Boston Run TEAM

Sunday June 26th was the inaugural 13.1 Boston Half Marathon and 5K held in Canton, MA.  The race course is about 10 miles south of Boston in Canton MA, so don’t be fooled by the name, you don’t get to run through Boston.  This new race rolls through the scenic Blue Hills on a tree lined course with some killer hills tucked in. 

My overall impression of the race course is that it was very challenging.  It’s challenging because of the amount of hills and the steepness which I would not call rolling by any means.  There are big hills at miles 5, 7, & 10-12.  (Check out the elevation profile here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3839434).  The only other gripe I had about the race is that the coordinators didn’t seem prepared for the number of runners.  I say this because they started to run out of cups at the water stations, which on a muggy June morning, hydration is crucial.  This meant that the runners at the back of the 3,000 field didn’t receive water along the way.

Looking past these first-time-race-flaws - it turned out to be a great mid training check in point for me because I’m in training for the Newport RI marathon in October.  I’m hoping to run a sub 4 hour marathon so I set my goal for the Boston 13.1 half for anything under 2 hours.  After a sprint to the finish, I came in at 1:59:42.  Even after running up some serious hills (goal crushing hills!) I was able to achieve my goal and PR (by 15 minutes!).

As tough as this half marathon was and despite its first year flaws, I think it’s a really great event and course run by a fun organization.  I’ll be definitely be back next year to conquer the hills again!