It was here that in 1907, eventual race winner Tommy Longboat and nine others sprinted across a set of train tracks just before a long freight train rumbled through, blocking the course for the rest of the runners for almost two minutes. That won't happen on Monday. That also won't be happening on Monday. Wellesley What definitely will happen on Monday and has happened in every race since 1897 is that when the runners reach Wellesley, the half-way point of the marathon, they will hear screams of encouragement at decibel and pitch levels that can only be rivaled by teenagers at a 'N Sync concert. In 1992, the noise was so deafening to race winner Ibrahim Hussein that he went past the college with his hands over his ears and a pained look on his face.
Some men play up to the crowd, blowing kisses or even stopping to show off with a pushup or two.
Try running a half mile on a hill with an incline of close to 90 feet. Now do it after running up three similar hills just prior to that. Now try running up those four hills, one after the other, after running 20 miles. That is what Newton has to offer. It is not significantly steeper or longer than the previous three, but it is the last.