Please help this first time Boston Marathon hopeful plan the 2011 trip.

[Michael Laputka]

I realize registration closed rather quickly last year, so I will be sure to register the moment it opens, which I understand will be some time in September.  As far as proof of my qualifying time, is it just a matter of stating it on the registration site and they look it up?  Do I need to be prepared to provide further proof?  If so what?  I assume I have to be prepared to pay for the race when I register?  I thought I saw somewhere it's about 130 dollars?

Okay, now for the biggie, where the heck do I stay and when should I reserve the dates?  What hotel?  What town, Hopkinton or Boston or something in between?  After the race we plan on making a vacation out of this.  Neither my wife nor I have been to this part of the country, I'll ask later for details on what to be sure to see and what to avoid.  Should we go to another hotel after the race?  Something more vacation friendly rather than race friendly?

What airport?  Should we rent a car?  How do I get from the hotel to the starting gate?  How do I get back to the hotel?  How does my wife get from the hotel to the finish line?  Are there hotels that cater to marathoners and provide a turn key solution to all these logistics? 

When is a good time to arrive?  Will the drop in altitude help my performance?  (I live and train in Salt Lake)

I'm a little freaked out about this.  I've never raced in a big marathon.  My only marathon experiences have been Salt Lake, Desnews and Top of Utah.  Practically no logistical preparation required for these races.

Thank you in advance for your help.  I'm a babe in the woods here.

[Susanna Lew]

Most of your questions can be answered on the Boston Marathon officicial website, baa.org.  I have run 3 Bostons three years in a row and never had to provide further proof.  I do have a certificate from St. George Marathon for proof if needed.  The registration fee for 2010 was $130, non-refundable.

Lodging:  Go to the BAA website or marathontours.com  where you can print out a lodging form.  It has a list of hotels with rates, miles from finish, etc.   Now is a good time to book.  List your 5 choices along with a check for one night rate to secure the room.  If you cancel before Feb 5, marathontours will refund everything but $20.  For first time Boston, I recommend staying in Boston close to the finish and Expo area. 

Transportation:  When you arrive at Logan International Airport in Boston, you can purchase a one-week-pass for $15 with unlimited rides on the T (subway).  Most of the hotels in the lodging form are within walking distance from a T station or finish line.  You do not need to rent a car unless you choose to tour other cities outside of Boston.

There will be buses at Boston Commons to take athletes from Boston (finish) to Hopkinton (start).  The earliest bus is at 6am.  So prepare for a long wait at the athlete village in Hopkinton as Wave One starts at 10am and Wave Two starts at 10:30am.  Again, the website as well as the race booklet (which BAA will send you a month before race day) explains all the logistics. 

As far as good time to arrive,  the expo begins on Fri. and goes till Sun.  The hotel rates are the highest during the entire Marathon weekend (Fri - Mon).  I prefer arriving early Sat. to do the expo and other fun events, spend Sun. resting and preparing for the race, spend a day or two after the race for sightseeing.  Hope this helps.

Congratulations for qualifying for Boston!  It is one of the most prestigous and storied marathons in the world.  IMO it is well worth the time and money spent to prepare and to participate in.  BEST of LUCK!

[Michael Laputka]

I sincerely appreciate it.

[Tony]

Hi Michael, I just ran my first Boston Marathon. I am very fortunate to have a close friend that lives in Brookline (about 2 miles after Heartbreak Hill) directly on the marathon route, so, I got to run the route the Saturday before and even ran down heartbreak hill and back up it, so I knew what to expect with that. (no big deal, really. There's some long hills in the hill stretch, but it isn't like a battle against death or anything and then it's all downhill after Heartbreak)

As far as airline, I flew into Logan. I took a redeye from SFO, and slept on the plane and got about 5 hours sleep, almost a full night for me. I took a subway from the airport to my friend's in Brookline. The subway in Boston is VERY EFFICIENT. You can pretty much get anywhere you need to in Boston by Subway and a little walking, or Bus. I was able to take the bus from my friend's to Boylston Street, and the Expo, and the Bus loading place (which is Boston Common and I believe the start of the Freedom Trail and all the historic landmarks like Paul Revere and Sam Adam's cemetery, the old State House, Boston Massacre, and Boston Marketplace)

I was able to get in quite a few places in my 2 days. After my run Saturday I did the Freedom Trail, had Dinner at the Union Oyster House (oldest Restaurant in the country and major tourist attraction... decent food, not specatcular or anything) Boston Marketplace, Gelato in the North End (Italian Neighborhood) A farmers market, an awesome jazz club that had an open jam for Berklee Music School students (they were awesome) then another place for live music. Next day I went to Isabella Gardner Museum, an Irish Pub, and Sam Adams Brewery that was unfortunately closed on Sundays.  The Isabella Gardner Museum is very close to The Boston Museum of Fine arts as well. It features live music on Sundays, and events and also has a cafe. It's a very very cool little museum. There's a bit of history behind it, well worth checking out especially combined with BMFA. You're also pretty close to Fenway Park in that area as well, so if you want to catch a Red Sox game, you can do that too. Again, the Subway will get you to all of these places, with ease. and only a few blocks of having to walk to your desitnations.

All the subways will take you to Government Center, which is the central subway Hub. Susana mentioned you can get a week pass for $15 I didn't see one of those options available for puchase at the kiosk when I purchased my ticket, but it's basically $2 a pop on the subway if there isn't that.

My recommendations would be to stay either near downtown or near a subway terminal. Brookline is a very nice area, with cool places, and not too inconvenient to get to downtown from. I dunno if there are any cheap hotels or BnB's in that area, but it's possible. Definitely go check out the museums if you like that stuff. Definitely go to "Wally's Jazz Corner" if you like jazz music.   It's a hole in the wall, and definitely not very touristy, but it's where you'll find the best jazz in the city and it has a long history (photos of Coltrane and Miles Davis performing in the club are on the wall)

Definitely go to the Expo and stuff.... of course. check out the Freedom Trail. Be in Awe of all the bricks in that town, lol. The whole city is Brick red.Get some Gelato or Tiramisu in the North End

As for the Day of the marathon. You just need to get to Boston Common to get on the Buses. Your time will probably put you in Wave 2. So get there at about 6:45. Take the subway and get off on Park St. from the Green line, it puts you in a better spot. I notice the lines from the Park St. Terminal exit were way shorter than the people that walked from Boylston St. at the other end.

don't stay in Hopkinton or any of those places, unless you want to drive back to it on your own. You get free transportation to Hopkinton as part of your entry fee.

Athletes village is cool I guess. I got there with only about 10 minutes to spare before walking to the starting corals, about  half a mile away. It's all very easy once you get there. Just read your info packet and what it tells you to do. They've been doing this race for 100 years, so they have a pretty efficient system for it all. I was pretty impressed with how well they managed everything.

Apparently there is some after party after the race. I guess if you're not too beat up afterwards you can go and dance at it, I went to my friends and ate an entire pizza, lol.

I'm planning on going again next year. Boston is a fantastic town. I was pretty impressed with how clean the city was and how nice the vast majority of the people I met were. Have a great time, and good luck!