Heartbreak Hill Round Four

Today I ran 12.23 miles on Heartbreak Hill with my DFMC teammates for the fourth weekend in a row! We will be masters of this hill by the time the marathon comes around since we will be so use to running on it. It is the hardest part of the marathon course and it is when you least expect it.

Boston Marathon – Heartbreak Hill:

Heartbreak Hill is an ascent of only 0.4-mile (between the 20 and 21-mile marks, near Boston College).

It is the last of the Newton Hills which begin at the 16-mile mark and challenge contestants with late (if modest) climbs after the course’s general downhill trend to that point. Heartbreak Hill itself rises only 88 feet vertically (from an elevation of 148 feet to 236 feet.)

It was on this hill that, in 1936, defending champion John A. “Johnny” Kelley overtook Ellison ‘Tarzan’ Brown giving him a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. This gesture renewed the competitive drive in Brown, who rallied, pulled ahead of Kelley, and went on to win—thereby, it was said, breaking Kelley’s heart … and earned the name, HEARTBREAK HILL!

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