On 15th April, I raced my second Boston Marathon. This being my 16th marathon (plus 4 lockdown virtuals) and 11th world marathon major.

Last year I raced the Boston Marathon 2023 and got my first taste of this special race weekend. I was fortunate enough to run a BQ in Boston but then improved on that by a further 5 minutes at the London Marathon 2023, meaning I was just shy of a 12 minute buffer. Feeling fairly confident with that buffer I booked the same accommodation in Arlington way back in July. My hope was to secure a place to stay before registration opened and bag a less expensive rate. Obviously covering myself with free cancellation just in case the cut-off time was insane.

I got into town late Friday evening so that I could collect my Boston Marathon 2024 Race Bib and check out the expo on the Saturday morning, leaving Sunday free from the stresses and crowds of the expo.

One of the highlights of Boston Marathon race weekend (for me) are the shakeout runs and brand activations. It feels like everyone is in town and putting on an event, shakeouts, pop-ups etc. There is so much to see and do and it can be quite easy to clock up the miles running the various Boston Marathon 2024 Shakeout Runs. In 2023 I did the Puma shakeout hosted by Kofuzi and a shakeout with Seth Demoor’s Demoor Global Running group.

This year, I opted for the Tracksmith Morning Shakeout run on the Saturday and Rabbit Shakeout hosted by Kofuzi on the Sunday. Both setting off from Newbury Street with hundreds of runners. There was certain a vibe around Newbury Street all weekend, this was where most of the brands had their pop-ups and shakeouts. Some of the shakeouts were that large they literally closed the street down.

After the Rabbit shakeout and a quick stop off at Lululemon to pick up a gift for my wife, I spent the rest of the afternoon back at the hotel relaxing and getting everything ready for the race and also packing my case as I was due to fly back to the UK after the race. I got my Boston Marathon 2024 Gear out ready and nutrition and hydration all prepared to make race morning less stressful. I like to take a photo of my race gear because I often put things away in the gear check bag then have a stress on race morning double checking I did actually put it in the bag. I do still have that stress that I have forgotten something but the photo does help a little. Plus the race day flat lay gets good likes on the socials and that’s the main thing…

Before every marathon these days I have a pizza the night before. In 2023 I had a Dominoes delivery to the hotel so that was my plan for 2024 but that hit a slight issue when I found out that the stores nearby don’t do deliveries now or at least online order with delivery. This wasn’t a big issue, it was a 20min walk to the nearest Dominoes in Davis Square. What harm can an extra 40mins of walking do if it means there is pizza at the end of it.

I ate the pizza back at the hotel, showered and was in bed for 9pm, alarm set for 4:15am.

Bag Drop & Bus to Hopkinton

On race day I woke at 4:15am which sounds really early but I hadn’t fully moved on to Eastern time, all weekend I had gone to bed between 8pm-9pm and woken between 4am-5am all with a view to making this wakeup and early start less impactful. I think this worked really well, I slept well all weekend, getting over 8hrs sleep including last night too.

Like many runners, I sometimes struggle to get to sleep the night before a race but last night I went straight out.

I had breakfast in my room, 2 pots of porridge oats with a 500ml bottle mixed with Maurten Drink Mix 320 Caf. Both added to the and maintaining the carb levels.

After checking out of the hotel at 5:15am, it was a 20min walk from Arlington to Davis Square where I took the Red Line T into Park Street which took 25mins.

The Park Street station is about a 10-15min walk across Boston Common and down Boylston Street to the gear check buses. The buses are set out dependant on your wave colour, Red, Blue, White or Yellow with a bus for each coral within each given wave. It was really simple to navigate and very few lines at 6:10am.

The Gear Check bag is where you can leave any items you don’t want to take with you to Athletes Village as there are no buses bring bags back from Hopkinton. I left a jacket, change of shirt, a drink, protein shake and power bank in my bag.

From the gear check buses it’s only a 5min walk back to Boston Common where you board the buses to Hopkinton.

I got in line around 6:15am and was on the bus ready to go by 6:45am. It is around an hour trip from Boston Common to Hopkinton High School so make use of the porta potty before getting on the bus.

In a rather bizarre turn of events, I was sat on the back row on the bus with 1 spare seat next to me, they called for one more person to jump on from the line outside. After chatting with this guy for 10mins he mentioned had travelled from Vietnam for the race but had previously lived in Connecticut. I immediately realised that this was a guy I had got chatting to at the Rabbit Shakeout run yesterday and now here he is out of the 25,000 runners sat next to me on the bus. This made us both laugh. I had a great time chatting with Ron on the journey out, this made the time fly by and was great to have a Boston Marathon Bus Buddy.

Athletes’ Village at Hopkinton

We arrived at Athletes’ Village just before 8am, still over 2 hours until the gun goes off.

Last year I got here and it was thick fog, you could barely see the other side of the field. This year was glorious sunshine and fairly mild temperatures.

So warm in fact, I took off my throw away gear, which was just a 2022 New York City marathon poncho. I used that as a mat to sit on and sat there in just the race singlet.

During those 2hrs, I had another 500ml Maurten Drink Mix 320 (not Caf this time) to sip on along with a Maurten Solid. Same aim as the breakfast carb load. Maintain the carb levels ready to rip it in 1hr.

Wave 1 (red bibs) was called up at 9:15am where we moved into a parking lot and stood in corral order. They then move each corral down to the start line corrals in order 1-8.

It is a 0.7 mile walk from Hopkinton High to the start line but you have plenty of time. Along the walk to the start there are so many families standing outside of their homes cheering the runners, it really is such a special walk. Feels like you are going into battle and man it felt like I had been in a battle by the time I was back in Boston.

I was in Wave 1 Corral 7 just like last year. Despite improving on my 2023 BQ by over 1 minute I had a higher bib number, meaning there were more runners with faster BQ times than me compared to last year.

Boston Marathon 2024 – 3:14:01

 Mile 1 – 7: 6:54, 6:51, 6:45, 6:44, 6:54, 6:45, 6:47

So my plan for Boston 2024 was to attempt to run a sub 3hr marathon. I had tried last year and went out too fast before blowing up on the Newton Hills, ultimately falling 3mins shy of the sub 3. This year, I feel more wiser and educated. Basically I paid the price last year and sure as hell wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

I was planning on running at goal pace of 6:50/mi through to mile 16, the start of the Newton hills, drop time over those 5 miles, then kick on over the back side of the hills to come home around 2:59.

As soon as the gun goes you are running down a steep downhill. Fresh legs filled with Boston Marathon race day adrenaline can really push the time out here, it is important to hold back and stick to the plan. The course is crowded over the first 6 miles which helps to hold you back, but then you are seeding alongside other runners with similar qualifying times so everyone is kinda going at the same pace anyway.

Miles 1 and 2 went by and I was a few seconds over goal time, this wasn’t something I was concerned about, it was still very early days and plenty of time to make time up. Had I gone through those miles ahead of target then that would have been more of a concern.

Only 3 miles into the race it felt warmer than what was forecast. I was sweating more than I would like 15mins into a 3hr run. I was carrying a 500ml bottle mixed with Science in Sport Electrolyte drink mix (orange flavour). During all my long runs I had carried this bottle and drink mix to help replace some of the electrolytes, salt, solid and magnesium lost when sweating. During training, I had a sip of this every 2 miles. The problem here was my training was during a cold wet UK winter and the temperatures today would hit 73F with little shade from the sun.

This was where my race would ultimately unravel. I stuck to that hydration plan which had served me so well during training. I didn’t adapt the plan to the conditions on race day. In hindsight, I should have taken a cup of water every other mile between the sips on my electrolyte drink to proper hydrate for the warmer than expected weather.

I went through miles 3 – 7 now getting into a rhythm and holding goal pace. The first 7 miles went by with me 10secs inside goal pace and everything felt great. I felt like I was having the best race of my life. I was high-fiving the kids lying the street, smiling, cheering and shouting with the crowd. It really did feel amazing to be back running the Boston Marathon and it felt like there were so many more spectators out on the course this year. Let’s be honest, this year was the perfect weather for watching the Boston Marathon, not perfect for running it.

Mile 8 – 14: 6:49, 6:47, 6:50, 6:50, 6:44, 6:43, 6:47

Again miles 8 through 14 were smooth. Pace was on target, I was holding the goal pace of 6:50/mi and holding back the urge to go just a little faster.

I was still sipping on my drink mix every other mile. By mile 10 I was starting to take the water, drink as much out of one cup as I could and tip a second down my neck to cool the body.

Mile 12 or 20km is my absolute highlight. The Wellesley College and the famous Stream Tunnel. Last year I could hear the screams at least 3mins before getting to the college. This year, I didn’t really notice that, I think this was because there were that many more people out there was a lot of cheering leading up to Wellesley as well but man, the girls came out in force this year. They were so loud and it seemed to go on forever. I ran through this section carrying my phone filming the crowds and posted that to my Instagram – @MarkJamesHatton.

Having felt like I had slowed in miles 10 and 11, if running 6:50/mi goal pace counts as slowing, the Wellesley girls and the adrenaline rush from that section gave me a push that I had to pull in quickly, I looked at my watch at one point seeing I was close on 6:30/mi.

Mile 15 – 21: 6:55, 6:47, 7:12, 7:57, 7:17, 9:00, 9:08

This is the section where the race really starts. Mile 15 you are coming off the high of Wellesley, passing the half way marker and running the biggest downhill of the whole course into mile 17 and you see the flags saying “Newton”. This is where your race is made or lost. Did you go out too hard, did you fuel correctly? these next 5 miles and 4 hills will test that for you.

I had held back on the mile 16 downhill, clocking 5secs slower than goal pace but that didn’t tell the full story. Just before reach the downhill I was over 20secs off goal pace. I had really slowed and didn’t understand how or why as the effort felt the same. I assumed I had lost GPS at some point and the time did start to come back but not fully back to goal pace.

I came to the first of the hills. Not a massive hill, its about 80ft of vert over half a mile between 2% – 4% gradient. This is immediately followed by a slight downhill where I was able to make up time and still hit goal pace last year.

This year I took my time on the hill not wanting to spike my heart rate but just couldn’t kick on over the top, it was sluggish and the legs felt shot already.

The second hill is around 17.7 miles in at the right turn by the fire station, I kinda got close to goal pace over that 0.7 mile before the hill but knew I was dropping time on this split and I accepted that, it was part of the overall plan. This hill isn’t as long as the first but is a little steeper with just over 70ft of gain and 5% gradient. Half way up the hill I made the decision to walk up the hill to save the heart rate from seriously spiking.

As you can see from this photo, I was struggling. I felt rough and light headed but put that down to the 18 miles run thus far and the effort over the hills. So I pushed on the best I could. Now planning to walk the hills and run the downhills and flat (if there are any on this course) sections.

Once over that second hill, mile 18 to 19.3 is pretty much downhill all the way. Even on this stretch I was struggling but hoping to find my rhythm again despite running the downhill 27secs off goal pace. That takes us into the third Newton hill which is the shortest but one of the steeper ones with another 65ft of gain. I ended up running half way up then walking over the top to run into Heartbreak Hill.

At this point I was already broken so Heartbreak just reaffirmed that death march. Heartbreak is about 0.4 mile long with approx 86ft of gain, its not as steep as the last two hills but coming in mile 21 with the cumulative effect of the three previous hills, it takes a toll. This time I was only able to run less than a quarter of the way up, walking the rest of the way before taking a small victory by running under the You have summited Heartbreak banner flying over the road.

Mile 22 – 26.2: 7:57, 7:30, 8:55, 8:37, 8:46, 7:27

With the Newton hills now behind me, this was where the plan to kick on and hit that sub 3 should have started. This wasn’t happening for me today, sub 3 was long gone with the struggles over the last 3 hills and kicking on, well I guest its all representative, technically these last 5 miles were faster than the 2 previous miles so that sorta counts as kicking on, right? Certainly wasn’t kicking on with the hoped pace of 6:35/mi, even a minute slower than that wasn’t happening.

It was two miles after Heartbreak before I was walking again and this felt like another small victory. That was derailed by a tiny 30ft hill in Brookline in mile 24. Back to walking and feeling quite ill at this point. I ran for a further quarter mile and walked again.

Then walking again as I begun mile 25, I just kept saying to myself, 2 miles to go, worst case I can walk 2 miles if I have to but I am finishing this race!

I ended up walking four times during mile 25 up to the Citgo sign. That was my cue to run and not stop until I crossed that finish line. It’s only 1.2 miles from here, that is the distance of the Junior Parkruns which my 8yr old daughter runs every Sunday. She gives her best and runs as fast as she can every Sunday, that was my motivation to do the same right now.

I got emotional turning onto Hereford, I knew that this was likely to be the last time I take that right onto Hereford and left onto Boylston for a while. I tried to film the crowd on my phone but despite getting the camera app up, mustn’t have pressed record but at least my race photos showed the effort was there.

Running down Boylston to that finish line is and always will be special. The thoughts of those who weren’t able to do this stretch in 2013 and those who lost their lives here, is never lost on me. Both times running this race I have glanced over to both of the memorials in my own way of paying my respects.

I had just finished my second Boston Marathon. This hadn’t been the race I had hoped in terms of my time but what makes up for that disappointment was the crowds. Boston came out this year and it was epic from start to finish. The crowds and shouts of support at Wellesley, Newton, Heartbreak Hill, Boston College, miles 23-26. They really dragged me to this finish line. I was done and struggling so badly but they lifted me and carried me into Boston today and did so for many more runners before and after me,

I hung around the finish area for a bit, grabbed my gear check bag and put my jacket on, sent my wife this photo to show I had made it. Only now noticing how much I was sweating and looking like I had been in the rain of 2023. I then walked down to Boylston Station to take the T back to Arlington to collect my case and head to the airport to fly home at 9pm.

This is where things took a turn. I changed lines at Park Street to get on the Red Line to Davis. As soon as I got on that train I felt hot and light headed. It was packed, no seats free and I was stood by the door. I had to sit on the floor as I didn’t feel good at all.

A seat became free at the first stop and those standing offered it to me. I sat there as we went through 3 stops, sipping on the bottle of water in the finisher pack but again started the get really hot and sweaty. I felt dizzy and light headed. When the train stopped at Central I knew I had to get off, at least to get some fresh air but I just wanted off. The next thing I knew I was waking up from what felt like a sleep on the station platform covered in blood. I must have tried to walk off the train and fainted, falling face first either into the wall or the floor. In a lucky twist of fate, a nurse had also got off the train at Central so she had already called 911 and had paramedics on the way whilst taking care of me.

I wanted to get up and get back on the train to go back to the hotel but she did the right thing and kept me on my back having sustained a head impact.

The paramedics took me to the hospital who ran MRI, CT and Ultrasound scans, took bloods etc and thankfully, no signs of a heart issue, no fracture of the skull or eye socket, no bleed on the brain. I needed 11 sutures over my left eye, the eye was swollen almost shut, my check and lip heavily bruised, I had knocked my teeth and shoulder was really hurting. X-rays on the shoulder showed no brake or fracture too.

I was discharged 4hrs later. The root suspected root cause being dehydration, exhaustion and the hot crowded train. Basically, I did not hydrate sufficiently during the marathon for the warmer weather and high sweat rate as a result. Pushing on through those symptoms over the last 8 miles probably didn’t help matters too.

That fall and subsequent hospital visit meant I missed my flight home, having to stay in Boston until Thursday before flying back home with a decision to make on whether I run the London Marathon on Sunday.

Brief roundup:

Tough one to roundup and keep it brief. I had come into this race having probably done my best and most consistent training block. I had the goal of running all 6 marathon majors under 3hrs and come away from Boston having missed that goal by 14mins and also 9mins slower than last year but then there are factors that you can control and others which you cannot.

The weather was one factor I have zero control over and it beat me on this occasion. I failed to spot early on that it was warm and adapt my hydration accordingly. I paid the price for that lack of judgement and poor decision making. I also didn’t adapt my pacing to the warmer weather, I ran 17 miles at goal pace before hit the wall hard. I gave it my best shot, I fell short and ended up in hospital as a result of poor race day decisions.

This is going to be a tough one to get over mentally. I love running and love running marathons but doing what I love has hurt me leaving me physically and mentally scarred for life today, do I wanted to run another marathon again after this? It is a tough one to take. Having a bad race and slower than planned time is something I can accept but failing to read the conditions and adapt was a costly mistake.

On the flip side, looking back on this almost 2 weeks after the event, I had a bad day, I missed my goal and pushed that hard that I ultimately ended up in hospital. I was disappointed with the race time but that time is actually my 5th fastest marathon out of the 16 run up until then. 3:14.01 is 51mins faster than my first marathon and faster than the average marathon finish time. So despite the bad day, I feel proud that I finished the race and still ran a good time and had such a great time (despite fall on the train).

I have since seen news articles stating that over 9% (2,936) of runners required medical attention during or after the race with at least 31 requiring hospital treatment. A tough course with tough weather conditions took its toll this year.