There is a lot of culture around our little marathon here. The whole "kiss a Wellesley girl" is unique to our wonderful little city. But the marathon has so much to offer. And my BF has been running it for years. And so it is nice to have his input on what I needed to work on.
For example I know a lot of people are quite eager to capitalize on the downhill portion of the race. This is right at the beginning and they hope to gain time for the hills in miles 16-20 which are known to cause problems. But the thing is, downhill takes more of a toll on your quads than you think and the race is very crowded initially. Which makes the whole thing an inefficient attempt to try to get around people. All of which cost both time and energy.
If you know how to handle them (BF does) you will see that the hills are tough but not terrible.
You just need to plan for them and that means that you have prepared for them.
They can be attacked.
But you better be sure that you know what you are doing before going for it. Otherwise they will take everything you've got and more. What I have been told is that if you're not sure; if this is your first Boston marathon, then you should err on the side of caution and take them without full force because it may end sooner than you want it to.
In some stretches there are a lot of downhills, especially all of the ones that come after Heartbreak, and there you can make up any time you lost by playing it a little too safe in the hills.
Obviously, as with everything in life, it's a lot easier to formulate a good plan if you've run the race before. But with the Boston marathon you will learn something new every time.
I would suggest talking with people that have run it, or I would look online. YouTube has channels that can help you prepare.
And I hope to start gaining my experience next race. Things that I have learned are to make sure you bring a garbage bag or an old mylar blanket. You'll want to sit on it while you are waiting in the athletes' village.
There is lots of time to kill and you'll end up with a soggy, muddy butt without one.
Also I have been told that you will want to bandage your tits, if you are a woman.