Boston Marathon 2025 Recap

Boston Marathon 2025 recap

Date: April 21, 2025

How far? 26.2 miles

Finish time: 3:40:59

Weather was perfect light winds sun upper 50s

This was my 6th time running the Boston marathon. 

I also ran in 2003, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2024

The city of Boston embraces marathon weekend like no other place I have ever been.  The entire city is buzzing with anything and everything running.  30,000 runners and their families come to town all to run, cheer and take in all things Boston for the weekend. It is a place where the most elite runners all come to run.  It is such an honor to be a part of this race.  I always feel like I don’t belong there with the fastest people.  To think we get to run in the same event as the best marathoners in the world is unbelievable.  It is the only sport where professionals and regular athletes race together. I am humbled to have made it to the start line here 6 times.  It is something I never ever take for granted.  I always feel so privileged that I get to compete in this marathon.

The race is unique because it is held on Patriots Day every year which is a Monday.  It also has a start time of 10am.  The race course is a point to point course that starts in Hopkinton and runs through 8 towns to get you to Boston where the finish is.  Runner are bused on school buses from Boston out to Hopkinton the morning of the race.  Moving 30,000 runners on school buses (it’s an hour ride) to the start is NO small feat! They do an amazing job of getting everyone to the start and this is why the race has a later start time because runners actually start leaving the city at 6:30am to be there on time. 

The runners are all brought to a high school field that they call the Athletes Village where there are thousands of port-a-lets and you and the thousands of other runners wait.  There is music and a DJ directing everyone. The bibs are color coded by acceptance time and they are very strict about who goes at what time. Once they announce your bib color you begin the approximate 1 mile walk to the finish.  We all line up in the corals.  You stand shoulder to shoulder with everyone as the music blasts and you wait for your coral to begin running.  It’s exciting!  The energy is HIGH! People are chatting about the race talking about nerves and preparation.

Finally, it’s our time to run!!!

The first 6 miles of Boston are mainly downhill. Sounds like a dream right? It is not!  It’s fairly steep and forces you to run faster than you should to start.  Remember you’re in a sea of thousands of runners all sweeping you forward.  It is a careful balance between holding back and letting the hills help you.  Because I have experience and have run this course before I knew that you cannot “bank” time and run faster than to start and make up for later. There are far too many hills in Boston to do that.  And your quads will remind you at about mile 16 that it was a very bad idea!

My race goal was to start conservative and run a smart first half.  Once I got to the halfway mark if I was feeling good I would increase my pace about 10 seconds for each mile.  There are lots of rolling hills from mile 12-21 on the course.  They chip away at you because they are long (0.7miles) and relentless. I promised myself that this time I wanted to have my legs feel good at mile 20.  When I have run this in the past my legs have always felt like toast by the time I have gotten to mile 22. 

When I reached the halfway mark I checked in and things felt good I increased the pace slightly but I had run the first half a little faster than I planned so I decided it was best to stay steady and strong to mile 20.  Heartbreak hill is at mile 21 and it is no joke if you haven't prepared.  Mile 16 and 18 are also big hills so you have been doing a fair bit of climbing through the second half of the race.  The crowd in Boston is the most insane amazing and motivating bunch of die hard marathon fans you will ever meet!! Their energy will carry even the most tired runner to the finish.  They show up and cheer with an enthusiasm that is unrelenting from the start at 10am until the course closes at 5:30pm.  This is the first time I wrote my name on my bib.  The crowd was amazing they cheered and screamed my name it was definitely motivating and helped me push when things got hard.

At mile 22 I felt better than I had at any other Boston by this point, mind you I was hurting and my legs were feeling the miles now. I decided it was go big or go home.  I pushed hard to increase my pace and took it one mile at a time by this point. At mile 23 you see the famous Citco sign.  Finally getting closer to the finish.  Once you get right underneath is you are 1 mile away from the finish.  Getting to it feels like an eternity!! The crowd is going crazy screaming and is at least 12 people deep on both sides of the streets.  I was grinding hard and finally turn to go down a slight hill and under and underpass (the legs absolutely HATE me now) and I am so happy because the next turn is the famous right on Hereford  then left on Boylston street. This moment is pure MAGIC in running.  The crowd is nuts and you cannot hear anything other than the cheering.  I made the final left there 0.7 miles ahead is the finish! It’s the most satisfying moment to know that the end is in sight. Yet it feels oh so far away.  I decide to pull out every ounce of energy I can and push myself to my fastest mile!  As I was running this last stretch I looked around, I took in all the energy I could, put on a huge smile and crossed the finish line with my hands in the air!!! My second fastest Boston marathon time! It’s such an overwhelming feeling to run down Boylston street.  You feel Iike a star! It’s like the entire city is here cheering for you and you alone.  

After you cross the finish line there are runners taking photos everywhere. Everyone is sharing stories and taking photos of each other.  The ushers push you through and have you walk a few blocks You are handed water and a space blanket. A little farther down you get the coveted medal.  It is a beauty this year!!  

My nutrition was on point this time.  I got up at 5:30am had a bagel and two hard boiled eggs with coffee and LMNT.  Then UCAN energy powder in the car at 9:00am heading to the start. I ate 3 UCAN energy gels on the course and 1 package of Honey stinger blocks. The first gel was one hours and 30 minutes in then every 45 minutes or so.  I drank water only at the water stations at mile 3,6,9,12,15,18, 23.  This is always a tough race to plan food because of the start time but it worked well for me.

I also walked back to the hotel after the race which was 1.5 miles. I ha a quick shower then used the Normatech legs that I brought with me for about 45 minutes to an hour.  All of this was important because I have never felt better after this race.  Normally I am super sore and can’t walk without looking funny ( when you go back in to the city the next day you can always pick out who the runners are from their obvious limping LOL) I have very little soreness which I was very happy about as well.  

It was a fantastic day that I will treasure! Now it is time to rest a bit. Run easy and get ready for fall racing :) I am so grateful that I get to do this!  

For me running is a gift. I plan to keep showing up and doing it for as long as I can