Marathon Handbook

1 week ago | marathonhandbook.com | Amby Burfoot

The Boston Marathon has changed dramatically in the last 30 to 40 years, but some things have remained the same–and that’s a good thing. Let’s call it tradition. The field is much bigger, the start time has moved from noon to mid-morning, there are far more female runners, footwear and fueling have made massive advances, and the digital revolution is everywhere present. On the other hand, the start, the finish, and the course remain essentially as they have been since 1897.

1 week ago | marathonhandbook.com | Alex Cyr

The Nike Pegasus Premium is the most confusing running shoe I’ve ever encountered. It’s Nike’s most ambitious training shoe of 2025, and looks nothing like a winner. It’s heavy, rigid, oddly shaped, and carries a price tag that rivals some carbon-plated racing shoes. Everything about it made me doubt it would deliver. But then I ran in it — and something changed.

1 week ago | marathonhandbook.com | Amby Burfoot

On Monday, April 21, I’ll be running the Boston Marathon 60 years after my first Boston in 1965. Since then, I’ve completed Boston another 27 times. That’s plenty of years to amass a sizable collection of bib numbers, shirts, jackets, medals, and other Boston Marathon swag. But you might be surprised to learn about my favorite Boston Marathon keepsake. It’s not my mini bib number from 1965, though I wish I had saved that cardboard rectangle. Nor is it any of my more recent bibs.

2 weeks ago | marathonhandbook.com | Jessy Carveth

Lazarus Lake is walking across America. Again. That might sound simple, but if you’ve followed his story, you know there’s nothing simple about Laz—or this journey. The 70-year-old race director behind the Barkley Marathons and Big’s Backyard Ultra is back on the road this month, continuing the cross-country walk, dubbed Lazcon, he started last year.

2 weeks ago | marathonhandbook.com | Jessy Carveth

At 101 years old, John Cahill may no longer be lacing up his running shoes for races, but his wisdom about aging, fitness, and life is more enduring than any marathon finish line. A former lawyer-turned-ski-lodge-owner, Cahill didn’t start running until he was 62. Yet within a decade, he was clocking a 3:05 marathon at age 72—a time that many lifelong runners would envy.