If you live in Boston, you already know: The Boston Marathon is Coming. Forget the whole "one if by land" stuff...we don't need a code to know. The signs are everywhere. There are banners on lampposts around town. Entire subway cars--and even subway stations--have been branded by running companies. It's a bit inconvenient to have tens of thousands of carb-deprived (some might say depraved) athletes in town, but it is a great reminder of how lucky we locals are to have the course in our own backyard. To help those of you coming to Boston in less that two weeks, here are a few tips:

1. Make sure you already have maps (mapquest, etc.) of the key places you want to go. Our local tourist maps with the cute cartoon renditions of landmarks are nice to look at but not great to use.

2. Save the number of a local cab company on your cell phone. Great to have if your legs give out halfway through your three-hour tour of the Freedom Trail (what were you thinking???).

3. Have a great book to read and some good morning snax for the trip out to Hopkinton. It takes a while to get out there...and once you are out there, you sit for a while. Having a great book and something to sit on will make you very happy.

4. Hit the Expo on Saturday. Sunday is too close, and you'll want to spend a least an hour checking out all the stuff. Be sure to have a loved one wait in line to buy you extra marathon paraphernalia - you could be there for a looooooong time!

5. Prepare a shirt. Yes, I said shirt. Every year, folks make shirts that say things like, "I'll slow down for you!" "It's my birthday!" "I'm running with stupid." And so on. Some folks just put their name. Whatever you decide, it's worth it.

6. Pace Yourself. Something about the first 1/2 of Boston makes everyone run faster...resist the temptation and you'll be much happier running through Brookline on your way to the finish!

7. Bring Your Own Gels. You only get them at mile 17, and that's just way too late considering you haven't had a full meal since 6:00AM. You'll need a gel an hour (with water, of course!).

8. Set a place to meet with your family. Confirm 97 times. There is nothing worse than wandering around trying to find loved ones after the race when all you want to do is lie down and die in peace.

9. Get your "mylar" space blanket. It makes a great souvenir. If no one believes you actually ran Boston, you could always pretend your crazy Uncle Jimmy was an astronaut, and this was some left over space memorabilia (or something).

10. Enjoy It! No other marathon has 26.2 miles of folks cheering you on...and none of those other races have such a diverse group of spectators: from motorcycle gangs to preppy familys to drunk Sox + Yankees fans, Boston has it all!!!

Have a great race day. Be sure to stop by the FuelBelt table at the expo and say hi!

Coach P

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