ha ha! Thanks for the personal follow-up.
Boston was a wonderful experience! I was out there with about 20 people from Twin Cities MN who were running, but we were mostly scattered throughout the weekend. But I had great fun with a couple long-time friends.
They had a rolling start this year which was awesome. One of the worst things IMO is waiting out in the weather for an hour, to get in a crowded corral (like livestock) to wait another 45 minutes before you start. It is about a mile walk from where the buses dump you, to hit the porta potties, to then the start line...but this year you could do that mile walk in 20-30 minutes which was great.
The first half of the marathon is sort of a trap in that it is easy and is largely downhill. Really hard to go slow enough in first half. I think I ran it in like 1:40 or something.
The last half - especially miles 16-22 (to top of Heartbreak Hill / Newton Hills) thoroughly kicked my ass. I guess my second half was like 2:05, for a total of 3:45. I still was OK with it.
It wasn't too warm....maybe upper 60s by the time I was done, but it was quite humid, and that humidity hit a lot of people hard. I heard several people ended up in med tent or doing dry heaves after, that normally wouldn't do that.
Overall - its just such a great experience because of the pride all of the locals take in the race, and they treat the runners like heroes. The volunteers are great, and the race is top notch in terms of organization, water stops, security, etc.
And to hear stories of fellow runners you meet who just start talking to you, who were running it for the first time, or the 20th or whatever, is outstanding.
I got to hear Bill Rodgers and Amby Burfoot speak to the crowd in a session the day before the race. Both running legends, both have won Boston and NYC collectively several times....but you couldn't find more humble, funny, kind ambassadors to distance running.
Thanks again for asking,
@WhatTheHeel?
PS- I have a 5:04 BQ time qualifying cushion for Boston spring 2022. I likely will sign up again. I have some friends who will be running their 10th overall, or 10th consecutive Boston, which is a big deal.