It’s hard not to write a 10 page novel about my experience with this race…..

I arrived in Boston from Chicago on Friday Morning. I was staying downtown at the Marriot Copley Hotel with my Fleet Feet team. The conveyance of this hotel was KEY. .3 miles from the Expo and 1 block away from the finish line on Boylston street. Getting to the Hotel from the airport was a breeze. The Logan Express runs a special buss shuttle service during the marathon week which picks passengers up at each Airport Terminal and for $5 will drop you off at the Expo or at Copley Square. Lucky for us our hotel was wedged right in the middle of the two.

If you are like me and you want to soak up everything that the city has to offer pre marathon then go earlier rather than later. Leaving Friday I knew I would have more time to walk around and enjoy all the events and buzz that was going on and still have plenty of time to rest and recover for the big race Monday morning.

After we got to the hotel and dropped out bags off we realized, did a quick shake out run, and headed over to the expo which opened its doors at 2PM on Friday. The process here was super smooth and easy. One spot for packet and number pick up, one room for t shirts then the expo itself was on another floor. We had all our stuff within 10 minutes, due to short lines on opening day, so I would certainly go sooner rather than later if you can, I have heard so me horror stories of people who have gone at the wrong time and have waited in line for hours. While the expo itself was nic, it was nothing special, much smaller than what I was expecting and everything was tightly bunch together, so with a heavy crowed it could be very uncomfortable. Also your runner passport is very important here you NEED it to get your bi, the line for replacement passports was VERY long and not a line I would want to wait in. All in all the packet pick up was a piece of cake.

The rest of the weekend the town is ALIVE with the BAA 5 K and invitation Mile, the weather was beautiful and there was just so much going on. I have never sensed more excitement in a city for a race than here in Boston. Runners and Running fans are just EVERYWHERE.

Fast forward to race day, I cant speak much of how the bussing and gear check went because I was with a private group, which was the way to go.

Be prepared to wait in the cold however if you take the free shuttles out to Hopkinton. The race starts at 10 am which people seem to forget about, I know I did for awhile. So if you are in a later corral or wave you are up very early just to sit and wait for a few hours, and this year was cold windy and rainy.

Also the walk from the Village to the Start is about .75 miles so don’t warm up to much because it’ll take you about 45 minutes just to get to the start line.

One thing that is great about this race is it is point to point so you see a lot of the area. Hopkinton all the way through Downtown Boston, you really see the small towns progress into a major metropolis. And there are fans every step of the way. 1, 2,3, 6 rows deep sometimes and they just get louder and louder and crazier the closer you get to downtown.

Water and aid stations ate every mile, which is huge for such a big race, and they provided them staggered on the left and right side of the street so you don’t bottleneck the course. One thing I thought was cool was that every mile and K was painted into the street divider lines.

I wont give away much more of what the race is actually like because everything you hear about it from past participant’s is true, the fans to the hills, to the experience. I will say though the second Hill is much worse than Heartbreak. If you can crest Hill #2 you’re good to go for the rest of the race. They should warn you more about the downhill that’s what’s going to get you.

There was no better feeling than turning onto Boylston and seeing that finish line banner. It looks a lot father away after 26 miles so be prepared it’s still along stretch, so don’t try to start sprinting when you make that turn, really soak it in.

The finisher’s chute is the same as any other, pick up medal, get warmth blanket, food food and more food then reunite with your family. The volunteers are spectacular and the fans in this city are amazing, unlike any other.

I can easily see why runners return year after year after year for this race.

No matter where you come from for this race, you are considered a local, family, part of Boston once you cross that finish line.

This was my first Shamrock Shuffle, and after missing it last year I was overly excited to be able to run it this year.

I did not attend the expo - I had someone else grab my packet for me which was a breeze from what I was told - but I will say that they gave me the wrong T shirt size which I was really bummed about when i went through my packet.

Race day was a bit ominous it started out with a beautiful sun rise but we all knew what was in store for us in the coming hours. Wind and Rain....

I was station in the Elite corral and we were told to go one way touches the Elite tent but the "security Guards" wouldn't let us access the tent the way that was drawn out on a map for us and we had to go all the way around the park to get into the area, so that was a little frustrating. I assume that they just didn't understand that people were allowed to walk through that way. But walking thought the park everything was clearly labeled. It was done in the same size scale as the Chicago Marathon, which gave me chills walking thought all of that again.

That is one cool thing about this course, you stay all downtown and the start and finish are identical to the start and finish of the marathon course. I didn't realize the magnitude and size of the race until the actual race day. With that being said...this leads me to some of my complaints about the race, and they are a bit superficial, t shirt and medals... were not up to par. The race medal is something we all cherish as a token of a hard race completed, this medal looked like it was something that cost $2 to make. IT wasn't even a real medal, and the T shirts seemed to be done last minute as well. As a creative guy I am a bit more critical of these aspects.

The race overall though was a blast, besides from the weather, the course was clean, the spectators were visitors, the course was perfect ( flat with a few steps uphills to wake you up), aid stations (2) were plentiful, and as always the volunteers were so ENERGETIC! Especially in the finishers shoot.

I would absolutely recommend this race to a friend. It is a great race to kick off the spring season with and to shake off all of those winter cobwebs.