the finish line left three dead and hundreds injured, runners and spectators alike have rallied to Boston's side to show solidarity for those directly impacted by the tragedy, the city, and its beloved marathon. At the same time, it’s one of the most spirited marathons: Spectators line the historic course essentially the entire way and throngs of cheering fans can sometimes be heard from half a mile away. It’s also considered by many to be the toughest course of the World Marathon Majors, with its unpredictable, sometimes difficult weather conditions and infamous hills that challenge runners’ quads late in the race. It’s the oldest annually held marathon in the world, and as one of six Abbott World Marathon Majors (the largest and most renowned 26.2-mile races across the globe), it regularly attracts the best of the best in long-distance road racing. When it comes to the sport of running-and really, sports in general-the Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious events on the planet.
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