Boston Marathon Blog week with John Zupanc

John Zupanc recently retired in December after coaching Cross Country and Track & Field at the University of Wisconsin Oshkohsh for nearly 30 years leading the Titans to four NCAA DIII Cross Country team National titles along with two Track and Field team National Championships.

Zupanc is a veteran racer of 19 Boston Marathons with number 20 coming this April. He has run a Boston PR of 2:24:46 and is a model of consistencey racing the challenging Boston course with 5 sub 2:30 efforts -- along with an outstanding 2:36:56 clocking as a 41 year old Master's runner. With Boston placings of 18th, 36th, and 50th Zupanc has gone into Boston fit, but there are more factors to consider before stepping to the starting line.

Nothing beats experience in road racing especially in the marathon and here are some race weekend tips that Zupanc has learned over 19 years of Boston Marathon racing.

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Every major marathon has some unique aspects and Boston is no different.  Boston has the usual Expo for race packet pickup.  It is huge, of course, and generally I spend as little time as possible at these things.  There is just too many people and too much standing around on my feet. 

The morning of the race you have to stand in line to catch the school busses at Boston Commons to the start line in Hopkinton.  You are assigned times to get there but generally it is better to go earlier than later for a couple of reasons:  the line is shorter (it can take about 45 to 60 minutes to queue up to the busses), you do not have to fret about getting to the start on time (I have twice been on a bus that got “lost”) and you get a better camp location at Hopkinton High School.  The busses usually start at about 6:30am for the 10am start and 20,000 plus people have to get a ride to the start.  It is quite the operation.  Generally it takes about an hour from departure at Boston Commons to Hopkinton.  Be prepared for no bathroom the entire long and bumpy ride.

Once you get to Hopkinton High School you have to wait outside for the duration.  I have been in all sorts of weather from hot to cold and rainy.  You have to be prepared to sit around for at least 2 to 3 hours.  In the old days of the noon start you had even more time to sit around and contemplate the run back to Boston.  They do have baggage busses for your things but they want those packed and on the proper bus about an hour before the race start time.  Your bags are assigned a specific bus based on your bib number.  You have to pack your stuff in the bags they provide and you pick them up at the finish line according to your race number.

I like to get to Hopkinton early so I can get into one of the doorways to the high school so I am at least out of the rain, muddy/wet ground, or out of the sun.   I have a list of things I bring to the start (all this is carried onto the plane….I never check any bags…that is another Boston story) and most of it I leave in Hopkinton.

1-A cheap $2 air mattress from WalMart to use as a soft and dry place.

2-A cheap $1 fold up plastic rain poncho, again WalMart, in case it is raining to keep me dry while I wait in the assigned start corral until the race starts.

3-A complete assortment of throwaway clothes:  shirts, pants, socks, stocking cap, regular hat, gloves, and shoes.  I do not put on any race gear until the last possible moment especially if it is raining.  I wear the throw away clothes until about 5 minutes prior to the race if necessary.

4-A complete set of clothes to be used at the finish.  I pack this up the night before and have it ready to give to the baggage bus without having to be uncomfortable while I wait.  Do not put anything valuable in the checked bag, you hope you will get it at the finish but ….no cell phone, no wallet, no music device, nothing vital.

5-I do pin some money on my race stuff just in case something weird happens along the way.  I have never had to use it.  You do get free subway transportation with your number!