Race Review – Boston 2016

The Boston weather forecast was very good – about 58F and light-moderate headwinds of 10-15 mph. When Brigitte (my daughter, running her 4th) and I (running my 8th) arrived at the Athletes Village, she reminded me that we were 26.2 miles from Boston, and that the cool temps in Boston were not what we would have in Hopkinton. It was almost 70F for wave 1, and crested a little over 70 by the time we hit Wellesley. The sun and headwinds made it really tough for everyone, and most folks (particularly the later waves) did a bigger positive split than usual because of the weather. If you look at the BAA site, the race recap starts with “Near perfect conditions greeted the 27,491 runners who lined up in Hopkinton for the 120th running of the Boston Marathon: temperatures in the low ’60s; no humidity; a gentle, cooling breeze.” Not sure which Hopkinton they were at, but in the corral I was standing in, it was far from “near perfect.” I tried to adjust the race plan to accommodate the higher temps, and overall it went very well. End result – 1:32-ish first half and 1:37-ish second half for a net time of 3:09:38, which was my best Boston ever, by over 7 minutes – very happy with the performance, and very grateful. 2817th overall, 27th in my age group, and first 55-59 finisher from Ohio.