Conference hbahba::cam_sports

    
    	left-right-left-right-left-right.........
    
    Claybone

  We generally watch on TV until they get to Welsey College. Then we drive
the two miles to B.C. and walk the two blocks to Comm. Ave which comes out
right about at the 20 mile mark in Newton, one hill short of the top of the
series of hills that make up "heart break hill". 

  It's fun. By the time we get there the wheel chairs are going past. Then
after a bit we see the choppers circling over the leaders. Then the cops
get active pushing people back and finally you see the flashing lights and
the motorcycles and press truck coming around the corner.

  They zip past with the leaders following right behind. The guys up front
have just come up heart break hill, they have just finished their 20th mile,
they are doing about 13 mph and they have hardly even broken a sweat. The
way the world class runners fly by it seems they are expending no effort at
all. 

  Next come the better college runners and the top amateur runners, then after
about 20 minutes the lead women then comes the rest of the pack. From about
30-40 minutes after the leaders go by for about an hour or so thousands of
runners pour by. At 1st they are moving really well but after about an hour you
see the guys who are really struggling. Those are mixed in with others who
could be further up ahead but are just cruising along with a friend. 

  If you stay longer then you see people just about dragging themselves along
the route. Many alternate between running and walking and some are in obvious
pain but they've just got no quit. Finally after about 4PM (if you stay that
long) you see the school buses coming along picking up anyone who just can go
any further.

  It's an amazing event to watch. Can't wait for Monday.

  George

I too am planning on being to the T **EARLY**.  Picking up my dad at 5:45 and
hitting the road.  I'll park in the T lot if I can, only cause I don't want to
make my dad walk over from the school.


Leaving so early, we'll probably do breakfast somewhere around Kenmore
Square.

If I pay the fare to Fenway, the return trip out is free, right?  If I do get
off at Fenway, is it far to Kenmore Square on foot?


Equiring SLOFs(tm) with no flies on laquered woodies deen to wonk,
'Saw

RE             <<< Note 273.3 by CAM::WAY "and keep me steadfast" >>>

>If I pay the fare to Fenway, the return trip out is free, right?  If I do get
>off at Fenway, is it far to Kenmore Square on foot?

  If you are parking at Riverside and taking the Greenline inbound, the 1st
stop after it goes underground is the Kenmore Square stop. You come out right
in the middle of Kenmore Square, about 2 blocks from Fenway Park. The runners
will be going between two of the 3 exits from that station. That's about a
mile from the finish line.

  If you keep going I believe it's
    - Auditorium  Near the old finish line, several blocks short of the
                  new one.
    - Copley      Near the new finish line.
    - Arlington   Past the finish line, start of Boston common where runners
                  go to for medical attention.

  I believe you have to pay a double fare going inbound from Riverside and a
single fare going outbound from Kenmore Square or from the others. A single
fare is about 75 cents.

  George

    
    
       Yabbut!!
    
         If I take the T from Alewife (sp) that brings me right to Kenmore
    Square to Right? We plan on getting to alewife about 7:30-7:45??
    
    
    
    Chap

    
    Don't know how long it will take to get ~45,000 runners across the
    start line, but in 1992 I was one of them bandits that started at the
    back of the pack.  It took exactly 8 minutes (since I was a bandit, I
    figured noone would care if I wore a watch) to get to the start line
    and there was NO WAY you could go faster than 8 minute miles because of
    the crowds.  Somewhere around mile 5 things would spread out a bit and
    by the railroad tracks (mile 10 I think) you can run at any pace you
    want without having to dodge things.
    
    Marc
    

    
       I've been going to the marathon since I lived in town (~9 years)
      and I'll be in town Monday for the Sox game and the marathon but
      there's no way I'd get on the T on Monday even at gun point. The 
      trains are crowded enough for Sox games. They're even worse for 
      the marathon but this is the 100th running with record crowds and 
      it figures to be a horror show. They can't possibly handle this 
      kind of traffic. I'll get into town early and find a spot and leave
      my car there until the crowds really thin out. I wouldn't even
      bother but I don't want to break my string.

RE   <<< Note 273.5 by WMOIS::CHAPALONIS_M "Donnie Baseball Yankee HOFer!!!" >>>

>         If I take the T from Alewife (sp) that brings me right to Kenmore
>    Square to Right? We plan on getting to alewife about 7:30-7:45??
    
  No, I don't think so. If you get on at Alewife, that's the Red Line. You have
to get off at Park Street and take the Green Line outbound to Kenmore Square.
From Park on the Greenline you'd go the other way past Boylston, Arlington,
Copley, Auditorium, Kenmore (and maybe one other). 

  Or you can just walk out of the Park Street station walk across Boston Common
and the Public Gardens and walk down Boylston to the finish line. Couldn't be
more than a mile or so.

  Sounds like you'll have plenty of time. I don't imagine it would take more
than an hour or so to ride the trains in to town. You should be there around
9AM. The race doesn't start until noon and the runners won't get to Boston
until after 2PM.

  George

George,

Thanks for the info.  I normally go to Kenmore but was hoping to save a penny
or two by getting off at Fenway.

At any rate, I'm hoping that 8 a.m. will be early enough for the T at
Riverside.

I could always do the ol' military thing of getting up at 0430 and making it to
the T by 0700...


'Saw

    
    
    
        I'm going to the game with the animals. OK help me out. I'm coming
    RTe 2 east from littleton? What is the best place to catch the T in??
    
       Isn't there one one exit down on 95 from RTE 2??
    
    
    chap

>        I'm going to the game with the animals. OK help me out. I'm coming
>    RTe 2 east from littleton? What is the best place to catch the T in??
>    
>       Isn't there one one exit down on 95 from RTE 2??
    


I know I'm from outta town, but all my friends in that neck of the woods ride
the red line in from Alewife.


'Saw

RE  <<< Note 273.10 by WMOIS::CHAPALONIS_M "Donnie Baseball Yankee HOFer!!!" >>>
    
>        I'm going to the game with the animals. OK help me out. I'm coming
>    RTe 2 east from littleton? What is the best place to catch the T in??
>    
>       Isn't there one one exit down on 95 from RTE 2??
    
  You have two choices.

  1). Continue inbound on Rt 2 past 128/95. Continue down Rt 2 until the super
      highway part ends (1st traffic light past 128). The Alewife T and Parking
      garage is right in front of you and to the right. After that Rout 2 turns
      from a super highway into the Fresh Pond demolition derby so unless you
      know what you are doing, park the car and take the Red Line into town.

      Take the Red Line to the Park Street Station. It's mostly underground
      but you come up for air and light to cross the Charles. Park Street
      is one stop after going back underground.

      Get off at Park Street and go up the stairs to the Greenline station.
      Take any train ** EXCEPT ** the E train (B, C, or D) "OUTBOUND" to
      Kenmore Square. Follow the baseball mob through the marathon mob to
      Fenway Park about 2 blocks south down Brookline Ave.

  2). From Rt 2 take Rt 128/95 South. Go past Rt 20 and the Turn Pike. Look
      for the signs for the Riverside T station. Just past the Turnpike you
      will see a Holiday Inn on the left hand side of the road. The Riverside
      station is right behind it. Take the exit and cross that bridge going
      past the Holiday Inn and into the parking lot.

      Take the Greenline to Kenmore. Fight through the marathon crowd to
      Fenway park as described above.

  George

    Chappy, you could take the railroad in from West Acton,West Concord,
    Concord -save the parking fee.  Don't know the train frequency off
    hand.
    
    What is the parking situation given that it's a holiday?  Are the
    meters off?  George you're pretty confident of getting a parking spot
    up by the golf course.  At the hour you are talking Chappy you could
    simply head east on rte 30 along the marathon route to cleveland circle
    and then down beacon street and park on one of the side streets, take
    the T to kenmore and then after the game simply walk back while
    watching the marathon or take the T.  Prior to 11am parking shouldn't
    be hard to find along the beacon street route.
    
    That's probably what I'll do and park near the Tam O'Shanter if it
    still exists.

  I don't park near the golf course. I go down Center street in Newton and park
in the B.C. Law School parking lot then walk the final 2-3 blocks down Center
street to Comm Ave. That brings me out just about at the 20 mile mark. 

  George

      Am I the only one who thinks Uta Pippig (sp?) is absolutely
      adorable?  She just seems like one really nice woman!
    
      Can you imagine what she accomplished by the way?  
      Winning the Boston Marathon while suffering from
      menstrual cramps and diarrhea!  She must be incredibly
      tough.

>      Am I the only one who thinks Uta Pippig (sp?) is absolutely
>      adorable?

She seems extremely pleasant and perky.

>      Can you imagine what she accomplished by the way?  
>      Winning the Boston Marathon while suffering from
>      menstrual cramps and diarrhea!  She must be incredibly
>      tough.

Agreed.  And all of the moron DJs on the Boston rock stations have had a 
field day making fun of her.  One station was going to try and call her
in the hospital this morning.

All from a bunch of guys who couldn't run 26 miles unless they had a stick
tied to their back dangling a donut in front of their face.

  They were saying on WBZ that if she spoke English she'd be a major star
in the U.S.

  That was quite a kick she put on at the end. WBZ was saying she gained
something like 200 yards on the Kenyan woman over a distance of 500 yards.

  George

She speaks some English.  Just not enough to do endorsements...

    
> Agreed.  And all of the moron DJs on the Boston rock stations have had a 
> field day making fun of her.  One station was going to try and call her
> in the hospital this morning.
    
    That has to be 'AAF.  Would anyone else stoop so low?
    
    - Sean

Correct, and no.

The few decent DJs on that station have found out that being a jerk sells
to that audience, and are falling in line.

They were also having great fun with her name.  Jeez, why can't the whole
world have names that are easy for us 'mericans to pronounce...  I listen
to the music on that station, then hit the button as soon as it occurs to 
me.

When she passed us outside the Boston Beer Works she looked strong, and the
Kenyan woman, who was a bit ahead at that point, didn't.

I said to my dad that I thought she'd catch her, and she did.  That's an
amazing accomplishment.  At that point in the race to have enough left to
basically overtake someone like that is incredible.  

I think she's cool.


'Saw

    Yeah, guess which radio station's listener has
    carved its call letters into the bathroom stall
    here at LKG. Sheesh. My ten-year-old and his
    friends all listen to it.
    
    And contrast Ms. Pippig with America's hope in
    the women's division, Kim Jones. Poor Kim developed
    stomach cramps at 17 and had to drop out.
    Uta was hurting from about 5K on, but sucked it
    up and toughed it out. To make up the 200 meters
    on Loroupe in the late going was astonishing
    
    dr.a
    

    I caught the Beacon street trolley and caught site of the first woman
    up at Washington Square, right where the it starts downhill at a pretty
    good pitch.  The Kenyan looked great, no sign of Pippig.  Awhile later
    a big, big cheer and there's Pippig (remember her when noty contest
    comes around next year if Groaner will let us run one in peace) looking
    awful.  Sigh, wait until next year.
    
    After sampling a girl scout's troupes chocolate chip cookies
    (absolutely the best I have ever eaten, and 2 for a quarter) I stop in
    the Hammond and there's Uta with a wreath.
    
    Absolutely dumfounded.  She should marry Nick Faldo and raise comeback
    kids.

>   there's Pippig (remember her when noty contest
>   comes around next year

Another "reading my mind" sort of note.  As of right now there's no doubt
in my mind about athlete of the year....

    
    Ya almost feel bad for Moses, since Uta has been *the* story,
    but I guess that's the way it goes.  She genuinely seems to love
    running here, and really shows appreciation.  The Kenyans
    dominate, but somehow, it all seems too professional to get
    worked up about as a fan.
    
    I sort of miss the old days.  Sure, we wouldn't get the best
    runners without the $$$, but then again, we wouldn't know 
    who the first 20 winners would be before the race started
    either.
    
    - Sean

  The Kenyans were using Boston as their Olympic qualification run. If they
run in Atlanta the way they ran in Boston everyone will know who they are.

  George