Exactly three years ago today, I ran the Boston Marathon.  It was a fantastic experience and you can read my race report here.  The race in 2018 was memorable for two things; the weather was atrocious and the women’s race was won by an American, Des Linden. Looking back what do I remember and were there any lessons from the Boston Marathon?

It was the weather that was most memorable and it was the weather that taught me two important lessons.  It was a very cold day at around 36-38’F, it rained for the whole race, and there was a strong headwind, along most of the course.

I learned my first lesson, before the race even started.  Waiting for the race to start at the athletes village in Hopkinton, I got very, very cold.  My body reacted to this by shivering quite violently, for about half an hour.  I had worn clothing over my race gear to stay warm, but I had not worn anywhere near enough.  I  couldn’t stay warm and ended up burning through a lot of energy, before the race even started.

My second lesson was a good one.  I raced in the perfect gear for the day.  I wore my triathlon race suit as a base layer.  Over my triathlon kit, I wore a long sleeved shirt , together with arm warmers.  On my head I wore both a baseball cap and a beanie.  On my hands, I had surgical gloves under woolen gloves.  Once I started running, I quickly warmed up and stayed warm, but not hot, for the whole race.  I also had zero chafing, even though I was soaking wet for the whole run.

So my key lessons from the Boston Marathon, both relate to clothing choices.  One was good and one was bad.  I have paid a great deal more attention to weather and clothing, ever since that race.  It is a really important thing to consider.