There's a reason people train for years (6 in my case) to run the Boston Marathon. After running my first in 2019, I can for sure say it's worth all the hard work. The race environment, incredible volunteers, and crowd support make the Boston Marathon what it is.

Pre-Race:
The atmosphere the couple days leading up to the race is incredible. Everywhere you go you see people rocking their celebration jackets. You can feel the excitement in the air.
The expo is top notch and bib number picket is very efficient due to the hard work of all the volunteers. I went late on Saturday with no wait to pick mine up. In both the expo and around town, there are a number of seminars and other events. I was able to see Meb speak at the Runner's World store.
I also attended the pre-race pasta dinner and even though I had to wait an hour to get in, thought it was worth it. The food was great and dinner is included in your registration. I would maybe suggestion registering for an earlier time to beat the rush.

Race Weather:
Despite calls for weather similar to 2018, the rain stopped prior to the start of the race and the temps were in the 60s. The sun peeked out at various times making it a little warmer than ideal. I saw multiple runners wearing long sleeves, jackets, and pants which I can't imagine how hot they were. Moral of the story is to pack for anything and keep an eye on the weather all the way up to race morning.

Race Course:
The gist of the race is that it is net downhill until around mile 16 then 4 big hills, the biggest being heartbreak hill around mile 20 or so, then back downhill to the finish. What makes Boston tough is not just the Newton hills, but the fact then even though the other portions are net downhill, they have rolling hills throughout. In addition, not only are there some steep inclines, especially in Newton, but also some pretty dramatic drops as well. Overall, I would rate the course as 3/5 on difficulty. If you pace yourself at the beginning, include a lot of hills in training and the weather cooperates, this can be a fast course. The difficult part is not coming out too fast due to the excitement of the race and the steep downhill right off the bat.

Race Atmosphere:
The atmosphere during the race is like no other. From the flyover at the beginning, to the scream tunnel at Wellesley, to the big finish line crowd, the whole experience is unforgettable. There were multiple points during the race where I felt exhausted, but the excitement of the crowd always picked me back up. It's easy to get sucked in to the competition, however it would be a mistake to not periodically look around and take it all in.

The course runs through 7 different towns with only the last mile or so being in Boston. Throughout the course there are very few dead spots. A vast majority of the time there are plenty of fans with some areas that are absolutely packed.

Takeaways:
Ultimately, there is a reason there is so much hype around Boston. It's awesome and well worth the effort of qualifying. Knowing what I do now, here are a few tips on what I would do different next time:
- I worked in a lot of hill repeats and did a number of my training runs on hilly terrain, but next time I would probably do even more. I would not just focus on the uphills, but the downhills as well as there are some pretty steep drops.
- Even though you are split up into waves and corrals, the start is going to be crowded. Better to start a little slower and conserve energy than to try to weave in and out of other runners. You'll need it for the end of the race.
- Water stations are set up on both sides of the road with one slight farther down than the other. Also the water stations are pretty long. With the number of runners, it is often a challenge to fight your way in, which can cost you time and energy. If there isn't a clear path to get water, I would either try to go down a little bit before cutting over, or I would work my way to the other side of the road.