For many runners, participating in the Boston Marathon is a big bucket list item. The Boston Marathon is the oldest and longest-running annual marathon in the world. It’s also incredibly hard to qualify for, with some of the most stringent qualifying times of any marathon. For example, for the 2024 marathon, 18-34-year-old female runners had to run a marathon in under 3 hours and 30 minutes to qualify. However, because so many runners qualified and applied in 2024, runners actually had to run a marathon in under 3 hours and 25 minutes to get invited!
Plus, the Boston Marathon is a fun and unique marathon where runners run from Hopkinton, a small town 26 miles from Boston, to Boston, passing picturesque towns, the Wellesley campus, and thousands of cheering spectators along the way. Because the area has the day of the marathon off (the Boston Marathon takes place on a Monday), spectator attendance is incredible. Consequently, it’s no surprise that many runners, including myself, dream of participating. And on April 15, 2024, I was lucky enough to participate.
With that participation, came some big lessons learned that I believe are helpful for runners hoping to participate in any marathon. I’m excited to share the things I learned and provide some fun, insider insights into what it’s like to run this prestigious marathon.
Lesson #1. The Training Process is Also a Marathon
No matter the marathon you are training for, I highly recommend following a training plan. I go over my favorite training plans in my guide to running a marathon. Following a training plan and building a good foundation is especially important if you are new to marathons or are running a difficult marathon.
For the Boston Marathon, I embarked on the most intense training plan I ever attempted. I started training 9 months before the marathon. I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. as a training marathon and followed the Nike training plan for that marathon (which I’ve followed numerous times before). Once I completed that marathon, I gave myself a few weeks off and then started the Boston Marathon 20-week training plan. I did sort of a combo of the Level 2 and Level 3 plans, which involved running 5 times a week for around 40 miles in total. Plus, I strength trained 6 times a week and stretched daily.
It probably goes without saying that I wasn’t always motivated to run or workout during that 9 months. There were many days that I majorly resented signing up for the marathon. What I learned is that I shouldn’t expect to always be motivated. Rather, I just needed to have a plan and stick to it. Just like the marathon, I needed to put one foot in front of the other.
So if you lose motivation while marathon training, never fear! It’s common to do so. Your motivation will eventually come back. Focus on developing a plan, scheduling your runs in your calendar, and sticking to the plan like you would for brushing your teeth each day. And you can check out my post on rediscovering your motivation if you want tips to help inspire you.
Prepare for Marathon Morning
It’s important to start your marathon off on the right foot. Ba-doom-ch! Sorry, bad joke. But that horrible pun is still true. You can make or break your marathon experience depending on how you prepare in the hours before your marathon starts. And the later your marathon starts, the more careful you have to be about preparing.
Lesson #2. Get a Good Sleep
This is easier said than done, I know. However, over 8 marathons, I’ve found a few strategies that have majorly helped me sleep before a marathon.
First, if you’ll be traveling to a different time zone, give yourself a few days before the marathon to acclimate if possible. Second, don’t try to go to bed early unless you’re confident you can fall asleep. Going to bed early NEVER works for me. Even if I have to get up earlier than usual, I stick with my normal bedtime so I don’t risk lying awake feeling stressed and getting even less sleep than I otherwise would.
Third, pretend the marathon isn’t the next day. I tell myself before bed that tomorrow is a regular day and that the marathon is the following day. I also encourage my friends and family to not bring the marathon up too much the day before. This may sound silly, but it actually works to calm my nerves and take some of the pressure off.
Fourth, lay out everything you need for the next morning. Have your outfit in the bathroom, meal prep your breakfast to the extent possible, and have your sunscreen, gels, and anything else you need at the ready. Knowing you can just get up and go can help quell those anxious voices in your head that are wondering if you forgot anything or if you’ll have enough time in the morning.
Lesson #3. Practice Your Morning Fueling Ahead of Time
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And there’s perhaps no day where it’s more important than marathon morning. Given that the majority of marathons happen in the morning, breakfast will generally be the only meal you eat before your race.
Figuring out the right marathon morning breakfast involves a lot of practice. You want something easy to digest and that provides adequate carbs and calories.
Plus, most of us are plagued by nerves the morning of the big race. Anxiety tends to disrupt our digestion. As a result, we might have less appetite than usual, tummy troubles, and the frequent bathroom breaks that are familiar to many marathon runners the morning of the race. So you want a meal that will still be appealing and not exacerbate those tummy troubles.
Towards that end, avoid foods with lots of fat or fiber. Many people, including myself, have success with quick-cooking oatmeal, a bagel or toast and peanut butter, or breakfast bars. Most commonly, I’ll have oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter and a handful of frozen raspberries mixed in (they help cool the oatmeal down and seamlessly mix in with the oatmeal for those who don’t like chunks).
I also drink a small coffee the morning of the marathon to give me a caffeine boost. Whatever you pick, try out your breakfast on your practice long-runs to make sure you can digest it well.
My Boston Marathon Breakfast
The Boston Marathon is uniquely hard to fuel for. In 2024, more than 30,0000 runners and volunteers participated in the marathon. Because the marathon starts 26 miles from Boston, all those participants took shuttles from Boston to Hopkinton. Unsurprisingly, that takes hours. So I didn’t even start running until 10:50am and that was after a 45 minute shuttle and over a mile of walking from place to place.
Moreover, because I traveled for the marathon, I couldn’t prepare my own breakfast. To fuel, I got a small coffee and my usual oatmeal from a local cafe about 4 hours beforehand. I also brought 2 Luna bars with me and ate those 45 minutes before the race. I find that, for me, Luna bars are easy to digest and contain enough sugar and protein to keep me fueled for quite awhile. Between my breakfast and snack, I felt adequately fueled before the marathon.
Lesson #4. Bring Layers
Unless it will be a warm morning, you’ll likely want to plan to bring layers. Marathon morning often involves a lot of standing around (or waiting in line for the bathroom). Shivering uses up a lot of energy. Plus, the cold stiffens muscles and slows blood flow. All of this is not ideal for your marathon start.
Consequently, do a little research to figure out whether a gear drop-off station is available at the marathon start and where it will be located. Alternatively, you can bring layers that are easy to shed and store. I love my running sleeves that I can easily roll up and put in a pocket or running pack. For blustery days, I use my REI Flash jacket that folds down into its own running belt. While my particular jacket is no longer available, Hoka makes a similar one.
Portable handwarmers can also make for an easy option to stay warm. You might even bring a few extras to pass out and make friends at the start line.
Finally, don’t forget to apply sunscreen before your marathon!
My Layering Game for the Boston Marathon
Unfortunately for me (and every other race participant), the Boston Marathon doesn’t have a gear check at the start line. If you want to wear layers before the race, you have to either race with those layers, donate them, or throw them away. I didn’t know about this before coming to Boston. Luckily I brought an old rain jacket with me that I wasn’t devastated to donate. Still, it was very inconvenient to have to give it away. I also always wear a baseball hat to keep the sun out of my eyes and keep me a bit warmer on my runs.
More prepared individuals brought ponchos or garbage bags they could wear and toss or old clothes they purposely planned to donate. Some people even brought comfy shoes to wear before the marathon start and then donate after they changed into their racing shoes. However, one unfortunate individual accidentally lost one of her racing shoes before the marathon start!
Lesson #5. Coordinate with Your Family and Friends Ahead of Time
If you have friends and family who will be spectating, make sure they have downloaded any available race tracking apps the day before. Plan out where they hope to spectate so that you can look out for them and wave for any photo opps. And discuss where you’ll meet after the race. If possible, specify street intersections or landmarks.
Family meeting areas are often large and crowded. So it is rarely enough to say you’ll meet them in one of those zones. Plus, you don’t want to wander around or shout into your phone through the noise at the finish line because you can’t find your family. Another pro tip is to use Find My Friends and turn on your locator. That way your friends and family can find you if you’re having trouble locating one another.
When I finished the Boston Marathon, my feet were so sore I had to sit down as soon as I found an open spot. Luckily, my family was able to find me with the “Find My” app. I promptly had a minor medical emergency (more on that later), so it was nice they found me easily.
Lesson #6. Reframe Your Marathon “Win”
Remember that just getting to the start line is a win. Indeed, when I trained for the Boston Marathon, I ran 5 times a week for 20 weeks. That meant that the marathon itself was 1 out of 100 runs I did solely for the purpose of the Boston Marathon. Plus, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon to train for the Boston Marathon. If I counted all those runs, the marathon was an even smaller percentage of my training. I like to think of the marathon as a celebration of all your hard training work. No matter the numbers, it’s a huge accomplishment to participate.
Plus, the route, weather, number of fueling stations, and so much more are outside of your control. All of these can make a big difference in your running times.
How I “Won” the Boston Marathon
Because of that, I prefer to let go of any goals to get a certain time. Instead, I base my perception of “winning” on things that are more in my control. For the Boston Marathon, I initially hoped to PR. I trained harder for Boston than any other marathon. And, indeed, I ran the first half of Boston faster than any other marathon. However, I let go of the desire to PR a couple of weeks before the marathon when I learned I wouldn’t even be starting until 10:50am. The day also ended up being hot and humid. Given those conditions, I knew I had little chance of beating my personal best time.
Instead, my goal became to finish and to high-five as many kids as I could. By the end of the race, I high-fived well over 100 kids. I even went out of my way to high-five kids who were inconvenient to get to and so hadn’t received as many high-fives. It made for a much more enjoyable race for me and hopefully for them as well!
Lesson #7. Run Your Own Marathon Race
Few people run marathons who are not driven and at least a little bit intense. Consequently, it’s no surprise that many of us compare ourselves to others on the marathon course. I know I have often been tempted to run faster than I should because I want to “beat” someone who is running a similar pace. However, a marathon is a horrible time to do that. For one thing, it’s important to keep a sustainable pace so that you don’t burn out.
For another, a marathon is a great example of why we should have an abundance mindset. With marathons, few people care who wins or loses. Anyone who finishes or, really, anyone who trains for a marathon is incredibly accomplished. We all receive the same medal and banana at the end of the race. Your time and mental health will likely be better if you focus on enjoying your own race and don’t compare yourself to others.
I noticed this when running the Seattle Marathon in 2022. For a long time, I ran near another female runner. For much of that time I felt jealous of her. I actively wished that I could be as fast as her and run as easily as her. After 5 or 6 miles, I told myself to stop focusing on her and to focus on my own race. I ended up finishing second in my division and qualifying for the Boston Marathon. It turned out I was a great runner too. By not comparing myself to others, I could focus on running my own race and becoming the runner I could be.
Lesson #8. Overhydrating Is Just as Dangerous as Underhydrating
I mentioned above that I had a minor medical emergency. That medical emergency was likely partially the result of overhydrating. Both overhydrating and underhydrating are bad for your health. On the dehydration side, you can experience symptoms like dizziness, light-headedness, headache, and fatigue.
Overhydration is rare, but most often happens in athletes. The problem with overhydration is that it causes your sodium concentrations to become too low. This is exacerbated in athletes who have been sweating out electrolytes, including sodium. Symptoms of overhydration include vomiting, nausea, muscle cramps and spasms, headaches, and confusion.
My Boston Marathon Experience with Overhydration
Because the day was hot, I drank water or Gatorade at every hydration station. Often I drank multiple cups. To be fair, I was truly thirsty. However, that much liquid with that much sweating meant that my electrolytes were likely super low. Plus, by the end of the marathon my stomach was sloshing a lot.
The real issues happened when I went to the bathroom after the marathon finish. Imagine the grossest porta potty you’ve ever been in. I’ll be vague, but almost very possible human fluid was in that porta potty. I don’t throw up often, but in that moment I threw up a lot. Likely from overhydration and the grossness of the moment. Suddenly my already low electrolytes became even lower.
Plus, when people experience physical or mental stress and are exposed to blood (which was one of the fluids in the porta potty), they can experience a drop in blood pressure and heart rate. I experienced that. My lips turned blue, I felt groggy, my head was cold, mouth was dry and I probably should have sought medical attention. Instead, I went back to my hotel, rested, ate a little, and luckily felt better after a couple hours.
There are a few lessons learned here. First, fueling is super important during your marathon, not just before and after. I relied on Gatorade for my electrolytes. However, given the hotness of the day and the strenuousness of the marathon, I should have also been consuming electrolytes in food form. Second, don’t hydrate just for the sake of hydrating. During a marathon, only drink when you are thirsty. Third, make sure you and your family know the signs of dehydration and overhydration and seek medical attention if needed.
Final Thoughts on Boston Marathon Lessons Learned
Running the Boston Marathon was an incredible experience. I feel so lucky to have participated. It was also an incredibly difficult experience. I focused on 8 key lessons learned here. However, it’s hard to fully capture all I experienced in a single post. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that marathons are always incredibly rewarding and boundary pushing. I believe that anyone can run a marathon as long as you want to and are willing to put in a heck of a lot of time and effort.
I hope this inspired you to pursue your own fitness goals, whatever they may be! And if you’re running a marathon or hoping to in the future, I hope my lessons learned are helpful for you. Are you planning on running a marathon? Or want to run one in the future? Do you have a particular marathon you’re thinking about? Anything you’d like to know about? Or tips you’ve found helpful for running a race? Let me know in the comments!
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