Runs

Boston’s perfect prep: Around the Bay

November 9, 2011
By Josh Visser

Every long run has its demons. An epic hill, a painfully bland stretch, a chilling waterfront breeze. So it’s fitting that ragged runners are greeted by a costumed Grim Reaper after the last hill in Hamilton’s Around the Bay 30K, one of the many quirks of this historic race.

First run on Christmas Day, 1894, organized by the owner of the Hamilton Herald newspaper, Around the Bay is North America’s oldest road race (”Older than Boston” some of the official race shirts have read over the years.) “People just love it for its history,” race historian Roger Robinson says. “When it was founded, road running was just not established as a sport at all. It predates the Olympic marathon.”

The race’s distance - 30K - also sets it apart. “People who are really wanting to move up in distance and experience something longer than a half-marathon for the first time, quite a number of them are trying [Around the Bay],” Robinson says. “It’s good preparation for Boston, or any spring marathon for whatever level people are at.”

As portrayed in the 2004 movie Saint Ralph, Around the Bay has a long history of being a final competitive tune-up for Boston.  Jack Caffery, who became one of the first Canadians to win the Boston Marathon in 1900, won multiple Around the Bay titles.

Now run in late March, the course is almost triangular, starting in Hamilton’s downtown before heading out “around the bay,” which is actually part of Lake Ontario. It finishes up back downtown within the warm confines of the city’s Copps Coliseum, much to the appreciation of supportive family and friends. The course is relatively flat, although the final 10K features scenic rolling hills and one painful incline with 4K to go. This is where you get to high-five the Grim Reaper.

Temperatures for late March in Hamilton can be unpredictable for Around the Bay, with the distinct possibility it can either be 10 C or -10 C on race day. The immensely popular 30K only accepts 8,000 runners and filled up two months prior to the race this year, so it’s best to sign up quick.

Where to stay: There are a number of hotels within walking distance of the starting line. Rates at the host hotel, the Sheraton Hamilton, start at about $135 per night. The nearby Crown Plaza Hamilton starts at $139. A short drive away in Burlington is the Waterfront Hotel Burlington, which has group rates for the Around the Bay race.

Josh Visser is a runner and journalist based in Toronto, and he’s not afraid of the Grim Reaper.