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Boston Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Boston Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.6 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 4.9
Number of comments: 418 [displaying comments 271 to 281]
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E. B. from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
(4/24/2006)
"I had a blast!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Boston completely lived up to my expectations! I don't think I need to get into details. It was only my second marathon, but I doubt any race will ever match the feeling of running Boston for the first time. The only hiccup, and this has nothing to do with the race and the organization, was the hotel (Hyatt Boston). To my great surprise and disappointment, I was unable to take a warm bath or shower after the race. The hotel ran out of hot water. I complained, but all I received was half-hearted apologies. I plan to come back next year, but will definitely stay elsewhere. | |
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Joe Allen from Toronto, ON
(4/24/2006)
"Simply the best!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Boston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It's true - words can't do it justice. Just a word to qualifier hopefuls: It's worth every Advil, every piece of ice, every early morning, late night, track workout, hill repeat... everything you have to do to get there. | |
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K. S. from Kansas
(4/23/2006)
"~Boston 2006 - The Best One Yet~" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 Boston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my third Boston Marathon and was the best one yet! I loved every step of the historic 26.2 miles! Truly a day to be remembered for a long time! I was only off of my PR by 44 seconds; I will take it considering the challenging course! Thanks to all the volunteers, spectators, and runners that make this THE BEST marathon!!! I LOVE BOSTON... and I will definitely be back for more!!! | |
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S. P. from Virginia
(4/23/2006)
"Fabulous, but need to figure out the wave start" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Boston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Boston is an INCREDIBLE race! All the positive comments previously posted are so true. Every marathon runner needs to experience this at least once - you feel like an Olympian! The fans, the course - every detail makes it an unforgettable experience. This is my second Boston Marathon and I only have 2 negative comments for this year. The first is that the Gatorade Endurance was awful! Boy did it do a number on my stomach! Bring on the port-o-pots! Many other runners I know experienced the same thing - better to stick with what's tried and true in such a big event. My only other gripe was the new 2-wave start. While it may seem like a good idea, 30 minutes was not enough time for the starting corrals to empty and re-fill with 10,000+ runners. I started in the 2nd wave and when the gun went off, I was still 4 corrals back from where I was supposed to start. I ended up pushing through people and running up the side to the correct corral and then was not allowed inside because it was too full. Four friends and I ended up jumping over the fence once people started moving 4-5 minutes after the gun went off. The two athlete's villages was a great idea - no problem with port-o-pot lines and plenty of room to move. All in all a wonderful experience I will never forget! Thank you Boston! Oh and next year please get better post-race food - honestly, who can eat potato chips after running... and no bagels!? | |
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C. M. from Denver, CO
(4/22/2006)
"GREAT course + crowd, but XXL t-shirts??" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Boston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is my 2nd Boston, and I must say that I had SO much fun this year. The crowd is amazing, the aid stations were perfectly organized, the medal is very cool, and the course is challenging but scenic and well planned. Warning: do not let the enthusiasm of being at THE Boston Marathon, the downhill start in the first few miles, and the awesome cheering crowd result in a too-fast start. You WILL pay for it later if you do. Tip: wear a shirt with your name/nickname on it. The crowd loves that! I smiled so much my cheeks hurt. What a great party all along the course! There were actually a few problems with this race: The S/M-size commemorative t-shirts were GONE by early Sunday afternoon. There were PLENTY of Large and XL, even XXL's left. But my question is: How many runners are THAT big?? And the second problem is: We showed up at the pre-race pasta feed at the "recommended" time (from our instruction sheet) only to find a huge line where we'd have to wait about 1-1.5 HOURS before we could actually get inside the building for the food, and quite likely that there would be no place to sit indoors once we got our food. SO, we paid the $13 cab fair back to our hotel and found a restaurant there to eat at. (A $26 lesson for another year. DON'T try to go to the pre-race dinner you paid for already.) And, just like my previous Boston, the post-race goody bag was lackluster: a bag of chips, a yogurt, a banana, a bottle of water, and not much else. (Houston has an excellent post-race feed, in comparison. Way to go!) Overall, though, Boston is one AWESOME race!!! | |
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G. C. from Los Angeles, CA
(4/21/2006)
"Boston pleases again..." (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Boston Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 2006 was my third consecutive Boston. All three years have been uniformly positive. The expo is a quick in-and-out, or spend hours shopping, whichever you want. Pasta dinner was a breeze at 7 p.m. or so; although it's not elegant, it was tasty and there's free Harpoon. Both MUCH better than NYC, which had hideously long lines to get in to both. I boarded the race-morning bus at about 8:30 after a wait of only a few minutes and got to Hopkinton about 9:30. Despite having several hours to deal with "issues," some LOSERS still decided that peeing in someone's back yard was a better idea than standing in line at the Village outhouses. It only took me 15 minutes or so to get through the lines at 10:30. Weather was perfect this year, after enduring last year's marginal temps (70's), and the horrifying heat of 2004 (85 degrees, torture even for this So-Cal boy). The crowd was fantastic as always, the whole way. Kudos to the band belting out "Cinnamon Girl" at the entrance to Natick. Wellesley and BC kids were GREAT as usual. I ran my fastest-ever Boston this year in 3:08, also my fastest time on any course in the last several years. I credit much of this to the roar of the crowd. You're the best. One minor complaint: I object to the under-rather-than-over crossing of Mass Ave. at mile 25. That's pain I didn't need that close to the end. Change the route back to the way it was. Since I'm now qualified again, see you next year! | |
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J. Z. from Camden SC
(4/20/2006)
"Celebrate the Experience" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Boston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 How do I describe the 2006 Boston Marathon, my first: Three simple words seem to capture it all... the ones every runner lives to say: I finished Boston! Monday April 17, 2006, I joined over 21,000 runners representing 94 countries and 56 US states and territories for the 110th running of the Boston Marathon. The weather was perfect. Running my first Boston Marathon I was only 3 minutes short of qualifying again and my finish represented my third fastest marathon time. I understand now why Boston is so very special, why the Boston Marathon is considered the pinnacle of the sport. The field of runners at Boston represents the some of the most elite in the world ranging from Olympic marathon champions to ordinary people like me. Across Boston an Adidas advertisement, posted on everything from billboards to buses, puts into perspective how runners feel about Boston: Reason No. 2006, The three words every runner lives to say: "I finished Boston!" Impossible is nothing! For me running a marathon is fundamentally a contest, body and mind versus terrain and weather. Boston is a course that is to be respected. Flat rolling hills and downhill stretches lull runners into running fast early, then the Newton Hills at around mile 16 and the infamous Heartbreak Hill at 21 bring you back to reality. The crowd was the overwhelming and inspiring memory of my experience. They were over 10-deep at the start and it seemed like they were shoulder-to-shoulder for entire 26.2 miles all the way into Boston. I thought the crowd would end, but it never did! I ran down the right side of the course giving high fives for almost half the course, then switched sides when I hit Boston because my arm was tired. Congratulations to the girls of Wellesley College; their cheering and support around halfway through the race lived up to their legend - it was incredible. There were literally thousands of men, woman, and so many children lining the course reaching out, cheering, and giving away everything from cold towels, water, and bananas, to orange slices just to help the runners go. It was such a tremendous celebration of the individual, the athlete, even for most of us amateurs. They made us all feel like we were all world-class athletes! It was simply incredible to have all those people cheering for us! We couldn't help but run fast. With one mile left in the race my cell phone rang. The caller asked, "John, where are you?" Trying to yell above the roar of the crowd, I responded, "I am at mile 25 of the Boston Marathon." The caller, my sons' HS soccer coach in SC, couldn't hear me, so I tried to let him know the boys weren't going to make practice at 5:30 - "We're in Boston, so they won't be there" and hung up as I rounded the last turn - and there was the finish line. Mile 25 of the Boston Marathon, the finish line is now in sight, and thousands of cheering Bostonians all around. Above the din: Three simple words... the ones every runner lives to say.... I finished Boston! A course record was set on Monday April 17th by one second, but for me and most of the other 19,688 finishers, that didn't matter. Whether it was the first time at Boston or the 25th, whether a PR was run or Heartbreak Hill, each reached the pinnacle of their chosen sport. Each runner, a winner, could say those three simple words: "I finished Boston!" | |
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S. P. from St. Louis
(4/20/2006)
"Wow... what an event!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Boston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The people, the city, and the race were all awesome! I have not run a race yet that can contend with the support and excitement generated by the spectators throughout the race (not even Chicago). If you qualify, don't miss this opportunity and remember to respect the hills! | |
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K. M. from Detroit, Michigan
(4/20/2006)
"steeped in tradition" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Boston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The course is challenging, but that is only to be expected. The fans were great. The two things that disappointed me were 1) lack of appropriate sizes for marathon memorabilia (everyone wants something - surely after 110 years, they should know that medium is the most popular size) 2) lack of refreshments at the finish line - I finished halfway through the field, and only PowerBars, potato chips and bananas were available (with water). They had run out of everything else! No apples, oranges, bagels, etc. The people who ran the 3-mile race the morning before got more post-race food than the marathoners! | |
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R. C. from Tucson, AZ
(4/19/2006)
"Nobody Does It Better" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Boston Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my first BM. I've been running for a little more than three years now, and finally reached this milestone. Set a PR too! But enough about me. Everything they say about this race was true. Great course: Have I run prettier? Sure, Tahoe springs to mind, but it is not nearly as well supported. But the course keeps you on your toes, with never a dull moment. I guess just one small point illustrates how well organized this marathon is. When I finished, I got draped with the standard space blanket. Then I was given a small sticker to hold the blanket across my shoulders. Wow! Its those little details that set this race apart. Best of all: the city of Boston and surronding towns and their wonderful spectators. Louder than Chicago, more involved than any other, more orange slices and little cups of water being held by little kids than any other (except maybe Portand, says my wife). Great, great people! Wonderful energy. I'll be back... |
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