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Welcome back to Spoke and Sole, home of the essential athlete. Today, we're gonna be talking about Boston. But before we get into that, let's get into this. What's good, everyone? This is Terrance from Spoke and Sole.

We're just getting things moving. We got a lot of stuff in store for you guys. So if you wanna be part of the community, please be sure to subscribe, hit that notification bell so we can keep you up to date on everything we got going in the draft. Thanks, and we'll see you soon. Alright.

We're ready to lace up and clip in. We are in April. And so once you hit April, a lot of things start to really move a lot faster when you start talking about

running and They bloom. Yep. Blooming.

You know, fortunately for us right now, we haven't hit that. You know, they say that April shower, Mayflower, but April is really when a lot of things start to kick off. And particularly this April in the next coming in the up next upcoming weeks, Patriots Day is coming up. And so you know what that means. Boston.

Boston. Boston is one of the holy grails when you start talking about marathons. It is. And so today, I wanna have a conversation with you, particularly because you've run Boston, about that experience and that whole the ambiance behind, Boston. There is one thing well, first off, let's talk about some some stats for for for for Boston.

I didn't I knew that there were a lot of people that ran it, but I didn't realize how many runners

There's a lot of runners.

Actually participate in in in Boston. And then as I was doing some research, you know, I found out that roughly 30,000 people run Boston from nearly a 130 countries.

Yes.

I can't imagine and we'll we'll get into this. I can't imagine the aura with that many people lined up to run such a historic race. And Boston's been going on for for for a long time. I wanna say probably around 1897 was probably the the the the first one. So I wanna talk about your experience with Boston.

But before I do that, there's something else that I'm not sure if you even know. This and and, you know, we we I wanna talk about something that maybe you didn't even know. I learned that the night before the Boston race officially kicks off, there's a bike ride. I didn't know that. I I I did not know this.

They they block they block off all these streets. And before the race actually happens, the night before, they do it's called a Boston Marathon Midnight Ride. Wow. Now I would imagine I would love to experience experience this at at some point. But from what I gather, it is you know, there's no registration.

It's basically a show and go. They roughly, I think there's typically, they get about 23 to 2,500 people who actually ride And the so what they do is they kick it off in waves at 6PM. They'll do a wave, and they'll do a wave every hour. And then the last one is at midnight. But they basically ride they they ride the course the night before

We gotta do this. Got yeah. We that is that is officially on my bucket list.

Yeah. Yep.

I listen. That that is we

gotta do that. So 04/20/2026, Boston. Boston. It's coming up, and I only I I felt that it would be only right for us to actually do a little bit or a little piece on Boston. And I wanted to make sure that I do that bike ride piece in because for the most part, I don't believe that they have bike marshals at No.

Boston.

No. I think it's the the they have like the motorcycle.

Motorcycles.

So And they're not the marshals, but the motorcycle brings in the Yeah. In the winter.

So this is gonna be a heavy this is gonna be a heavy run

A heavy run.

Episode. But again, we're talking about Boston. Boston. Let's talk about your when you found out you were gonna be running the Boston Marathon, What was what was going through your head?

I listen, I get chills thinking about it right now. And it's funny because I actually I didn't I was supposed to wear it to that. I should've wore it but I actually I still have my We Run This Town Boston Marathon shirt that I actually wore during that day and I also still have my sneakers and but what went through my mind was I was honored because the year that I ran was a year after the bombing. Mhmm. And, you know, I'm I'm obviously, I wasn't fast enough to to qualify for Boston, but you can get it on a charity bib.

So to be selected by someone who was, you know, was tragically murdered by her family to represent their family and their charity, that in itself. And for it to be Boston, you know, was everything, you know. And I I you know, obviously, we all know about, you know, the holy grails of different races that take place for for running. Yeah. Yep.

And I gotta tell you, like, you know, there's a lot of majors, but, you know, nothing's like Boston.

Yeah. When I think of Boston, and I think a lot of people when they think of Boston, they really think about the end of the race. And when I say the end of the race Yeah. The city. Yes.

But the start is not in the city. Nope. It's a completely different vibe. Yeah. So talk to me about the the the the start line in Hopkinton.

Oh, man. The whole process of Boston is an experience and it's a vibe. You you don't all start in different they do similar to what they do with the bike ride where, you know, when you you know, when whatever your start wave is, that all dictates everything that you do. So I believe my wave was like, it was like eleven something. So for the whatever wave mine was, you had to go to Downtown Boston and the journey started there where you would get on the buses and they would give you like your bag of the bag to put all your your your end things in.

Mhmm. So once you got to Hoplinton, you could give that and then they would transport that back so that once you, you know, once you finish, you could have whatever things that you had.

And that's because it's a one way. Yes. It's a loop.

One It's a one way. It's not a loop. So the ride to Hoplinton is was amazing and beautiful because, you know, during that time frame you get a chance to think about, you know, it's very reflective, you know, because at that point you're thinking about, you know, did I train enough? You know, what's this gonna look like? You know, and you've heard stories, You know?

It's almost like that aura of Jordan. Like, it's like, oh, you know? It's magical. And and in your mind, you're like, is it really magical? But then once you get there, you're like, it's everything they said it was gonna be.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So you you ride a Hopkinton. You get off. You know, you go into the Athlete's Village and the Athlete's Village is amazing. It's like this little city. And in the city, there's all these athletes.

So everyone's out there stretching, you know, they're doing all sorts of stuff. You know, they got food, all the other stuff. And it was, again, I've never been to the Olympics, but it was that kind of vibe, you know, they had music, you know, all these different people from all these other different cultures and everything are all interacting. And it's just, like it's just an, it's an indescribable experience, but it was, you know, it was great. You know, it was great to be there and and and be included in that, you know, in that experience.

That's good. See, I didn't know about the actual village, and I'm glad you brought that up because, again, from from the perspective of you hear I mean, Boston is it. I mean, you got Chicago, you got New York. I don't like Boston. But Boston is it.

And so to get a little bit of insight into that atmosphere and that vibe, that's pretty cool. Already, so those are two things that between the midnight ride and that whole village experience.

Those

are two things that I think are pretty cool. Let's talk a little bit about preparation. And not so much what you need to actually prepare to get there, a lot of times you'll hear this phrase that Boston is net downhill. Oh my God. And I think that when you hear something like that, you think, all right, this is gonna be not as bad as I actually thought it was gonna be.

So tell me about the experience. Well, first off, know that year that you ran, rained the whole time. But tell me about your experience starting from the start line as you progressed through you know, the course?

Again, the whole experience was incredible, but there was some good there was some some great things that were personal for me too. Like, it started in Hopington and then the next city that my wife and and my aunt they said, Oh yeah, they're gonna come up and they're gonna cheer me on and you know my my wife and so she's like, Yeah, we're gonna go up, but you're probably not gonna see us. So I think it was probably at mile, probably four ish. Like I'm running down and I just, you know, I hear my name, like, I have a name calling me. Wife has this crazy sign up with my picture.

So I go on, I give her a kiss and I see my aunt and I keep going. So that, you know, that was cool. But just the vibe, not just for me personally with my wife being there, but just the people in general. Like, it is like the event, you know, like you have people from all walks of life, all ages, you know, out there, you know, on the side of the road with these signs, you know, they're ringing the cowbells.

Yeah. Yeah.

They got Vaseline sticks. Hell, one of them, I think they may have had beers. You know? So it's it you know, the whole experience just, you know, going your way through and and getting to that destination. But the hills that that net drop, whatever, listen, the hills make worse.

So let's talk strategy for for a second. Right? So the finish is obviously, it's lower than a good portion. That's why probably why they call it, you know, net downhill because the finish is lower at a lower elevation Yep. Than the rest of it.

But, obviously, somewhere in there, you got Heartbreak Hill. But Heartbreak Hill. There is some rolling there's some rolling hills in there that if you're not careful of, you can put yourself in well, I guess it depends on your strategy. Right? Yeah.

I think that if you're not careful when it comes to making sure you keep in mind that you're running a marathon Yes. You might be pacing yourself where you feel like this is a little bit easy.

Yeah. And

then you push yourself and you fall into a trap.

Yes. And I think what you say with that is, and that's, you know, luckily, that was that was my fourth and last marathon. So I had marathon experience, which I thought was really good. And actually, I had come off of high. I think I had broke four thirty at the Providence Marathon.

So, you know, I was failing myself. So I knew at least I could finish. And I had, you know, I had three under my belt. So I kinda knew the whole, you know, pacing piece of it. But again, nothing prepares you because those rolling hills, they're like, they're deceptive.

Yeah. Like, they're deceptive. Like, you're running and you're like, you know, like, it's not like it's a steep hill, but it's like a little bit up. It's a kinda kinda like Zwift. Now you get the little hills, and then over time, it's like, you know, I gotta pace myself so I'm not burning myself out.

Yeah. So the the the the first four to five miles, how'd you feel? You know what? So did you feel that the first because from what I understand, the first four miles can pull you into a trap.

Yes. Yes. But again, I had experience, at the same time, I think it can pull you into a trap because it's the aura. Like you're so Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Like imagine us running the Providence half and, like, how amped we are at that point in time. Imagine that by, like, a 100. It's almost like you're ODing on, like, you know, like this, you're just so soaked. Like it, like it, it, it, gotta pull yourself in.

So I struggled not running it. I struggled trying to mentally calm myself down to, to be like, Hey man, like don't get out here in these first five miles. And then you gotta walk the last five miles. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. So, so that for me was good. I had tried to, I made myself run a little slower than I normally would just so, you know, I could say something because again, they they previewed a course. So I knew about Heartbreak Hill. Yep.

You know, I I I strategically studied the course so I knew what was gonna come. And I I, know, again, I wanted to make sure, excuse me, that I didn't burn out.

So I should have looked this up, but Heartbreak Hill, that the latter last, is that the what portion of the race is that?

I think Heartbreak Hill is, like, kinda, like, toward that like, the middle toward, like, the end ish.

Alright. So let's talk about this. Halfway through the race Yep. There's this tradition that Wellesley College had. They canceled classes and all the students come down to watch the race.

And they form this tunnel which is famously known as the wall of sound.

And not not just the wall of sound.

Well, tunnel of sound.

Listen. Not just tunnel of sound. Listen. That was my favorite part of the race. And it was because, again, you can and I I say this, you you know, Boston's everything.

Like I had heard about Hot Break Hill and I heard about how the Wesley students go out and they do that, but there's different things too. Again, it's an all girls school for those who don't know, it's an all girls college. So we used to party there when I went to Northeastern by the way but there's this whole stretch of the race where there's all these girls and they all have these different signs you know different saying different things and just get caught up in the moment. You know, one girl had a kiss me kiss me kiss me Brazilian sign and there was other different things and it was cool, you know, and it was it the vibe of it was just like that tradition is is great because it it you know, and especially at that point during the race too because it's almost like you get an injection of of of energy and vibe like because because at that point you're like, alright, you know, you've gone through so many hills and you're like, you know, and again, at that point, it has still been raining and and it didn't rain that much during that portion of it, but it was, but it was one of those things where when I got there, was like, oh, you know, it was it was a bit of relief, I'll just say that.

Yeah, and it's good. So this is one of the reasons why I wanted to preview Boston, not so much from a technical perspective or from really a race prepared perspective. Again, we talk about the community and we say this as many, and we've run a lot of races. But at the same time, I don't consider myself a professional. I'm an enthusiast.

Yes. And That's a great word. That's a People to say should know that there are opportunities that are gonna allow you to take advantage of an experience like Boston. As you said, it is an experience. So what I wanted to do was I wanted to touch on that experience.

And so that's why I wanted to make sure that we covered this, particularly because it's coming up, not just for individuals who might be planning on running it, but people who might be considering or may have the opportunity to do something like you did, and just get a feel for that whole experience. Right? So you hit the wall wall of sound, you run by the Brazilian who says kiss me, I'm Brazilian. Yeah. I'd have to imagine that your next challenge or your next experience is Heartbreak Hill.

Yep. Tell me a little bit about Heartbreak Heartbreak Hill. First What, off, did it break your heart? And two, what about it do you think leads to that name?

Think because at that point, like you're somewhat midway through whatever it is and you know also too, mean there's, well there's different, I guess philosophies as far as when you're running a marathon where you hit certain things like some people say, you you hit the wall at 20, you know, so that's, you know, some sometimes they say it's 15 between 20. So you got that space where you, you could potentially hit the wall, but then you're doing rolling hills, you know, and I walked some of those hills. Like I, you know, like it was, you know, it was to the point where, you know again it was was raining you know like we everything is wet everything is rubbing you know yeah and again you know we always say you know anything can happen on race day but it's one of those things like you never prepare for that So for me it was, it didn't break my heart. I mean again I think because I had experience. Now if that would probably look different if that had been my first marathon you know where I hadn't gotten the experience to you know to hit the wall or to go through, you know how it is.

When you go through those challenges during the race, you know, it's kind of like that cartoon that they have when they talk about the seven stages of running a marathon. You know, you just start out and you're happy and then you're kind of midway and then you're crazy like, why did I do this? Then you're angry and by the time you get to the finish line you're back to being happy and when can I sign up again? But you know I think at that point you know you just shifting your mentality as far as okay I gotta get back on track to try to finish this race. So that's where I was at at that point.

Yeah. So you mentioned earlier the Sitco sign. Oh my god. And and and and if I if if I'm correct, that's that's right near Fenway. And I think that I think they try to time that game so as people begin to finish, the game gets out and you get the support of those people actually coming out.

So two part question. One, did you experience that? And two, when you saw that sign, what was your feeling knowing that, all right, this is almost complete?

Well, you know, we didn't because I think that the game was rained out that day.

So

I didn't get that opportunity but I knew what that meant because I went to school in Boston so I was familiar with the course but when I you know it's almost like it's almost like the Warriors like when you see that sign you know you're almost home So when I turned and I saw the sign I'm like okay you know like it's like can you know the suffering is almost over and if I can just sustain it to get to the end And I had felt good, know, again, I didn't, you know, it wasn't like I wasn't winded or anything. It was more of, you know, I was fighting the mental battle with the elements than anything else because that was the thing, you know, I mean, and again, you know, because you're a runner, know, if you're running and it's raining, no matter how good your sneakers are after a while, you know, you got water on them, you know, it's almost like the shoes become weights. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and then, and that type of thing, but it was, I knew at that point, and I started to like, I started to internalize and really reflect about the race and like think about like what that experience like the collective of what the experience meant because I knew it was almost over.

So for me that's what it was at that point and it was kind of like a sigh of relief too like Like, I'm almost there.

Yeah. So I know some of your training must have prepared you for the rain. And I say that because I've been out there with And you know, my phrase is I'm undefeated against the weather, but I have to imagine. I remember I remember I don't know if it was that marathon that you were training for, but you were training for a marathon. I was training for a half marathon.

It was me. You court. It was Monique. That's the day that her

phone Monique's phone.

Yep. She had

to Man, she started using bags after that, right? The ziplock bags.

I mean, it rained so hard that day that I I think I might have ran 10 miles that day and you guys were doing something ridiculous because I think court was actually training for a marathon too. Did that prepare you for the constant rain? Right? Because now, think about it, you said it, your shoes get heavy, your clothes are wet. Mentally, that can take you out of whatever strategy that you actually have.

It was. And again, you know, collectively, as far as what we were doing, like we like and I think it was probably a totality of everything that we had done prior to that because you know when we had trained for and Cora still says he you know that he shouldn't have ran a second Newport Marathon but that's a whole another issue but you know, during those training periods, we were running at like eleven, 12:00 at night. So our bodies were getting different looks for different scenarios at every different, you know, the runs that we were running in addition to that run. So that definitely helped, you know, it was just a, okay, you know, you've been here and you're hoping that, you know, it's not gonna, you know, it's not gonna go so long that, you know, you just mentally give up. So I have to say that experience was good.

And I think also even now too, you know, I think from what our, our mindset's always been, you know, like we don't, you know, I mean, unless it's pouring when it starts, we don't care if it rains. Yeah. Like we're gonna get out there. Even when Court and I ran last weekend, know, started to run rain. And it's funny because we had I go to LA Fitness and I end up running into a guy who I sweat who who swims there too.

He's like, oh, yeah. I saw you and your buddy out there running in the rain. And I was like, yeah, that's what we do. Yeah. You know?

So you you know, you think about, you know, and that that saying that we say too, anything can happen on racing. Yep. And I was actually glad for that, that that I had that, you know, that I had that experience. And it didn't it it didn't deafen or it didn't demean, you know, the experience that I had in Boston. And actually, it made it really more triumph triumphant because I I recall.

And I don't know if you remember because I haven't ran in a long time, but you know my little tradition that kiss the bricks.

Kiss the bricks.

Listen, when when I when I got to that finish first off, you know, when you turn and you eventually get to that and it's a straight. Listen, I saw that finish line. I was like, I gotta get to the finish line, you know? So I picked it up a little bit, but when I got to the finish line, all I could do is I was like, I lean you know, they must have thought I was praying down there or something. I stayed down there for I kissed it, but I stayed down there and I was just, you know, I was just grateful that I was able to do it and experience it.

You know, some things that some people, you know, there's again, there's runners that are much better runners than me, but I had the opportunity to experience that, you know, and I'll be able to tell my grandkids, you know, and they'll be able to tell their grandkids, you know, that I did that. And then I was part of that experience, especially the significance of it after the year after the bombing where everything was heightened. And, you know, there was so much precautions and, you know, it was it was pretty much elevated, you know. And a funny key fact too is, and we didn't talk about it, maybe if we do have some time, before the race is really what gets you amplified.

Oh, so listen. I mean,

like when you talk about, you know, like when you gotta go to pick your bib up, like as you would a So regular

now for for big pick up big pick up is that the day of

or? No. There's there's like a couple of days before so you go and you do that but it's in this big hall you know and like a big hotel thing and you're in there you're seeing all these people and you know it's almost like you know like you won the lottery you're going in you know you get your bib but most importantly the Boston tradition of you know you buy the Boston garb and it's funny because you know we you know me you know us we're shoeholes so that year which which is crazy I still I still have not touched my Boston garb like every year I say I'm gonna matter of fact you know I turned 55 this year so I'm actually gonna use it this year. Dean out of ten years eleven years but once you do that you know there's city sports. City sports is only like the official, you know, gear place for Boston.

Yep. So once

you go there, I went there, I bought my my Boston warm up jacket, was, I think the year that it was purple, orange and white. And you know me being the shoe hole that I am. I found some Nike structures that are that same exact color. I still haven't worn them yet but it's, it's that whole experience.

Yeah.

You know, of, of going through that, you know, they have, as they would with, like regular races, whether you would go in and they'd be like different, vendors or whatever else that you go through to do that. So that was, that was incredible too, you know, and like when all of that's going on too, it's amped up as well because they're painting the street. Yeah. The street shut down, you know, they're painting the street, they're putting up all, what is it, the rails, all that other stuff. They're putting up the stadium seating that they have for like the dignitaries or whatever.

So you're walking through all that and you're just taking it all in. Again, which, which is like the aura of Boston, you know, so it was, I have to say, you know, I've done a lot, you know, you we've all run a lot of races, for me personally, that was probably if I don't ever run another Reese, that would've filled my cup up.

Yeah, man. You got the chance to run the holy grail. So we have all these sayings, right? And the sayings really help us mentally prepare for the work that has to go on beforehand. Like, you know, run the mile you're in.

Nothing stops the run. Undefeated against the, you know, the elements.

No bitch assness. Yeah.

Almost forgot about them. But yeah. So taking all that into account taking all that into account. Mhmm. If you had to give someone advice who has the opportunity and again, I look at this I see Boston in a couple of ways.

Right? I mean, it's one of the races where you get some of the most elite runners coming out to actually to compete. But at the same time, that experience that you just talked about, it's an opportunity to actually be a part of that experience and take that in. If you had the opportunity to give someone some pointers, some advice, or some things to actually keep in mind who had planned on plans on running to Boston, what would that be?

I think the I would say what we've always done is is hill training. I think hill training's important.

Hills pay the bills. You

know that? Yep. That's just the hills pay the bills. I think that piece of it because, you know, a good there's good portions of it that are flat, but, you know, the hill the hill pieces is what's gonna help you with your stamina and and really what's gonna help with your strength too. You know, because once you get to those hit those rolling hills, you know, if and we did and I think that's probably what saved me is that, you know, we we had been doing things like the snake route.

Yeah.

You know, even the route that we run now and we do that route. So I hit, you know, we ran routes that had the hills. So I had a good foundation, not just for the distance endurance piece of it, but also for the strength part of it to get through the hills. Think that'll be, and it'll be much more enjoyable than, you know, you just have to struggle through it. That'd be my, That'd be the best advice I could give him.

Yeah, and I think I would throw onto that too. I've seen this a lot of times. Sometimes your nerves get the better of you, and when you hit that start line and that gun goes off and you just pace yourself. Realize that it's 26.2, and you mentioned it. The thing with those hills is, you know, hills pay the bills, but those hills can be taxing on your quads and on your calves.

So you need to make sure that you actually

adjust for all of I think you make a good point too. I think that's not just with that race, but just all of, you know, again, as an aging athlete you know I've had to learn to understand my body more in a sense that you know it's not about where you start it's where you finish. A lot of times I think we all want to just get out and just go ham and you know even some of the people that we know like they get injured that way because you know you gotta ease into it you know and that's one of the things that I think that's one of probably the most important lesson that I learned from Boston that took me into other things that I did was, you gotta ease into it. Know, everything, you know, even if you wanna get to, you know, if your pace is nine thirty, it doesn't mean necessarily you gotta start out at nine thirty.

Exactly.

Depending upon where you are, your body may take a little time to warm up and it gotta get to that versus, you know, like you said with the whole machine piece, like your body's a machine. Like, if you run your car and you run it fast, you know, you're gonna blow it, you know, versus let the car heat up. You know, once you get to where it's warm, then you do what you gotta do, you know, keep it moving.

Yeah. So, I think it's appropriate to finish on this statement that we've always said, but I don't think we mentioned it in this episode. Particularly when it comes to whether it's Boston, whether it's any race, Chicago, New York. And then it was one thing that I wanted to ask you before I actually say this. So the Hill perspective.

Jamestown, Rolling Hills or Jamestown Narragansett of Boston.

Jamestown's giving him a run for their money, man. You know? I mean, I probably would have to give Jamestown because Jamestown is it's deceptive. Yeah. It is.

You know? Like, it's like it's deceptive, you know? And and even I know you you talk about Jamestown, but I would even throw Narragansett.

Narragansett. Yeah.

Narragansett is like.

Well, Narragansett is one of those ones that you don't expect.

That you don't expect. So yeah. So that that's kinda but I think from a Rolling Hills perspective, I mean, they could be I mean, it's close.

Okay.

But but Narragansett definitely has it. I think the thing with with Boston is that, you know, it's, you know, it's kinda like up and down, up and down, up and

down. Yeah.

When Narragansett is kinda sneakily, they may have a little bit more steepness in my opinion.

Yeah. All right. So great experience for Boston. I'm speaking for Anthony. It was a great experience, there's something that we always say regardless of whether or not we're going for a ride or a run.

And that is finish what you start. And I'm surprised we didn't actually hit upon that. Me neither. But when it comes to whatever it is that you're actually choosing, remember, as long as you finish what you start, then you're doing what you need to do. Right?

So thanks for taking the time to sit in with this session with us. We'll talk to you again soon.