- General
Qualified for Boston? Read This!
The first mile I ever ran was the last mile of the Boston Marathon. I was eleven years old on the fateful day my family trooped down from New Hampshire to support my father at the 87th Boston Marathon in 1983. At Cleveland Circle, my two brothers darted from the curb and guided our old man across the finish line. Little did I know in the moment that the world’s most hallowed footrace would a part of my life forever after.
I went back to Boston in ’86 and ’87 to support my dad’s second and third Boston’s, skipped school with a friend to watch the race in person in 1988, ran it myself a few times beginning in 2009, covered the marathon for various media organizations, signed books at the expo some years, and have watched the race on television whenever I haven’t been physically present for it. And now I’m hosting a special training retreat to share my love for the Boston Marathon with qualifiers for the 2025 edition of the event.
Some runners treat the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boylston Street as a celebration. The hard work of qualifying is behind them and they just want to soak up the experience. Others want to run the race of their life in Boston, honoring their qualification by preparing to master its challenging course, unpredictable conditions, and stiff competition. Boston Boot Camp was created to meet the needs of runners in this second group, who wish to leave no stone unturned in the effort to get ready for their best possible performance.
Timing Is Everything
Intrigued? Here’s the scoop: The retreat will kick off on Tuesday, April 1st and conclude on the 15th. That’s two full weeks—enough time to enjoy significant fitness-boosting adaptations to high elevation (Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet) but not so long as to make the retreat impracticable for runners with busy lives back home.
The 2025 Boston Marathon takes place on April 21st, which means Boot Camp participants will complete their peak training and the first part of their taper in Flagstaff. I consider this timing is ideal as it will allow runners to ride the fitness they gain at the retreat all the way to race day. The tricky part is the initial adjustment to altitude, which I will manage by having runners take it easy on their first couple of days in Flagstaff and by chauffeuring the group down to lower elevations for key workouts. Dream Run Camp operates year-round, so I have plenty of experience in guiding runners to a smooth transition to high-elevation training.
Participants will stay in one of four comfortable Dream Run Camp houses, where they will enjoy a free daily breakfast and the following program elements:
Facilitated Morning Runs
Dream Run Camp staff will transport runners to and from a selected running venue each morning. Bottle support will be provided for longer runs.
Custom Training Plan
Boot Campers will each receive a custom training plan for Boston that I build from scratch based on information provided in a quick and easy intake form.
Special Services
Included in the cost of registration are two full-body massages; individual sessions with a sports dietitian, mental performance coach, and physical therapist; and four group strength workouts.
Recovery Tools
Dream Run Camp is equipped with a variety of HyperIce products, a hyperbaric chamber, a sound bed, a spa pool, a sauna, and other recovery tools that participants are welcome to use whenever they please.
Coaching and Learning
Each afternoon I will lead a coaching talk on a topic relevant to the final weeks of preparing for a marathon. We’ll address pacing, fueling, tapering, mental toughness, and more.
Hobnobbing with the Pros
During the retreat, Ben Rosario, the founding coach of the HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, will visit Dream Run Camp to talk about Boston Marathon race strategy, as will a yet-to-be-named NAZ Elite member who’s racing Boston. There will also be a special trip to the Northern Arizona University track to perform technique drills with the team.
Group Activities
Fun leisure activities will be sprinkled across the two-week retreat. These will include trips to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Walnut Canyon National Monument.
The cost of the retreat is $2,995. Full payment is required at the time of registration, but the amount is 100 percent refundable until March 15, so if you suffer the misfortune of getting injured two weeks before Boston (as happened to me in 2002), nothing is lost. Learn more about Boston Boot Camp here.