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Boston or Mass Pods?

Discussion in 'USA' started by Matt01, Apr 7, 2014.

  1. Matt01

    Matt01 Member


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    Hi All,
    Are there any Boston or Massacheusetts based Pod's on here? I am heading over to Boston for the marathon in a couple of weeks time and was just wondering if any one had any tips or features that we should make an effort to go and see while we're there. We get in on the 18th of April and head out on the 23rd. I will be travelling with my wife and young boys aged 6 & 9, who are both really looking forward to it.

    If anyone has some experience with the course that info would be fantastic too. I haven't been able to speak with anyone that's run it before, so most of my info has come from mile-by-mile descriptions and blogs from other runners. I have been training in a Queensland, Australian summer, which is hot and humid to the Boston spring (which is colder than our middle of winter). Any info would be greatly appreciated as I'm hoping to finish in a time 2:5x:xx if all goes well.

    Cheers
    Matt
     
  2. vlbarc

    vlbarc Welcome New Poster

    Hi Matt - I am not a pod or a runner but I live near Boston and have a friend also from Boston who runs the Marathon every year. If you PM your email addy I will have him reach out to you. Good luck in the race.

    -Vicky
     
  3. Dananberg

    Dananberg Active Member

    Don't miss the Duck Boat rides which leave from the Copley area. These are amphibious crafts which ride through the city and then across the Charles River. Great history lessons and if you get a good driver....a very fun experience. You will need reservations so look on-line.

    Boston has great sites as well. For your kids, the Science Museum is wonderful. Lots of neighborhoods with fun eating (Chinatown, North End for Italian, Faneuil Hall for just about anything). Red Sox may even be playing (check their schedule) and you can always get tickets at Ace Tickets. Harbor boat cruises are also available along with the world class Boston Aquarium. You will have a great time.

    Howard
     
  4. Like Howard said, Boston is a great place to visit. There is so much history in Boston, (if you are a fan of American history) that you can spend a whole week just going to historical sights, let alone the cool things that Howard also mentioned.

    Before I go to a city I've never visited, I go to the TripAdvisor website and look at the reviews of different attractions/museums/places/restaurants etc to make a tentative itinerary of places I might want to visit. Reading their user reviews is often helpful also. Here is the TripAdvisor sight for Boston.

    By the way, I ran the Boston marathon in 1979 during my senior year at the University of California at Davis, about five months before starting podiatry school at the California College of Podaitric Medicine in San Francisco. I was 22 years old then, and was very close to being in the best shape of my life for distance running.

    I had qualified for Boston in February 1979 with a 2:33:31 marathon at the first marathon ever held in Davis (the "Avenue of the Olives Marathon") where I took second place. I traveled to Boston for the marathon with a group of runners from a local running shoe store and spent about 5 days there before the marathon going to the many historic sites within the city. Boston is a great city.

    The night before the marathon, I went to Bill Rodger's running shoe store where I got to see Bill Rodgers up close (he won the race that year breaking the American record in 2:09:27). Bill was very polite and looked so measly and small surrounded by other runners in his store, but he was a real a**-kickin' runner at that time...Boston was his home field. Watch the video. Bill was dynamite that day!



    I started about 7 rows back from Bill Rodgers and the other elite runners since my 2:33 qualifying time put me just 15 feet behind the starting line, toward the front of the nearly half mile-long line of runners lined up to start for the race. It was cold and drizzly that day, 42 degrees but very little wind....perfect conditions to run a marathon in.

    Just before Wellesley College (an all-female college along the route where women are cheering for runners, 3-4 women deep, for a 400-500 yard stretch....called the "Scream Tunnel) at the halfway point of the race, I was passing runners and came upon a female runner that who was running a 5:45 mile pace along with me (I had never seen a female runner ahead of me in a race before up to that point). She was being paced by a male runner and I asked him who she was, since she obviously must have been very good to be running that fast.

    He said, "She's Joan Benoit." I said, "Oh, I've read about her. Cool!" (Joan won the Boston Marathon in 2:35:15 that year, demolishing the women's record, and then went on to win the Olympic marathon in Los Angeles in 1984).

    The funny thing about this incident was that since I was running just about 50 yards ahead of the first female runner once we got to Wellesley, I initially thought the female coeds that were lining the course were screaming at the top of their lungs for me. But, unfortunately, their screams were deafening because they saw Joan right behind me. All I know is that their screams probably took another 30 seconds per mile off my pace once I got out of the "Scream Tunnel" of Wellesley. I finished with a 2:31:33, my second fastest marathon ever.

    I have attached a photo of me not far from the finish line in the 1979 Boston Marathon. Even though this was 35 years ago, it seem like yesterday.

    Your memories of the Boston marathon will last forever, Matt. Enjoy every second of it.:drinks
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 22, 2016
  5. Looking good, Kirby.

    The one and only time in Boston was just prior to my beautiful daughter being born. It was November, cold and snowing. We did the duck tour which was great and "walked the revolution". We visited Harvard to try to absorb some intellect via osmosis. While we were there the Red Sox won their first World Series in yonks, so the place was partying. Made some paper aeroplanes with Kirby, Bartold and van Ghelluwe and we drank Martini's... can't remember much after that, strangely enough.:drinks
     
  6. Matt01

    Matt01 Member

    Many thanks Howard, I have been told about the duck tours. Didn't know how good they would be. We have gotten hold of some tickets for the Sox vs Orioles on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park which should be awesome. Haven't seen MLB before, but being a good Aussie boy I'll watch 2 fly race up a wall :)

    Thanks Simon, I too wanted to absorb some intellect from Harvard, but I might be on my own as I'm not sure the kids will want to head over there. In my undergrad days I spent a fair amount of time at the Uni of Queensland med library and museum, which is our oldest institution. Martinis with Simon and Kevin who'd a thought hey ;) :bang::drinks

    Huge thanks Kevin. I am only just beginning to get the idea of how big the Boston marathon is. I'm in the first wave but a bit further back as my BQ was nowhere near as good as yours :) but hoping to run well due to the atmosphere. The biggest event I've been in is the Gold Coast event, but the participants are spread across the 5, 10, half and full marathon. I'm finding it hard to get my head around running with 36,000 other runners. That picture is a beauty with the crowd so close. unfortunately the relaxed atmosphere of the spectators will be completely different this year after what what happened in 2013. Very strict security. Also looking forward to meeting you in Townsville in August this year

    Thanks
    Matt
     
  7. Matt:

    Good luck in Boston and see you in Townsville in August!:drinks
     
  8. Jkap

    Jkap Welcome New Poster

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