Congrats to Marist Running alum Mike Guarascio (Class of 2005), who ran a rare negative-split race at Monday's Boston Marathon -- first half in 1:25:42 and second half in an eye-popping 1:20:36 for an overall time of 2:46:18 and 1,241st place. Nicely done, Mike G!
Here is his race report from Boston:
This was my third Boston -- in 2011 I ran 2:53 with a big positive split despite great temps and a tailwind. Then, I did the post-Covid Boston in fall 2021 - a humid one and struggled in the back half to 2:55. I had a big day in Chicago 2019 with a 2:43:47 and a negative split (~1:23/1:20) but had yet to nail a strong Boston time.
After that fall Boston in 2021, about a month later I had a really bad flare up of a condition I have called ulcerative colitis. Was stuck on the couch for about six weeks, lost 30 pounds and all strength/muscle, and had to get on the right medicine to control the inflammation in my GI tract going forward. It’s all under control and stable now. Throughout early 2022, I built back my fitness slowly but surely - did some early races where I struggled to hit a 6:15 pace for 5 miles. I used last year to do some different types of running - completed the USATF-NE Mountain Series where I did six mountain races including several up/down courses at ski mountains in New Hampshire. Great aerobic conditioning! And I eventually got pretty fit last summer on less mileage - PR'd in the 10K on the roads in 34:45, and gave my half marathon PR a scare in October in 1:17. So I signed up for Boston feeling like I wanted to nail a good one.
I feel like at this point Boston is my home course and I love all the history of the race. I live on the Seacoast of New Hampshire about an hour north, but lived in Boston with my now wife from 2008-2013 and we used to watch near the finish most years. Plus, with this being the 10-year anniversary of the bombing, it felt like an extra special one.
Training went very well, I knew I was fit (ran a hilly 10-mile race in Maine in February in 57:02). Much of this is due to having a group of (fellow) crazy people in NH/Maine who I train with - fellow 30 and 40 somethings with busy lives and families but really enjoy challenging each other and having a good time with it. A few of us also linked up with Ben True for getting training guidance, along with a new club he's starting up called Northwoods Athletics. It's been awesome being able to pick his brain on the science of training and even things like proper fueling/nutrition. Side note: Ben had a tough day but still ran an impressive 2:16.
I knew I was pretty fit and prepared coming in as I was able to get my volume up to the 80 mile per week-plus in my last few peak weeks and still hit some great workouts. I was thinking on an A+ day I could maybe sneak under 2:45 or even challenge my 2:43:47 PR. But then, the last week of the taper I had some curveballs -- poor sleep, extra stress from a busy work week, and the night before the race we stayed in an Airbnb which happened to be next to a very loud celebration of sorts in Cambridge. On top of that, the morning of the race my car wouldn't start because an interior light was accidentally left on. We were able to get a ride to the school buses, but were running behind schedule and everything felt extra crazy.
So, at the start I was feeling like I needed a huge nap, my legs were heavy, and I felt way too nervous. I was in corral 5 so it was super crowded in the first 5k or so. My original race plan based on Ben's input was to take the first 20-21 miles at ~6:20 pace, then bring it down after Heartbreak Hill to 6:15 pace. Basically no "racing effort" until after Heartbreak. But with the crowded start and the way I was feeling, I threw that out the window and ran what I felt was conservative but realistic - eventually settling into 6:25-6:35s or so through the first 10k. When I reached about 10 miles I started to feel OK, but my vision was going a bit black - not sure if that was a blood sugar thing or what, but I took a few sips of Gatorade and a caffeinated Maurten gel and that seemed to help. From there, I started squeezing down the pace but still settled on maybe a C goal of beating my previous Boston best of 2:53.
Went through halfway in 1:25:42 feeling OK and my fueling plan was going great, so that was positive. If you know the Boston course, you know the first 16 miles is mostly downhill (especially first 10k) or flat, then the work starts from 16-21 in the Newton Hills in a series of four decent sized hills. I hit that point at 16 miles and a switch flipped - I suddenly felt really strong and much more confident. So much crowd energy in that section, and I was able to maintain a solid pace between 6:00 and 6:15 average for each mile split even with the hills. After the top of Heartbreak there are some big downhills you can really get moving - I was splitting 5:50s on those and it felt amazing. From there, I knew I still had some run left in me so I tried to press as much as I could without burning through all my glycogen and/or cramping up. I think my favorite point was getting to the Kenmore Square Citgo sign and an absolute downpour coming down out of nowhere. I kept pressing around 6:00 pace or just under for the final miles and my last quarter mile on Boylston was around 5:20 pace! Finished in 2:46:18 for 1,241st place, beating my bib number by a bunch (4292). My second half was 1:20:36.
I may have left some time out there on the course with the extra slow start, but I'm proud of how I closed and it was very satisfying to finally nail a good Boston. Plan for the rest of the year includes some shorter races, trail races, Beach to Beacon 10k in August, then maybe do a half marathon in the fall. Oh, and to celebrate my 40th birthday in September I plan to do the Presidential Traverse - a 21-mile hike/run over 10 4,000-foot peaks in the White Mountains. My running buddies/club teammates are talking about doing Berlin in 2024 which I don't have a qualifier for (< 2:45) but I might enter the lottery for that.
5k splits:
20:51
20:11
20:05
19:53
19:40
19:25
18:45
18:29
(last 2.2km in 8:59)
https://www.strava.com/activities/8907813618
Thanks for the opportunity to debrief on this race. I'm excited to keep things rolling as I enter the masters category. I'm not really built physically for the marathon but I think I can get down to low 2:40s on a good day/good course now that I know how to train for it and fuel before/during. Maybe next fall ... but I'm happy to stick to shorter stuff for a while.
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