If You Are Watching Boston with the Granite State Flash on Heartbreak Hill
A few people have asked me when they can expect to see the runners they are going to watch at Boston this Monday, pass their spot on the course. Well, this takes a lot of guesswork because you need to first know whether the runner will be in the “first wave” meaning starting at 10:00 A.M. or the “second wave” which begins at 10:30 A.M. In addition, the elite women leave early this year from Hopkinton at 9:32 A.M. and the wheelchair start goes off even earlier at 9:22 A.M. The second thing I need to know is what pace your runner expects to run. This could be as fast as sub 5 minute per mile pace for the elite men to well over 10 minutes per mile and above for runners expecting to complete the course in over four hours. Last but not least, I need to know where you will be watching on the course.
Here is my “guess” as to when you will see runners passing the 19 mile mark at Newton City Hall (see previous post below). I’m using this mark since this is where the majority of our Granite State Flash team will be watching. If you are watching from a different spot on the course and want to know when your runner will pass, email me at m.merra@gmail.com and I’ll give you my best guess. I just need to know which "wave, what overall pace your runner expects to run, their race # and approximately where you will be on the course and I’ll give it a shot.
All of the below are “estimated” times and assume your runner is going off in the first wave. If your runner is in the second wave, you should add 30-35 minutes to the time below. I’ve also tried to add in the “delay” factor for the runners in the later corrals, meaning i.e. a runner in the 7th corral at Hopkinton (meaning they have a number 7000-7999) will take about 7 minutes to cross the starting line and a runner in the 9th corral (like me) will take about 9 minutes. There are 1000 runners assigned to each corral: 1-13 for the first wave and 14-26 for the second.
So here are some semi-educated guesses from an illiterate blogger with poor math skills as to when you will see runners at mile 19:
Elite Men and Elite Women* About 11:25-11:45 A.M.
3:00 Marathoners About 12:00-12:20 P.M.
3:15 Marathoners About 12:20-12:40 P.M.
3:30 Marathoners About 12:35-12:55 P.M.
3:45 Marathoners About 12:45-1:05 P.M.
4:00 Marathoners About 12:55-1:15 P.M.
*Although the elite women start 28 minutes earlier than the elite men, I’m guessing they will arrive at the 19 mile mark at approximately the same time—about 1:34-1:36 into the race. I’ve also omitted for space reasons runners in the 2:30-3:00 hour category.
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