Race Report: 2026 Surf City Marathon

On February 1, I ran the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA.  This was the 10th time I did this race.  I keep coming back for three reasons.

First, it always has nice weather.  While I can’t rule out the possibility of rain, I know it won’t be cold.  In the winter, you can travel pretty far south and still encounter frigid temperatures.  Two weeks ago, it was 25 degrees in Savannah.  As recently as last weekend, much of the southeastern U.S. got snow or ice.  In Huntington Beach, I know I’ll have favorable temperatures for running.

Second, it’s a nice change of scenery.  I live 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean, so it’s nice to see beaches and palm trees, especially in the winter, when everything at home is covered with snow.

Finally, I know I’ll see some friends.  Over the years, I’ve met lots of runners from southern California.  I’ve rarely gone to the expo without bumping into someone I know.  I also see friends during the race.  It helps that the course has two long out-and-back sections, giving me the chance to see runners who are going the other way.

Friday, January 30

I’ve sometimes flown into LAX for this race, but it’s a long drive, and picking up a rental car at that airport is a hassle.  I prefer to fly into the Orange County airport in Santa Ana.  There’s just one drawback.  If I flew in on Saturday, I would arrive too late in the day for packet pickup.  On Friday, however, I could get a direct flight with a morning departure.  For that reason, I decided it was worth it to arrive a day earlier.

I arrived at the Orange County airport around noon and drove to my hotel in Huntington Beach.  In the past, I’ve often stayed at a hotel in Santa Ana.  This year, I stayed at the Waterfront Beach Resort, which is right next to the starting line.  You can’t beat the convenience of this location.

After checking in at the resort, I went for an afternoon run alongside the beach.  My running route included part of the marathon route.

After my run, I picked up my race packet.  As usual, packet pickup was under a large tent in the beach parking lot, which was across the street from my hotel.

For dinner, I went to a restaurant that was walking distance from my hotel.

Saturday, January 31

I don’t usually go running the day before a race, but the weather in southern California was much nicer than the weather at home.  I couldn’t resist going for another short run.  This time, instead of running by myself, I joined a shake-out run that was organized by the Huntington Run Club.  The route we ran was roughly the same out-and-back route I ran on Friday.

After having lunch at the resort, I went back to the expo to hang out and look for friends.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon at the resort.

Although I had a car, I didn’t feel like driving anywhere.  For dinner, I stayed close to the resort again.  Then I did my best to get to bed early.

I slept well for about half the night.  After that, I struggled to get back to sleep.  I had the same experience the previous night.  Shaking off a poor night’s sleep isn’t too hard.  When it’s two in a row, it’s a much bigger deal.  I wondered how much that might affect my race.

Sunday, February 1

Sunday was race day.  I didn’t have to drive and park or take a shuttle.  The start corrals were right next to my hotel.

It was about 50 degrees at the start, but I expected it to warm up to 60 by the time I finished.  My legs were a little cold as I lined up to start, but I knew that wouldn’t last too long.

This race is large enough to have pace groups.  I started the race with the 4:00 pace group, to make sure I wouldn’t go out too fast.  I did a good job of staying with the group through the first mile, but it wasn’t always easy.  The pace leaders sometimes moved into different lanes.  I tried to be careful about crossing lane lines, because there are reflectors between the lanes.  The last time I ran this race, I tripped on one and hard a hard fall.  It also didn’t help that I had to navigate around people who lined up in front, but weren’t starting as fast.

Before that mile was over, I already realized I would need a bathroom stop.  I did my best to empty out before the race, but shortly after I started running, I could already feel pressure building in my intestines.

Our time for the first mile was right on pace for four hours.  In the next mile, I allowed myself to get a little bit in front of the group.  That mile was faster, but only by about 10 seconds.

In the third mile, I eased up a bit.  I continued to run at a faster pace than the 4:00 group, but not by much.

Just before the end of that mile, we made our first turn.  We had been running north on the Pacific Coast Highway, but now we turned inland to run through some neighborhoods and through a large city park.

Right at that turn, I saw a long row of port-o-potties.  I knew I would eventually need a bathroom stop, but I didn’t want to stop this soon.  I was worried that after stopping, I would re-enter the race surrounded by slower runners.  Before I could make a decision, I was already getting past the port-o-potties.  I committed to waiting until my next opportunity.

As we were running away from the coast, another runner saw my Comrades shirt and told me she was going to run Comrades this year.  I talked to her and another runner for the next few minutes.  Then we turned and started up a small hill.  I realized at this point that my pace was starting to feel tiring, so I eased up and let them go ahead.

I was just past the four-mile mark, when I saw a row of four port-o-potties.  By the time I got there, they were all occupied, and another runner was already waiting for one to open up.  I didn’t want to wait, so I pressed on.

In miles two, three, and four, my pace was about 10 seconds faster than a four-hour pace.  Then, in mile five, we ran down a steep hill.  Without trying, I sped up some more.  That mile was 15 seconds faster than the previous mile.

In the next mile, we entered the park.  Here, there were lots of turns, so it would have taken more effort to stay in a consistent rhythm.  I allowed myself to slow down running through the park, and I got back onto the right pace for a four-hour finish.  I was still running well ahead of the 4:00 pace group.

As I continued through the park, I saw a building with bathrooms.  Unfortunately, they were all occupied before I got there.

I knew I would pass a row of port-o-potties before leaving the park.  When I got there, they were all occupied, and there was already a guy waiting.  I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, and it was making it harder to stay on pace, but I didn’t want to stand around waiting.  I pressed on.

At the eight-mile mark, I was about 30 seconds ahead of schedule.  Now, I was starting up the only significant hill on the course.  It was the same hill we ran down a few miles earlier.  Since I was ahead of schedule, I didn’t worry about losing time on the hill.  I continued up the hill with an effort that wouldn’t wear me out.

At the top of the hill, I reached the same four port-o-potties that I had passed about four miles earlier.  Not only were they all occupied, but there were two runners waiting in line.  I continued around the next corner.  Then I was pleasantly surprised to see a long row of port-o-potties at the end of the next block.  Finally, I had a chance to make a long overdue bathroom stop.

It turns out that the pressure I was experiencing was mostly gas.  Since I had already stopped, I took the time to force out any solids that I could.  That took time, but the most aggravating part was the time it took to get my shirt tucked back into my shorts when I was done.  I was wearing a fanny pack, and I also had a jacket tied around my waist.  They were both getting in the way.  I must have wasted at least a minute, just trying to tuck in my shirt.

When I emerged from the port-o-potty and resumed running, I knew I was now well behind the pace group.  I expected the runners around me to be slower, but it seemed like they were faster.  It took quite a bit of effort to get my pace up to the pace of the runners around me.

What I failed to notice is that we had merged with the half marathon when we turned the previous corner.  The half marathon was much larger than the marathon, so most of the runners around me were doing the half marathon.  I had no idea what pace they were going.

Shortly after turning another corner, I got a split from my watch.  I ran mile nine in 11:54.  That was almost three minutes slower than my previous pace.  I would never be able to make up that much time.

I continued to run at the pace of the people around me, but it was tiring.  On the other side of the streets, I could see a huge crowd of half marathon runners still coming from the PCH, as we were headed back.

The half marathon started later than the marathon, and they ran a shorter route to reach this point.  I didn’t know for sure that they were going faster until I saw a 2:00 pace group on the other side of the street.  They were a significant distance behind the runners on my side of the street, so the runners around me were clearly going faster than a 2:00 half marathon pace, which is the same as a 4:00 marathon pace.

Before long, we turned back onto the PCH.  Then I reached the 10-mile mark.  I ran that mile in 8:32.  That was my fastest mile of the race, and it was clearly much faster than my target pace of 9:09.  After that, I had to ignore all the half marathon runners and settle back into a more reasonable pace.

Over the next few miles, I gradually found the right pace again, but I was tired now.  Stopping for a few minutes and then accelerating to a pace that was too fast took a huge toll on me.  I realized now that the rest of the race would be a struggle.

We continued running north on the PCH for about three miles before reaching the turnaround.  On my way back, I reached the halfway mark.  My time for the first half was about a minute and a half slower than I planned.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to make up for that.  Breaking four hours had been one of my goals, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.  I was already feeling much more tired than I should be at this point in the race.  At best, I might still run the second half in two hours, but even that seemed optimistic.  A more realistic goal at this point was to break 4:05.  That would still be a Boston-qualifying time.

Over the next few miles, I was able to run at the right pace to run the second half in two hours.  Part of this section was uphill, so I felt good about my pace over this section.

I was just past the 15-mile mark, when I was passed by a pace group.  It was the 1:50 group for the half marathon.  Their pace was the equivalent of a 3:40 marathon.  That’s a good indication of how much faster the runners around me were running.

Shortly after the 16-mile mark, I reached the point where the two races diverged again.  Runners in the half marathon continued along the PCH toward the finish.  Those of us doing the marathon made a U-turn onto the bike bath.  We still needed to do another long out-and-back alongside the beach.

Now, the only runners in front of me were all running the same race.  In theory, I could stay on pace just by following the runners in front of me.  In practice, that wouldn’t be fast enough.  Most runners, at this point, were beginning to slow down.

I challenged myself to keep up with the runners who looked strongest, while passing the runners who weren’t keeping up.  That still wasn’t fast enough.  I found, over the next several miles, that my average pace was a few seconds per mile too slow.  I wasn’t quite keeping up the pace I needed to run the second half in two hours.

As I got closer to the turnaround at the far end of the bike path, I saw a few runners I know.  I heard a familiar voice call my name, and I realized it was Rainer, who is a fellow 50sub4 member.  Later, I saw Eliot, who is also a 50sub4 member.  Finally, I saw the 4:00 pace group.

I knew at this point that I was getting close to the turnaround, but I couldn’t see it yet.  I had to get around one more bend.  Then I could see it.

After making the turn, I had just over five miles to go.  At each mile marker, I figured out what average pace I would need to break 4:05.  It became more and more obvious that I would beat that time easily.  The challenge was trying to stay on pace to run the second half in two hours.  I was close, but I wasn’t quite doing it.  I still tried.

With about two and a half miles to go, I reached the point where I had turned around on my two training runs.  Eventually, I would turn back onto the PCH, but until then, everything looked much more familiar.  That made it just a little easier to push myself.

In mile 25, I ran my fastest mile since the first half of the race.  In the next mile, I encountered a spectator who was encouraging us enthusiastically.  She shouted, “How much do you have left?  Pick it up!  Pick it up!  Empty the tank!”

I responded to that and pushed harder.  In mile 26, I had my third fastest mile of the race, but it was too little, too late.

Although my watch said 26 miles, I really had much more than 0.2 miles to go.  Ever since my bathroom stop, my watch had been off.  I couldn’t even see the 26-mile sign yet.

Now that I was back on the PCH, I was surrounded by half marathon runners again, but these runners were going much slower.  Earlier, I saw the 1:50 pace group.  Now, I saw the 2:50 group.

The street was congested, and there wasn’t a separate lane for the marathon.  I had to weave around slower runners for the last few minutes of the race.  It wasn’t until we could see the finish line that other runners started to speed up.

I finished the race in 4:02:01.  I didn’t break four hours, nor did I run the second half at that pace.  On the plus side, I easily broke 4:05, earning another Boston qualifier.

As usual, the finisher medal included a surfboard.  The design varies from year to year, but I now have 10 surfboard medals.

As I continued through the finish area, I picked up a water bottle, and I ate a banana.  I skipped the beer garden and went straight to the results tent.  In theory, I could have looked up my official result by scanning a QR code, but with 20,000 people in the finish area, it was tough for anyone to get cellular reception.

The volunteer at the results tent also had trouble looking up my result.  When she entered my bib number, it showed my name, but no finish time.  The runner before me had the same problem.  She eventually determined that my times at each mile were in their system, but there was an extra data point that was confusing things.

When I was able to call Deb, she told me that she had been tracking me, but after I reached 23 miles, the tracking showed me back at 16 again.  It’s worth noting that when we finished the out-and-back on the bike bath, we re-entered the road near the 16-mile mark.

Eventually, the timing people were able to resolve the problem.  Later in the day, I could see my result online.

I hurried back to the hotel to take a bath and change into clean clothes.  Then I joined three other 50sub4 members for lunch at a restaurant that was about a mile from my hotel.  Walking to and from the restaurant was slow and uncomfortable, but I think it helped me recover.  Even still, I was pretty tired for the rest of the day.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:02:01

Average Pace:  9:14 per mile

First Half:  2:01:26

Second Half:  2:00:35

Marathons/Ultras in 2026:  4

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  576

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  189

Race Report: 2025 Twin Cities Marathon

On October 5, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon, which starts in downtown Minneapolis and finishes in front of the State Capitol in downtown St. Paul.  This is one of my favorite races.  It was my first marathon, back in 1983, and I’ve run it 15 more times since then.

I belong to a club called the 50sub4 Marathon Club.  Its members all have a goal of running marathons in all 50 states with times under four hours.  I’ve completed two circuits of 50sub4.

The 50sub4 club has two club reunions each year.  The spring reunion is always at the Boston Marathon.  The fall reunion moves around.  This year, the club chose the Twin Cities Marathon for their fall reunion.

I live in the Twin Cities area, so I usually sleep in my own bed on race weekend.  My usual routine is to drive to St. Paul on race morning and park my car in a lot that’s near the State Capitol.  Then I walk over to the Radisson to take one of the free buses to the start.  After the race, I only have to walk a few blocks to get back to my car.

This year, I decided to stay in a hotel.  The obvious choice would’ve been the Radisson, but they were already fully booked by the time I checked on availability.  Instead, I stayed at the St. Paul Doubletree.  It wasn’t as close to the finish line, but it was only a few blocks from the Intercontinental, which was another location where I could catch a free bus to the start.  I paid extra to get a 2 PM checkout, to make sure I would have time to shower at the hotel after the race.

The expo was held at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul.  RiverCentre is only about half a mile from Doubletree, so I checked in at the hotel first, left my car there, and walked to the expo.

Some of the other 50sub4 members had dinner at a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.  I was tempted to join them, but it would have been a pain to have to travel to downtown Minneapolis and then travel back to St. Paul later in the evening.  I opted to have dinner in St. Paul and hope that I would see most of the same friends at the post-race party on Sunday.

Since I was already in downtown St. Paul, I had dinner at Cossetta’s.  Cossetta’s is a family-owned Italian restaurant that’s been in business for more than 100 years.  It’s near RiverCentre, so I often go there for dinner after the expo.

The disadvantage of staying in a hotel is that I rarely sleep as well in hotels as I do at home.  I slept OK for about half the night, but I woke up at 1:15 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I spent the rest of the night resting in bed, but never getting back to sleep.

The buses to the start were leaving continuously from 5:00 to 6:45 AM.  The earlier buses were mostly for runners doing the 10-mile race, which started at 7:00.  The marathon didn’t start until 8:00, so I could take one of the later buses.  I waited until 6:00 before leaving the hotel to walk over to the Intercontinental.  Then I got in line to board a bus.  Fewer runners take buses from the Intercontinental.  At the Radisson, you can easily spend 15 minutes in line waiting to board a bus.  At the Intercontinental, I was on a bus right away.

As the crow flies, it’s only 10 miles from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis.  The buses took the freeway, so it didn’t take long to get to the start area.  When I arrived in the start area, I still had an hour and a half before the race.  When I wasn’t in a bathroom line, I sat on a bench inside the Viking ship that’s outside the football stadium.

When it comes to weather, one day can make a big difference.  On Saturday, it got up to 90 degrees, which was a record high for St. Paul.  Had the race been a day earlier, it might have been cancelled.  By Monday morning, it’s supposed to cool down to 49 degrees.  Had the race been a day later, we would’ve had ideal temperatures.  Instead, we got something in between. When I arrived in the start area, the temperature was in the upper 60s, and it was forecast to climb into the upper 70s by noon.  That’s obviously much warmer than ideal, but I tolerate warm conditions better than most runners.

It was a little windy, so I wore a light jacket to keep warm in the start area.  I could tie that around my waist, so I didn’t need to check a gear bag.  That saved me some time both before and after the race.

I saw a few runners I know before the race.  One was Jeff Hill, who was the founder of the 50sub4 club.

I was in the first of three start corrals.  They had several pace groups, including a 3:50 group and a 4:00 group.  Between the warm temperatures and the lack of sleep, I didn’t think it was a good day to set an aggressive goal.  I want to break four hours if I could, so I was planning to start with the 4:00 group.

From what I read online, I expected there to be 3:50 and 4:00 groups in both corral one and corral two.  I saw a 3:50 group in corral two, but the slowest group I saw in corral one was 3:45.  That was too fast, so I started on my own.

As I was running through downtown Minneapolis in the first mile, I spotted Eliot, who is also a 50sub4 member.  I sped up a little to catch up to Eliot, but that led me to run the first mile too fast.

In the second mile, there’s an uphill section where’s we’re running past the Walker Art Center and then turning onto Douglas Avenue.  On this section, I eased up and let myself drift back in comparison to the runners around me.  After running mile one in 8:30, I slowed to 8:55 in mile two.  That was still faster than the pace I needed to break four hours, but it was much more reasonable.

The next few miles were relatively flat.  I settled into a pace that was between 8:45 and 8:50.  I wasn’t trying to go this fast, but I was influenced by the pace of the runners around me.

Midway through mile three, we turned left to head toward the chain of lakes in south Minneapolis.  For the next four or five miles, we had a headwind.  I was partially sheltered by the trees and the other runners, so I never found the wind to be too tiring.

Running past Lake of the Isles, I saw some spectators who set up a mimosa stop.  It was much too early in the race to indulge in something like that.  I stuck to the official aid stations, which had water and Nuun.

A couple miles later, near the southwest corner of Bde Maka Ska, I saw another mimosa stop.  This one also had pancakes.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen pancakes at a marathon before.

I felt the wind the most as I reached the north end of Lake Harriet.  Here, the wind was blowing across the lake.

After Lake Harriet, we quickly reached the Minnehaha Parkway.  Now, we were heading east, so the wind was at our side.  Along the parkway, I found the wind to be helpful.  It kept me from getting too hot.

The Minnehaha Parkway is mostly flat, but there are a few small hills in mile nine.  On these hills, I again allowed myself to drift back in comparison to the runners around me.  That mile was a little slower, but it was still fast enough.  So far, every mile was faster than nine minutes.

Just past the nine-mile mark, we ran under the Nicollet Avenue Bridge.  As usual, there was a band set up under the bridge.

The next mile was fairly level, and I got back into a nice rhythm.

For the second straight year, the Minnesota Vikings were playing a game in London on the day of the Twin Cities Marathon.  It was an afternoon game in London, but in our time zone, it was an 8:30 AM kickoff, so the game was going on at the same time as the marathon.  Along Minnehaha Parkway, I started seeing spectators holding up signs with the score.

After 10 miles, I asked myself how I felt.  My pace was taking some effort.  The question was whether it would be sustainable for 16 more miles.  I felt OK for the time being, but I expected it to get warmer in the second half.  In particular, I expected to feel the sun more as it got higher in the sky.

Just before 11 miles, we turned onto Cedar Avenue to begin running around Lake Nokomis.  It was here that I noticed a pace group catching up to me.

The leaders of pace groups carried signs that listed their goal time on one side and their average pace on the other side.  This was a 3:50 group.  Their pace was 8:46 per mile, which was pretty close to the pace I had been running.

I had seen a 3:50 group in corral two, but they started five minutes after I did.  I didn’t expect them to catch up to me until much later in the race.  I asked the pace leader if she started in corral one or two.  This group started in corral one, just like I did.

I wanted to run with a group, but I didn’t know if 3:50 was realistic.  As we ran around the west side of the lake, we were running into the wind.  Against my better judgement, I kept up with the group, even though I was fighting a headwind.  Then I got ahead of them.

The 12-mile mark was near the south end of the lake.  I saw the pace group next to me again, but a different runner was carrying the sign.  I didn’t realize it at first, but this was a different pace group.  This was a 3:45 group, but they started in corral two.

Without realizing this was a faster group, I kept running with them.  That led me to run the next mile in 8:29.  That was my fastest mile of the race.  When I realized this was a 3:45 group, I eased up and fell behind them.

On the east side of Lake Nokomis, we had the wind at our backs.  That may sound good, but I started to get hot.  When I had a tailwind, I missed the cooling effect of the wind.

At the halfway mark, I was on pace to finish in 3:51.  I expected to slow down in the second half, as it got hotter and sunnier.

Just past the halfway mark, there was an aid station that had pickle juice, in addition to water and Nuun.  I drank a small cup of pickle juice and then followed it with Nuun.

As I was leaving Lake Nokomis to get back onto the Minnehaha Parkway, it suddenly got cloudy, and I felt some light sprinkles.  That was a game changer.  Now, I was no longer hot.  It remained cloudy for the rest of the race, and we had intermittent light rain.  It was just enough to keep me reasonably cool.

Between 15 and 16 miles, we left Minnehaha Parkway to get onto the West River Parkway.  We followed the west bank of the Mississippi for the next few miles.

At 16 miles, I once again asked myself how I felt.  I wasn’t any more tired now than I was at 10 miles.  With the change in weather, I was much more confident that I could sustain the pace.

At 17 miles, there was an aid station that had gel packets filled with maple syrup.  I had a syrup packet and then followed it with some water.  That was a nice treat.

In mile 18, I slowed to 9:00.  That surprised me, because I didn’t feel like I was going any slower.  As I thought about it more, I realized I wasn’t working as hard.  I had inadvertently allowed myself to relax.  After that, I picked up my effort again.

When I reached the 30K mark, I knew I was getting close to the Franklin Avenue Bridge, where we would cross the river.  Before I got there, I saw a runner ahead of me wearing a 50sub4 shirt.  I couldn’t recognize him from behind.  I yelled, “50Sub4, I see you.”  Then he turned his head, and I recognized him.  It was Rainer, who I met earlier this year.

I ran up the ramp to Franklin Avenue and crossed the bridge.  As I got onto the East River Road, I knew the next mile would be slightly downhill.  At 20 miles, I reached the lowest elevation on the course.  The next three miles were each uphill.  This is the make-or-break part of the course.

I didn’t slow down much in mile 21.  Then I turned the corner to begin a long gradual hill where we climb away from the river and up to the University of St. Thomas.  My pace going up this hill was slow, but steady.  I kept up with the runners around me, but most people slow down on this hill.

When I reached the top, I knew the toughest hill was begin me.  I turned right, ran half a block, and then turned left onto Summit Avenue.  Summit Avenue was still uphill at first, but it was more gradual.

Mile 22 was my slowest mile of the race, but I expected that.  I needed to average 9:09 per mile, and this was the only mile that was slower than that.  It was 9:12.

Just past 22, I saw another pace group coming up on my side.  Was this the same 3:50 group I had seen earlier, or was it the one that started in corral two?  I didn’t know, and I didn’t ask.  What I did know is that their target pace was 8:46.  I challenged myself to stay in front of them.  I had one more uphill mile.  Then it would get easier.

At 23 miles, I knew I had reached the highest elevation on the course.  I was still in front of the 3:50 group, and now the course was leveling off.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen a score for the Vikings game since halftime.  The game might be over by now.  I later learned from another runner that the Vikings won.  For what it’s worth, they’re 5-0 in games played in London.

In mile 24, I sped up by 15 seconds.  I was still in front of the 3:50 group, and I was motivated to keep up my effort.

Just past 24, I saw a large sign on the left that said “Free beer.”  It was late enough in the race that I was willing to indulge in a beer stop.  I almost bumped into another runner as I angled over to the left side of the street.

When the spectators with the beer saw me heading their way, they got excited.  I may have been the first runner to stop there.  One asked me, “Do you want a beer?”  Another opened a cooler and took out a 16-ounce can.

I was expecting beer poured into a small cup.  I wasn’t expecting a whole can.  I told them I couldn’t drink that much, and I continued running.  Instead, I drank water at an aid station that was a few blocks away.

After another half mile, I saw a beer stop on the right.  These people had poured beer into several plastic cups.  I happily drank a small cup of beer and continued running.

The last three miles have a slight downhill trend, but it’s not all downhill.  The last hill on the course comes just before the 25-mile mark.  I know this hill well.  35 years ago, I walked this hill, and I missed a Boston qualifier by 11 seconds.

Knowing it was the last hill, I was able to keep up a steady pace.  Then I just had to grind it out for a little over a mile.

Just before 26, the street bends to the left, and we ran by St. Paul’s Cathedral.  From there, it’s downhill, and you can see the capitol in front of you.

I saw someone holding up a 50sub4 banner in the crowd.  As I got closer, I saw it was Gwen.  She ran the 10-mile race, so she had been done for hours.

I continued running down the hill, finishing in 3:51:30.  I slowed down in the second half, but only by 32 seconds.  Mile 22 accounted for most of that.

The finisher medal featured a maple leaf.  Autumn colors used to be a regular feature of this race.  In recent years, the leaves have been changing later.  Ideally, this race should be held two weeks later.  That would also ensure cooler weather.  This year, we got lucky, got it could easily have been hotter.

As luck would have it, the sun came out right after I finished.  I had my phone with me during the race, but I didn’t want to stop to take pictures.  As I continued walking through the finish area, I stopped to take a picture of the capitol.

Not checking a gear bag made it easy to get out of the finish area quickly.  I picked up a few post-race snacks, but then I started walking back to my hotel.

I got back to the hotel little earlier than I expected.  I had time to take a hot bath and do some stretching.  My Achilles tendons both felt tight.

After changing into clean clothes, I packed up and checked out.  Then I drove to St. Paul Brewing for the 50sub4 post-race party.

I arrived a little bit early, but Gwen and Jayde were already there.  Eventually, several other 50sub4 members joined us, and we traded stories for most of the afternoon.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:51:30

Average Pace:  8:50 per mile

First Half:  1:55:29

Second Half:  1:56:01

Marathons/Ultras in 2025:  28

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  563

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  115

Consecutive Boston Qualifiers:  4

Lifetime Boston Qualifiers:  183

Race Report: 2025 Med City Marathon

On May 18, I ran the Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN.  Rochester is only 75 miles from where I live.  That’s close enough that I could easily drive there, but far enough that I still chose to stay in a hotel.

Until a few days ago, we were having highs near 90 degrees.  Cooler temperatures arrived just in time for race weekend.  On Saturday, the high was in the 50s.  Overnight, it dropped into the upper 30s.  I brought my warmest tights, T-shirt, and hat.  That’s the cheetah outfit.

I drove to Rochester after lunch on Saturday and checked into a downtown hotel.  Then I walked to packet pickup, which was held at the Historic Chateau Theater.  The race shirt was a tank top.  I always like it when that’s an option, because I already have too many T-shirts.

Before dinner, I sampled some beers at a bar that was across the street from my hotel.  I was talking to a runner sitting next to me who was doing the half marathon, but his daughter was doing the marathon.  It was going to be her first marathon, and she was nervous about it.  I offered to run with her, and I told her what I would be wearing, so she could look for me before the race.  I asked what her name was, and she said it was “Abbi.”  I’m putting that in quotes, because I didn’t ask her how it was spelled.  It could be Abby or Abbey.

I had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was close to my hotel.  After dinner, I went to bed as early as I could.  I was able to get to sleep right away.  I slept well at first, but I woke up around 1:45.  Then, I couldn’t get back to sleep.  I got at least seven hours of sleep, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

I usually run with a fanny pack, which I use to hold things like car keys hotel rooms cards, and my driver’s license.  As I was getting dressed, I realized that I neglected to pack my fanny pack.  If I had noticed that the day before, I could’ve bought something at the expo.  Now, it was too late.

The only thing I needed to bring with me was a hotel room card.  I found that the least intrusive way to carry it was to tuck it inside my waistband.

The race finishes in the downtown area, but the start is at an event center near the airport, which is eight miles away.  They had buses to take us to the start.  The buses left from in front of the Mayo Civic Center, which was about four blocks from my hotel.

The race website said the buses would begin loading at 5:20.  It didn’t say when the last bus would leave.  I probably should’ve asked at packet pickup, but I didn’t.  Without knowing, I showed up at 5:20.  I was on the first bus.

The start area was only eight miles away, so it didn’t take long to get there.  Then, I had a long wait outside.  We were dropped off next to an evetn center, but the building wasn’t open.

They had a gear check, but I chose not to use it.  To stay warm in the start area, I brought a Tyvek jacket and a heat shield.  It was windy, so I stayed close to the building, where I wasn’t as exposed.

Two members of the 50sub4 Marathon Club live in Rochester, and others had traveled here for the race.  About 20 minutes before the race, we posed for a group photo.

I discarded my heat shield when I went to line up for the race.  I kept the Tyvek jacket on.  I was originally planning to take it off and tie it around my race before I started running.  Instead, I unzipped it in front, but I kept it on until I got warmed up.

I’ve run this race before, but the course has changed since the last time I ran it.  The old course was hilly in the first half, but flattened out in the second half.  The new course approaches the city from a different direction, so it doesn’t have any of the hills I remembered.  The big challenge in the early miles was the wind.  It was a cold wind, and we were mostly running into it until we got into the city.

I didn’t know if I would recognize “Abbi.”  I'm not good at recognizing people that I've only met once.  I remembered what her hair looked like, but most women with long hair wear it differently when they run.  “Abbi” had told me she was going to start the race with the 4:00 pace group, so that’s where I lined up.  When a young runner with blond hair recognized me, I assumed it must be her.

I asked “Abbi” if she was planning to run the whole race with the 4:00 group or if she was just starting with them.  She said four hours was her goal.  I also asked her how far she went in training.  She told me about her last few long training runs.  The longest was 22 miles.

Early in the race, “Abbi” and I both followed the pace group.  In addition to the 4:00 group for the marathon, there was a 2:00 group for the half marathon.  The two groups were running together, so it was a large group.  I found running behind this large group to be useful to shelter from the wind.

“Abbi” was wearing ear buds, so I seldom talked to her.  To hear me, she had to take them out, so I just stayed with the pace group.  Every now and then, I looked to see where she was, but I assumed she would be able to stay with the group in the early miles.  If she struggled to keep up the pace, it wouldn’t be until later in the race.

After a few miles, I started to notice that I was getting splits from my watch way before we reached the banners marking each mile.  It’s not unusual for a GPS watch to be off, but the discrepancy seemed unusually large.  I think the placement of the banners was inconsistent.

I talked to one of the 4:00 pacers, and she said they were pacing according to their watches, but going a little bit faster in case their watches were recording splits too soon.  Our target pace was 9:09 per mile, but the pacers were keeping us closer to 9:00.

About halfway through the fifth mile, I started to feel perspiration under the sleeves of my jacket.  That’s when I finally took it off and tied it around my waist.

The early miles were gently rolling, but with a downhill trend.  At one point, one of the pacers told us we were about to start running down a hill that was about a mile long.  Some runners went ahead, but I held back and stayed with the pacers.

They had a marathon relay.  After running downhill, we reached the first exchange point.  There was also an aid station there.  A bus to transport relay runners was parked in the middle of the street, forcing us onto the shoulder just as we were going through the heavily congested relay exchange point.  Making matters worse, there were rumble strips between the driving lane and the shoulder.

I realized at some point that I would need to make a bathroom stop.  I knew I would need to pee before too long.  I also felt pressure in my intestine, and I wasn’t willing to assume that it was just gas.  I told “Abbi” I was going to make a bathroom stop the next time we reached an aid station, but I would try to catch up later.

Somewhere near the end of the eighth mile, we ran under a bridge, and I saw an aid station with two port-o-potties just past the bridge.  I took the opportunity to stop.

Taking care of my business took longer than it should have.  I had to take off my gloves, and I also had to be careful not to lose my hotel room card.  The pressure I felt was just gas, but I still took the time to empty my intestines as much as I possible could.

When I was done, I got a drink from the aid station.  As I resumed running, I looked at my watch.  I had lost roughly two and a half minutes.

I’m used to running marathons at a slightly faster pace than the pace I was running today.  I was confident that I could speed up by about 15 seconds per mile, but at that pace it would take 10 miles to catch up to the group.  I didn’t know if “Abbi” would begin to struggle at some point.  If she did, I wanted to be there to help her get through the late miles.

I was now surrounded by runners who were going a little bit slower than the pace I was going before.  To pick up my pace, I needed to be passing everyone around me.

I picked up my pace until it felt tiring.  I passed the 8-mile banner almost immediately, but I wouldn’t know my pace until I finished mile nine.  I was surprised to see how fast I was running.  I ran that mile in 8:02.

At that pace, it would only take another mile and a half to catch up to the group, but I knew this pace would wear me out.  I eased up a little, but then I realized I was no longer passing people.  I had to accelerate again to make sure I was still gaining ground on the group.

Mile 10 was almost as fast.  I ran it in 8:09.  Looking ahead, I could see where runners were making a U-turn and going up a ramp.  I saw the 2:00 pacer, but I didn’t see a 4:00 pacer.

As I got closer, I saw a sign indicating this was where the marathon and half marathon routes diverged.  The runners doing the half marathon did the U-turn.  The runners doing the marathon kept going straight.  Looking farther ahead, I saw the 4:00 pace leader.  Now that I could see the group, I knew I would catch up to them.

Midway through the next mile, I caught up with the group.  As I pulled alongside “Abbi,” she noticed I was back.  I told her I had been running 8-minute miles, and I would probably regret that later.  I was really worried that those fast miles would destroy me for the late miles.

Most of the runners were wearing extra layers, but as it gradually warmed up, they discarded them.  “Abbi” had started the race in a green long-sleeved shirt.  At some point, I noticed the shirt was gone.  I still recognized her from her ear buds and a pink case on her lower back that held her phone.

By the time we reached the halfway mark, I was finding it more difficult to keep up with the group.  Most of the time, the pace felt manageable, but if I fell behind at an aid station, it was more difficult to catch up.  It was also tough keep up on hills.  In general, the rest of the course was fairly flat, but it wasn’t perfectly flat.  There were occasional small rises, and now I found them to be tiring.

In the second half of the race, I started getting splits from my watch after we passed the mile markers.  I never trust my watch completely, but I trusted it more than I trusted the mile markers.

Most of the time, we were on roads, but some sections of the course were on paved trails through a forest.  At one point, we saw a family of ducks running across the trail.  They were the tiniest baby ducks I’ve ever seen.  Earlier, we had seen a wild rabbit run across the trail.

If not for “Abbi,” I would’ve dropped back and finished at my own pace.  I forced myself to keep up with the group, because I wanted to help her get through the difficult miles at the end of the race.  All first-time marathoners struggle at least a little bit.  My only goal for this race was to help her get through those miles.  Finishing your first marathon can be a life-changing event.  I wanted to see her finish.

At one point, our remaining pace leader told us we were coming up on “the hill.”  This was the only tough hill on the course.  It wasn’t steep, but it was long.

For the first half of the hill, I was able to keep up.  Then I started to lose contact.  I kept the group in sight until I reached the top.  As we started running back downhill, I worked hard to catch up.  I was actually breathing harder on the downhill than I did going uphill.

Up until now, I rarely talked to “Abbi.”  Now I started talking to her more often.  When we got to 20 miles, I told her that most first-time marathoners would be struggling at this point, but she was going strong.  She appreciated hearing that.

Since reaching the city, we had been running in a big loop.  At 22 miles, we completed the loop and began to repeat a section we had run before.  Miles 23 and 24 were the same as miles 9 and 10.  Coincidentally, those were the two miles I had run much faster the first time around.  Knowing how fast I had run these miles before made me feel more confident that I could keep up with the group as we ran them again.

When I saw the “23” banner I told “Abbi” she set a PR.  What I meant by that was that she had run farther today than she had every run.  In reply, she asked, “I told you that?”

I reminded her that she said her longest training run was 22 miles.  Then she said that she had run marathons before.  Her PR was 3:59.  She thought I meant that she was on pace to beat that time.

I realized now that my entire race was based on a misunderstanding.  This woman obviously didn’t need my help to get through the tough miles.  This wasn’t her first rodeo.  I was left wondering if I had completely misunderstood my previous conversations with “Abbi.”  I also wondered if I was still talking to “Abbi.”  Did I somehow get her mixed up with another runner in the pace group who looked similar.  It didn’t help that nobody was wearing the same clothes now that they were wearing at the beginning of the race.  I’m going to continue referring to her as “Abbi,” but I didn’t really know if this was the same runner.

“Abbi” was obviously feeling strong, and she was determined to beat her previous best of 3:59.  The two of us were now pulling away from the pace group.  I was tempted to ask her what her name was, but I felt awkward asking.  If this really was “Abbi,” she already told me her name.  By the time I finally decided to ask, it was too late.

As we passed the 24-mile banner, “Abbi” was clearly feeling strong.  She picked up the pace to the point where I could no longer keep up with her.  I had lost my chance to ask her name.

“Abbi” was wearing her race bib on her back.  I could make out the first and last digits, but I couldn’t read the middle digit.  Her hair was in the way.

When I reached the “25” banner, I made one last attempt to catch up with “Abbi.”  I sped up as much as I could, but I was still losing ground.  By the time I reached the “26” banner, I could no longer see her.

I finished at the best pace I could.  I finished in 3:57:27.  Despite running miles nine, ten, and part of eleven at a pace that almost broke me, I managed to run fairly even splits.

After I got my finisher medal, I started to look for “Abbi.”  I couldn’t find her.  She was already gone.  I picked up some post-race food and headed for the results tent.

They had monitors where you could type in your bib number and see your official result.  The sun was shining on the monitors in such a way that I couldn’t read them.  I had to ask one of the volunteers to look up my result.  That’s when I found out that I placed second in my age group.  Nothing about this race went as planned, but it had a happy ending.

My hotel was just around the block from the finish area.  As I was walked back to the hotel, I spotted another 50sub4 runner.  We’re in the same age group, and he had finished in 3:45.  He was the winner of our age group.  If I had been trying to go all out for a fast time, my goal would’ve been 3:50.  I still would’ve been second in my age group.

After the race, I searched the results for every possible bib number starting with “4” and ending with “2.”  My best guess is that the runner I was talking to in the late miles was a woman named Emily who finished in 3:56:10.

I also searched the results for any woman named Abbi, Abby, Abbey, or Abigail.  Initially, I didn't find her.  When I reviewed the complete race results the next day, I found her.  She finished the race nine seconds after I did.   When I sped up to try to keep up with Emily, Abbi sped up to follow me.  I still feel bad about mistaking Emily for Abbi, but I'm relieved to know that Abbi had a strong finish.

At the end of the race, I was confused, but I now realize that it was only in the last few miles that I mistook Emily for Abbi.  My biggest regret now is that I didn't get to see Abbi finish.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:57:27

Average Pace:  9:03 per mile

First Half:  1:58:35

Second Half:  1:58:52

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  545

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  105

Race Report: 2025 Boston Marathon

My last post was a race report for the Boston 5K race, which is held two days before the Boston Marathon.  This post picks up where that one left off.

Saturday, April 19

Race weekend is a time when I get together with various running groups.  My first meet-up was Saturday afternoon.  Saturday was the warmest day of the weekend, and I had some free time after lunch, so I went for a stroll through the Boston Public Garden.

There’s a statue in the garden called Make Way for Ducklings.  On marathon weekend, the ducklings are often dressed up.  This year, the people doing the decorating outdid themselves.

One of the groups I always see in Boston is called Boston Squeakers.  We met at Time Out Market.  Getting there on the T was a bit of an adventure.  Time Out Market is near Fenway Park, and I was going there about the same time that people were heading that way for the Red Sox Game.  Every train was packed.

Tiem Out Market is a good place for groups to meet, because there are dozens of long tables.  There’s also a variety of food and drinks.  Our squeaker reunion lasted for about two hours.  Then a few of us went out to dinner together.

Sunday, April 20

I had breakfast with two friends who were also in town for the Marathon.  We went to The Friendly Toast, which is a brunch spot I had never been to before.

After breakfast, I did a workout at the hotel and organized all my clothes for the race.  Then I headed out to walk around town a bit.

Sunday is the day that various running clubs get together for group photos at the finish line.  I belong to three groups that were meeting for group photos.  The first one was Marathon Maniacs.  They always meet at the finish line at noon.

The next group is called the World Marathon Majors Challenge Group.  Runners in this group aim to run all of the marathons that are collectively called the World Marathon Majors.  They met at 12:15.

The last group meeting for a photo was Boston Squeakers.  They met at 12:30.  After this group photo, I had lunch with two of my squeaker friends.

In the afternoon, I had another meet-up at Time Out Market.  This time it was with members of the 50Sub4 club.

Time Out Market has about a dozen restaurants, including one with pizza.  After most of the others left, I stayed to have dinner.

I went to bed early, so I was already sound asleep when the fire alarm went off at 9:00 PM.  This is the third time I’ve stayed at a hotel that had a fire alarm while I was sleeping.  It’s always the night before a race.

I heard a few short bursts of an alarm buzzer that was too loud to ignore.  Then I heard a PA announcement.  I sleep with ear plugs, so I couldn’t hear the announcement until I took out one of my ear plugs.  By then, I had missed part of it.  I was only semi-conscious, so I didn’t hear it clearly.  What I thought I heard is that some floors might need to evacuate, but to wait for further instructions.

I probably should’ve got up and got dressed, but I just wanted to go back to sleep.  After that, it was quiet for a while, and I may have fallen asleep again.

After a while, I heard the alarm sounds again, followed by another PA announcement.  I had my ear plugs in again, so I didn’t hear this one at all.  I convinced myself that if we really needed to evacuate the building, the alarms and announcements would be continuous.  It got quiet again, so I stayed in bed.

When I heard the alarm sounds a third time, I got up.  I took out my ear plugs in time to hear them say, “All clear.”  Then I went back to sleep.

I slept for a few more hours.  I woke up some time after midnight.  Then my mind was immediately on the race.  My body was ready to go back to sleep, but my mind was active.  I tried to get back to sleep, but I was awake for the rest of the night.

Monday, April 21

Monday was race day.  The third Monday in April is a state holiday called Patriots’ Day.  The marathon is a big part of the Patriots’ Day celebrations, making it a community event.

The start is in Hopkinton.  Most runners get there by taking school buses that pick them up at Boston Common and drop them off at Hopkinton High School.

Some running clubs arrange for their own buses to take them to Hopkinton.  I’ve been riding on a club bus for the past several years.  It costs extra, but it has some advantages.  Instead of being dropped off at the high school, we get to stay on the bus until it’s time to walk to the start corrals.  The club buses park at Hopkinton Elementary School.  There are plenty of port-o-potties near where the buses are parked, and the lines there are much shorter than the lines in the Athletes’ Village at the high school.

I was lucky to be able to get a room at the same hotel where club buses pick us up.  I could board the bus any time after 6:15.  The bus left at 6:45.

The ride to Hopkinton took about an hour.  That gave us a lot of time to sit and wait before the race started.  I knew several people on the bus, and I brought some water and snacks.

To get to the start corrals, we first had to walk over to the Athletes’ Village.  From there, we walked the rest of the way along the same route take by the runners who waited in the Athletes’ Village.  In all, it was about 1.4 miles of walking.  I allowed plenty of time.  There are port-o-potties set up around the parking lot of a CVS that’s right near the start corrals.  I stopped there for a final bathroom stop before walking to my corral.

Boston weather can change significantly from day to day.  On Saturday, it was unseasonable warm, with a high of 82.  On Sunday, it was unusually windy.  On Monday, we had weather that was nearly perfect for running a marathon.  The temperature at the start was in the mid-50s, and it didn’t change much during the race.

The race is divided into three waves with staggered start times.  I was in the third wave, which started at 10:50.  We were seeded into start corrals based on our qualifying times.  I was in the second corral of my wave.

My qualifying time was 3:26:56.  Everyone else in my corral had a similar qualifying time, so I was surrounded by runners who were most likely aiming to run a time in the 3:20s.

I run dozens of races each year, and the qualifying time I submit is always my fastest time.  I ran my best time on a course that descends 3,700 feet.  I can’t run that fast on a more typical marathon course.  My goal was to break 3:50, but I was surrounded by runners who were much faster than that.  One of the challenges in pacing myself well was to ignore the runners around me.  If I kept up with them, I’d start way too fast.  Adding to this challenge, the first four miles are downhill.

The first mile starts out sharply downhill.  I ran down the hill at a pace that felt comfortable.  I knew better than to push the pace.  Most of the runners around me were starting faster.  I did a good job of ignoring them and just running my own pace.

The course is marked in miles, but early in the race, they also had signs at each kilometer.  The first mile was mostly downhill, but it turns uphill right at the one kilometer sign.  Going up this hill, I maintained the same effort as before.  I didn’t worry about slowing down.  I didn’t want to expend any extra energy on this hill.

I needed to run an average pace of 8:45 per mile, but I knew some miles would be faster and some would be slower.  I was hoping to keep my effort consistent.  I ran the first mile in 8:22.  That was faster than my target pace, but I expected that.

The next three miles were also mostly downhill.  I ran them all at about the same pace.  After four miles, I was already 90 seconds ahead of schedule for a 3:50 finish.

Starting with mile five, the course leveled off.  Some miles were slightly uphill.  Others were slightly downhill.  For the next several miles, there was verry little net elevation change.

Although my target pace was 8:45, I could now afford to be about 10 seconds slower than that over the next nine miles.  If I did that, I would reach the halfway mark right on schedule.

In mile five, I kept up the same effort as before.  I wasn’t sure if that would give me the pace I desired.  I had to wait and see.  As it turns out, that mile wasn’t as fast as the first four, but it was still a little bit faster than my target pace.

I tried to ease up a bit in mile six, but my pace was still about the same.  Now, I was starting to get concerned that I was running too fast.  On the plus side, I was doing a really good job of ignoring all the other runners.  Everyone was passing me.

In mile seven, I did a better job is easing up on my pace.  I slowed to 8:59 in that mile after doing the previous mile in 8:39.  It momentarily shocked me to see that I slowed down by 20 seconds.  I had to remind myself that this was the pace I needed to be running.

Mile eight was slightly uphill.  I picked up my effort, because I didn’t want to run any slower than the previous mile.  I ended up running a little bit faster.

At nine miles, we passed a lake.  The wind was blowing across the lake, and the breeze felt good.

Over the next few miles, I was running a reasonable pace.  Overall, however, I was still ahead of schedule.

Runners who have finished the last 25 Boston Marathons are members of the Quarter Century Club (QCC).  These runners have special bibs on their backs with their names and the number of consecutive Boston Marathons they’ve finished.  QCC members no longer need to qualify for the race.  As long as they keep finishing each year, they get guaranteed entry.  They also get to start in the second wave, which gives them extra time to finish.

As I was catching up to QCC members, I went out of my way to congratulate and encourage them.  I hope to join the QCC someday, but it’ll take me another 11 years.  By then, I’ll be in my 70s.

About halfway through mile 13, I reached Wellesley College, where the students come out and make a lot of noise for us.  I estimated I was about 70 seconds ahead of schedule, so I could afford to slow down enough to take out my phone and take several pictures.

That mile was my slowest of the race, but I thought I was still ahead of schedule by about 25 seconds.  When I reached the halfway point, I was shocked to see that I was actually 15 seconds behind schedule.  My watch had been consistently giving me splits before I reached the mile markers, and the disparity had been growing.  I realized now that my actual pace, on average, was about three seconds slower than the splits I was getting from my watch.  I had to adjust for that in the second half.

I had two goals for this race.  My first goal was to break 3:50.  My second goal was to run negative splits, which is challenging on this course.  At this point, if I didn’t run negative splits, I also wouldn’t reach my time goal.

I’ve run lots of other racers after only getting a few hours of sleep.  I usually feel tired before the race, but I don’t notice it once I start running.  The lack of sleep doesn’t hit me again until sometime in the afternoon.

This race has such a late start time that I wasn’t able to shake off that tired feeling.  I had felt tired since the beginning of the race, and now it was already afternoon.  I felt like my effort so far had been quite reasonable.  If I struggled in the late miles, it was more likely going to be the lack of sleep that would catch up to me.

For the first half of the race, the wind was coming from the south, so it was a cross-breeze.  Now, the wind had shifted.  It was coming from that east, making it a headwind.  I had mixed feelings about that.  The breeze out of the east would keep me from getting hot, but I didn’t know if it would be tiring.

The next three miles were downhill, and I used them to re-establish my pace after having a slow mile going past Wellesley College.  In mile 14, I picked up my pace enough that I was now keeping up with the runners around me.  I sped up to 8:28 in that mile.

Mile 15 was also downhill, but not as much.  In that mile, I was just a few seconds under my target pace.

In the second half of the race, I started to see digital clocks showing the current time of day.  To be an official finisher, you need to finish by 5:30 PM.  These signs helped back of the pack runners know how much time they had to finish.

At about 25K, I began a half-mile stretch that’s sharply downhill.  Here, I sped up enough that I was passing other runners for the first time.  That caused me to have my fastest mile of the race.

Just before the 16-mile mark, I entered the town of Newton.  The next five miles would be the toughest part of the race.  This section has rolling hills.  There are a total of four hills.  I knew exactly where each one would start, and I knew exactly what each one was like.

The first hill starts right where you enter Newton.  It’s a gradual climb, but it’s fairly long.  On this hill, I challenged myself to keep running my target pace, even though it took more effort.  That hill was tiring, but after cresting the hill, I had almost a mile to recover before the next one.

I saw a spectator holding up a sign saying, “Welcome to Newton.  Have a Fig Newton.”  She was handing out Fig Newtons.  If you didn’t know, Fig Newtons were named after Newton, MA, so I couldn’t resist eating one.

Another spectator was holding a sign saying, “I ran a 5K once.”  I pointed at her and said, “I ran one on Saturday.”  That got a laugh.

When I reached the 17-mile mark, I was pleased to see that I had run faster than my target pace, even though that mile was mostly uphill.

At 17.5 miles, I made the right turn onto Commonwealth.  This is where the second hill begins.  This hill isn’t as long, but it’s steeper.  If I tried to maintain the same pace going up this hill, I would tire myself out.  Instead, I focused on maintaining a steady effort.  My time for that mile wasn’t as fast as the previous mile, but it was still pretty close to my target pace.

After cresting that hill, I moved to the right side of the street, to look for my friend, Eliot, who was volunteering at the next aid station.

The next hill was still more than a mile away.  Mile 19 is like the calm before the storm.  I made good time in that mile.

The third hill comes early in mile 20.  This is the smallest of the Newton hills, but I’ve learned to respect it.  After cresting the other hills, you come back downhill.  After this hill, the road just levels off.  If you’re tired at the top of this hill, you’ll still be tired when you start the last one.  I gave up a few seconds in mile 20, but overall, I was still on pace.

The last of the four hills is Heartbreak Hill.  This hill starts out with a gentle grade, but it’s a longer hill, and it gets steeper near the top.  You’re going around a bend, so you can’t see the whole hill when you start it.

Going up Heartbreak Hill, my goal was to run at a pace that wouldn’t wear me out.  I was willing to give up some time.  What I didn’t want to do is wipe myself out.  I was slow on this hill, but I knew it would be followed by a long downhill stretch.  If I had enough energy to run well there, I could make up the time I lost on Heartbreak Hill.  There was a banner across the road at the top of the hill, so you can see where the top was.

My time for mile 21 was 9:20.  My legs felt heavy after Heartbreak Hill, but I was able to recover as I started running downhill.

Mile 22 is all downhill.  I adjusted my stride, and I increased my cadence.  In this mile, I ran past Boston College.  The students there were cheering just as loud as the students at Wellesley College.  This is another highlight of the course.

I ran hard all the way through mile 22, using the downhill to try to gain some time.  I ran that mile in 8:28, but I was disappointed that it wasn’t faster.

After that, the course started to level off.  I didn’t know if I could keep up a fast enough pace when I wasn’t running downhill.  I fought to keep up with the runners around me.

I was most of the way through mile 24 when I caught my first glimpse of the giant Citgo sign.  It was still about a mile and a half away.  When I got there, I would still have a mile to go.

I kept up a good pace through miles 24 and 25.  At the end of mile 25, I had to go up a small hill to reach the bridge over I-90.  It’s only a small climb, but it made my legs feel just as tired as they were at the top of Heartbreak Hill.

As I reached the Citgo sign, I had exactly one mile to go.  There’s a line across the street.  I checked my watch.  To break 3:50, I needed to run the mast mile in 9:27.  I knew I would do that.  I had run faster than that in the mile that included Heartbreak Hill.  If I could put on a strong enough finish, I might be as much as a minute faster than that.

I ran under the Charlesgate bridge, which is painted with the words, “Boston Strong.”  I kept going and started down the ramp to go under Massachusetts Avenue.  I wasn’t able to pick up my pace going down the ramp, but I fought hard to maintain my effort coming back up on the other side.

I made the right turn onto Hereford and worked hard to charge up the hill to get the Boylston.  By the top, I was starting to slow down.

After turning onto Boylston, I could see the finish line in the distance.  It was about three and a half blocks away.  At first, I was just keeping up with the runners around me.  With a block and a half to go, I was finally able to speed up.

I finished in 3:49:07.  I ran a Boston qualifier with less than a minute to spare.  I ran negative splits by more than a minute.  It’s the third straight year that I’ve run negative splits on this course.  That’s never easy.

A lot of people were stopping to take selfies just past the finish line.  I kept moving as quickly as I could until I reached the volunteers with finisher medals in the next block.  The Boston medal is always my favorite.

Next, a volunteer wrapped a heat sheet around me, and another added a piece of tape to hold it in place.  Now that I was no longer running, I really needed that heat sheet.  The wind felt much stronger on Boylston, because of the way the wind gets funneled between the buildings.  The temperature had dropped into the low 50s, and the wind seriously felt cold now.

In the next block, I accepted a small bottle of Gatorade from a volunteer, not knowing the food bags would have a larger bottle of Gatorade plus a bottle of water.

When I got to the end of the finish area, I only needed to walk one more block to get back to my hotel.  When I got to my room, my first priority was taking a hot bath.

I had a ton of post-race food, but I only ate a fraction of it.  It was already 3:00 when I got back to my room, and I was planning to have dinner at 5:30.

I had dinner with several of my squeaker friends.  When I looked at a map, it didn’t seem like the restaurant was that far away.  It was about a mile, which was a long way to walk after finishing a marathon.  We were talking well into the evening.

Tuesday, April 22

I flew home on Tuesday.  In the airport, I saw several other runners wearing their Boston Marathon shirts or jackets.  Some were still wearing their medals 

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:49:07

Average Pace:  8:44 per mile

First Half:  1:55:15

Second Half:  1:53:52

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  543

Boston Qualifiers:  178

World Marathon Majors:  28 (14 Boston, 6 Chicago, 4 NYC, 2 Berlin, London, Tokyo)