Look here for new information on the race. We'll post news as the Race Director fabricates it. |
posted Apr 17, 2011 7:16 AM by Matt Hagen
As befits a race of this mismanagement, the Race Misdirector has suddenly been dealt a few conflicting issues, and he may not arrive at Back Bay to start the race. Since this is all about tomfoolery and self-supported running, if you find yourself at the start (whatever start you've chosen) and nobody else is there, please don't hesitate to just stand up, shout "go" and start your watch. At the end of your race, email in the results and any photos and we'll post them.
Again, there's a possibility I'll make it, but if not then forge ahead! |
posted Apr 12, 2010 9:56 PM by Matt Hagen
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updated Apr 17, 2011 7:23 AM
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You all are of course free to make whatever sort of race you want of this, but this schedule may help:
3:45 a.m. - I may perhaps be at the Finish line of the Boston Marathon to send off those doing the double. 3:50 a.m. - The rest of us meet at Back Bay. 4:06 a.m. - Train leaves Back Bay station for Framingham. 4:40 a.m. - Train arrives at Framingham. I'll be running to Hopkinton and turning around. 9:00 a.m. - Mobility Impaired start of the marathon. 9:17 a.m. - Handcycle start. Expect a finish time of 1:20, meaning that 10:37 a.m. - You need to be off the course, even if you see the finish line. 11:00 a.m. - Procure beverages and treats. Sit down to watch the elites!
later - email in your results and funny stories.
• One runner will be starting from Athletes' Village at 6 a.m. You have to figure out how to get there on your own, and would need to run under a 4:30 pace in order to be done in time if you try this, but it would be a much more accurate way to experience the course in preparation for when you finally qualify! |
posted Apr 7, 2010 10:30 AM by Matt Hagen
For those of you who don't feel like getting up early or who want to save some energy for a bit of dancing at the end, we present the Hopkinton Half. The rules are the same: Be careful, obey all traffic signals, stay on the sidewalks, do not interfere in any way with the Boston Marathon and generally act like sensible individuals.
Hopkinton HalfHopkinton Half The P503 train leaves South Station at 6:50 a.m. and Back Bay at 6:56. It stops in Wellesley Square at 7:16. From there you can walk to the "official" start line of the Wellesley Public Library and run to the Boston Public Library for a Google-Verified (YMMV) 13.1 miles. |
posted Mar 18, 2010 9:29 AM by Matt Hagen
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updated Mar 18, 2010 10:07 AM
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 All of you who have friends, relatives, elderly grandmothers and children who qualified for the Boston Marathon now know that the bib numbers are out because they're being posted on every running forum and traded like stock tips.
So, to keep up with the Joneses (er... Mergas and Cheruiyots), we've sent out bibs to those who have pre-registered for the Hop. And our race bibs are not confined to the Natural set of numbers, nor Integers, nor even Rationals. You can have your favorite number as long as it hasn't yet been claimed.
Feeling left out? There's still time to register, though the cost has doubled. Fortunately, since the original cost was zero, the new cost is zero times two, which is still zero.
If you're interested in doing a warm-up run on Sunday, the BAA 5K numbers aren't out yet, and registration is still open for that race. Yours Truly ran it last year, and it's a lot of fun. You don't even have to qualify for it.
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posted Jan 4, 2010 10:16 PM by Matt Hagen
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updated Jan 5, 2010 11:38 AM
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The Hop seems to be causing some heartburn among some runners who find it distasteful. Here's a bit of our response:
The Hopkinton Hop, which has been the willing lighting rod drawing well-deserved and sought-after criticism is indeed the sort of race one could classify as "Smartass." But it also was drawn up very specifically to follow the rules of good conduct and etiquette so as to cause no physical damage, but only emotional angst by its holding of a mirror up to big, serious races.
Who among you has run the course at 4:30 a.m.?
If you have, then you will know that for the first couple of hours you'll have no company but turkeys gobbling in the wood. But later on there will be plenty of people running the course backward (and a few forward). Shorter-distance runners will be jogging with strollers. Others will be out walking dogs. Some will be firing up barbecue grills. Only one or two Wellesley girls will be up, and they will be fumbling with a sound system. The ice delivery trucks will keep up with a runner keeping about an 8:30 pace, allowing for a nice long (albeit halting) conversation with the driver. Baseball fans will be filling their trunks with beer. Scouts will be raising the flag.
In short, it's just an average street with average people doing average things, and we're average people out there with them.
None of these other average people has to apply for the BAA for a permit to run on the shoulder of an open road or upon the sidewalks that are shared with every other citizen out there celebrating a holiday commemorating the opening shots of the American Revolutionary War. The very idea of applying for a permit to walk or run in a public area would offend the soldiers at Concord and Lexington.
So how is it inappropriate to celebrate this day of freedom by exercising what the Swedes call "allemansrätt" – the freedom every person has to roam about freely, providing they do no harm to others?
Not only are too many races far too big, but too many people take too many things far too seriously. My actions could not possibly diminish the accomplishments of others - others who can manage to achieve the standards of entry to the Boston Marathon.
I have tried, and I have failed. I have tried repeatedly and I have failed repeatedly.
Perhaps some might think I fail as a lark, but it hurts every damn time.
I'm going to keep trying.
But in the meantime, what really does it matter if a bunch of slow, fat, too-busy-to-train louts warm up the course for their faster wives and husbands who wear the jackets we covet?
Are you kidding? We do not matter, for we are as nothing to you. If offense has been taken, look in the mirror.
Registration's still open, of course.
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posted Dec 24, 2009 7:25 AM by Matt Hagen
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updated Dec 7, 2010 2:51 PM
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After some protracted debate and literally minutes of halfhearted advocacy on the part of the Hop's Race Misdirector, the race will not appear on the calendar of the Marathon Maniacs - last refuge of the odd, goofy, virtual, apocryphal race. This seems to indicate that we're off the map, which upon reflection is probably where (to put a positive spin on it) we ought to be.
From the letter: "I think it is a groovy solo/few people stunt run, but once it starts feeling like a bigger experience and a countable stats thing, and a thing that people are traveling to, something starts feeling a little wonky about it."
That's a pretty good point. Our mission is to have a good time, redeem ourselves in the eyes of our faster compatriots and try to get near the finish in time to grab a cannoli from Mike's Pastry and slap Ryan Hall on the ass as he turns down Commonwealth Ave.
So, those runners who are Maniacs (i.e. our entire field so far) are on their own recognizance about whether to report this race in their stats. Of the issue I now officially wash my hands.
Actually I should have washed them some time ago, given the amount of BS thrown around on this site. ;-) |
posted Nov 25, 2009 1:56 PM by Matt Hagen
We're pleased to announce that the 2010 Hopkinton Hop will be the largest in its apocryphal history, 400% above 2009, representing two nations (albeit one continent). But this increase in attention has led us to implement a strict set of rules of dis-qualification to ensure the character of this venerable event.
"The surprisingly early closure of the Boston Marathon has really overwhelmed us this year," said Matt Hagen, director of the Hop. "We're carefully screening applicants to ensure that the character of our race isn't lost."
Potential Hoppers will have to show that they either can't qualify for Boston, didn't bother, lost the paperwork, or otherwise just forgot to register. Or that they just really want to run with us. Or run the double. Or can't find anything good on TV that morning. Or got lost and started following along.
"Uh... yeah. When you start thinking about it I guess it's pretty much wide-open," said Hagen. "But no 5K!"
Unless they want to drop. Or stop at a bar. Or get a ride home. Or pretty much anything else. |
posted Nov 7, 2009 2:28 PM by Matt Hagen
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updated Nov 13, 2009 5:46 PM
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"Keep, ancient race, your storied pomp!" cry we With sore hips. "Give me your tired, your slow, Asthmatic masses yearning to breathe free, The leisurely refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the plodding, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! [to the pub]"
Go to the "Register" page at left to enter the 2010 Hopkinton Hop. The cost is absolutely zero, which is appropriate, because it matches the amount of support you'll receive on this run. |
posted Oct 14, 2009 10:27 AM by Matt Hagen
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updated Nov 2, 2009 10:07 AM
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Registration hasn't formally commenced yet, but it looks like this is going to blow up. We're pleased to announce that we're up to double the entrant from last year! Pretty sure I'll win a $5 bet if everyone shows up.
Also, participants will be able to pick their own bib numbers for this race. Try to think of something meaningful to you, but pi and e are taken. |
posted Oct 5, 2009 11:38 AM by Matt Hagen
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updated Oct 5, 2009 12:41 PM
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The 2010 Hopkinton Hop will have a couple of options, depending on how foolish one feels on race day. - Original 50K:
- Run 3 miles into Back Bay as a warmup
- Catch Amtrack train to Framingham
- Run from Framingham to Hopkinton. (Tradition says to stop shy of the start of the other race, so that you have a reason to run that one someday.)
- Run from Hopkinton back into Boston.
- Report mileage and time based on GPS unit, stopwatch or other Google Maps.
- Short Option (26.2 miles or more, depending on how often you get lost):
- Somehow get to Hopkinton
- Run to Boston
- Report time and distance based on GPS unit, stopwatch or other Google Maps.
- Ultra Option (requires BQ):
- Check in at Back Bay train station
- Run to Hopkinton.
- Stretch legs and report time.
- Turn around and run Boston Marathon.
- Gloat.
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