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Race Report: Boston 2025

First off I just wanted to thank all the people who made this result possible. From friends who looked over my training plan to friends who shared miles with me, to Shannon and her aunt supporting me before and after the race.

This way my first major and the largest race I’ve ever done. The infrastructure, amazing crowds and endless volunteers speak to the prestige and magnitude of the Boston Marathon. There must have been 500 volunteers at the water stops alone and they play an integral role in allowing runners to do their best.

From the gun, I was never really boxed in. I felt there was enough room to maneuver to the sides and get to the water station (staggered at each mile on both sides of the road, I did favor the left ones, thank you for the tip Brian Morin)

Race strategy was fairly basic, my goal was to run 6:15s to the Newton Hill and take a gel every 4 miles, get to the hills feeling solid, fight through the hills, then recover and regain pace over the last 5 miles.

The first 13mi went pretty smoothly, I was a 90sec faster than goal but I felt very smooth and well fueled. I was taking Gatorade every mile or so. The crowds were absolutely electric from the jump. Both sides of the street were lined and the crowds were raucous. I must have heard ‘Yeah Maine!’ and ‘Go Central Maine’ 30 times. The course has black signs announcing the entry into each town and once we hit a town’s center, there was an eruption of energy. Going through the Wellesley scream tunnel and through BC were a couple of the highlights. From 13-16, I noticed some fatigue starting to build. I adjusted plan to go through the Newton Hills at 6:20-6:30 pace and conserve energy for the final 5. I didn’t really notice the first hill, Hills 2,3 were a bit of a grind, and heartbreak was an impressive climb. To me, I feel heartbreak is as bad as the hill at Sugarloaf, just way later in the race. 

The hills were where I started cramping in the feet and hamstrings. I stopped at the top of heartbreak to stretch out and honestly thought the race was lost at that point. All the training leading up to this was probably the difference in my legs being able to fight the cramps and continue at a sub-7 pace. That and the 7 gels and half gallon of Gatorade I drank on course 😄

Getting to the hills with enough energy in the tank will be the puzzle I look forward to solving next year. Hill repeats/non Rail Trail long runs may be things I incorporate.

The Final 5 were a balance between holding pace and not pushing so hard to throw a full cramp. I took down 2 gels in this section alone plus 2-3 Gatorade cups. The fuel definitely helped me avoid the blowups that I saw more frequently in this section.

The post race is challenging, you have so many people coming in and there’s a lot of hustle and bustle. I just got through the lines and got back to Shannon’s aunt’s place to shower and recover.

I think if Conner Mantz runs again next year, the crowds might be even bigger, great performances from the US elites

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Sapan Bhatt

Boston Marathon 2025

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Shakeout with Drew

Out/Back on Ridge

Evening Run

Evening Run

Complimentary Shower Run

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