GeekTrainerRuns

I've been lucky enough to run the New York Marathon three times. I actually hit the lottery all three years in a row (although I had to defer once). How I got that lucky I'll never know, but I've absolutely relished the experience each and every time. Of the majors, New York probably has the most logistics involved, and is arguably the toughest course. It's also the best tour of New York you'll ever be treated to, and the best crowds I've ever experienced. So here's everything I think you need to know about the New York Marathon. Getting a bib There's three ways to get into the New York Marathon: 1. Time qualify. The time qualifiers for New York are faster than for Boston, so you'll need to be speedy. 2. Lottery. The lottery has gotten more difficult over the years, with a backlog from both Hurricane Sandy and COVID cancellations increasing demand. Add to that the excitement around getting 6 stars and you've got an outsized number of people seeki...

As someone who’s been lucky enough to travel a fair bit I’ve been able to run a fair number of popular routes throughout the country. I want to start a series where I review and give some details about some of these paths. Since I was in Boston relatively recently, it seemed perfect to start with the Charles River. On a gorgeous (if hot) afternoon Overview The Charles River runs west to east right through the middle of the city, with paths on each side. It’s by far the most popular route in Boston, save for that little 26.2 mile route from Hopkington to Boston. With numerous bridges cutting across the river, you can create loops of basically any distance if you don’t feel like doing an out and back. The path itself is bone flat and paved, and is kept rather clean during the winter months. The paths on each side run parallel to rather busy roads/freeways, meaning there is sadly a fair amount of traffic noise for large stretches. However the river does offer some lovely views, and it’s a...