42km Run – Temperature 5oC
Finish Time: 04:05:12
10k split: 00:53:25
Half marathon: 01:53:55
30k split: 02:45:39
MV60 Age Group: 1105th
Overall 22221st
Boston was never about the time, in the end. It ended up being about whether I could even get to the start line — and once there, whether I could get to the finish. 7 hour cut off, 10 minutes per kilometre, not a calculation I though I would need to ponder.
After Chicago, I took a month off before starting back with a clear goal: raise the bar again and take a proper shot at sub-3 in Boston. It felt like the logical next step. The training progression through 2025 had been solid, Chicago had delivered, and Boston looked like the platform to push things again. I pulled together a plan of real speed work combined with appropriate volume and hills for a good shot.
I made a start in November and that lasted about three runs. A sharp pain appeared in my left knee. I took a couple of days off, came back, same thing. Rested longer, tried again — no better. Every attempt to build any rhythm was cut short. It wasn’t something you could run through, it brought me to a grinding holt, there was no running through this one.
That pattern carried on through November, December and into January. No consistent training, just fragments. I switched to the bike to keep some fitness ticking over, but every time I tried to reintroduce running, the same stabbing pain came straight back. By the end of January, it was clear it wasn’t resolving itself, so I booked an MRI. The result was a meniscus tear. With travel plans already in place, the earliest I could get surgery was 24th February, only eight weeks out from Boston. At that point the decision was simple: fix it and see what was possible, or don’t start at all. The prospect grabbing the final sixth star of the Abbotts world majors that I had worked on during 2025 was starting to slip from my grasp.
After the operation we went skiing. Three weeks of rest, then a cautious return. By then the goal had already shifted — sub-3 was gone. This was now about getting to the start line and, if things held together, getting round in under four hours. For a short period, it looked like it might come together. Easy runs building up to a couple of hours, walking hills, alternating days with time on the bike. Nothing ambitious, just controlled progress. Then the knee went again.
Four weeks out, I couldn’t walk more than 100 metres without pain. At that point Boston looked unlikely. I shut everything down completely. I had a review appointment with my consultant and he quickly offered a steroid injection to reduce the swelling and ease the pain but even then, there were no guarantees. I had 7 days which was the minimum recommended time for it to start to have a positive impact.
The day before flying, I took stock. The knee wasn’t hurting but that was because I hadn’t been loading it. I had no idea if the injection had worked or whether it would hold up over 42km. First test was walking around the airport as that was a long way for me! All good, pain free travelling so that was first base. Two days before we had to walk 2km back to the hotel and, no pain. Maybe I would be able to walk it after all within the 7 hour cut off. and not be in too much pain.
Right up until I stood on the start line in Hopkinton, I didn’t know if I’d even be able to finish. The plan had been to start walking and assess the knee, but the first 5km is downhill and, unexpectedly, it was less painful to jog than walk. So I ran, cautiously, but I ran.
After that I settled into a simple rhythm of run 1km, walk for a minute, waiting for the knee to buckle. It wasn’t elegant, but it was manageable. The early miles were about feedback rather than performance. Every step was a check on the knee. It held, and gradually confidence built. Not in the sense of racing, but in the sense that finishing might actually be possible.
Boston doesn’t allow you to settle. The Newton Hills arrive just as fatigue sets in, and they expose whatever is missing. Under normal circumstances you arrive there prepared. This time, I wasn’t. By the time I reached Heartbreak Hill, I was walking every climb and jogging the rest. But mentally, something had shifted — I knew I was going to finish. The uncertainty that had been there at the start had gone.
From that point, it became a steady grind into Boston. One kilometre at a time. No targets, no pace goals, just forward motion. Managing the knee, managing the fatigue, staying inside what was possible. The final miles into the city felt long. Not because of the course itself, but because of everything that had gone into just getting there.
Six Stars
That finish line wasn’t just the end of a race — it closed the loop.
- London 2016 – 2:58:30
- New York 2017 – 3:12:47
- Tokyo 2025 – 3:17:49
- Berlin 2025 – 3:21:12
- Chicago 2025 – 3:09:46
- Boston 2026 – 4:05:12
Six stars. Not a perfect progression, but a real one. Different courses, different conditions, and a long period in the middle where everything had to be rebuilt. Boston is the only one you can’t just sign up for — you have to earn your place. Finishing it under these circumstances makes it mean more than any time on the clock.
What Next
I had originally planned to follow it with the World Championship marathon in Cape Town in May and Comrades in June — both races I had worked hard to qualify for. But after Boston, it was clear that simply getting through the race had taken enough out of me. Turning up in South Africa just to make up the numbers wasn’t an option. The smarter decision was to step back, cancel both, and focus on recovering properly. That wasn’t an easy call, but it was the right one. I need to rehab now and get the knee in good shape to get training with purpose again.
Looking ahead, 2026 I still have Sydney, and with its addition to the Majors series there is now a seventh star to chase.
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