Running in Circles

Dear Boston Marathon Organizers,

Today is the big day!  The marathon kicks off in an hour or so, and it's a gorgeous day for a race.  It's my first marathon experience in Boston, and I couldn't be more excited...except I can't figure out how to get around to see any of it.

The race apparently runs only a few miles from my house, but it looks like I'm going to have to go downtown to the finish line, because that's the only place I can figure out how to get to. Between the small course map on your website and zero info for spectators, I had to rely on the Boston Globe's coverage and spent a good amount of time figuring out how to get to a viewing area via public transportation that's not going to take as long as it will take the elite runners to run the race (a. I know better than to try to drive, and b. My bike got lost in the move--or else I'd totally be on my bike).

Granted, there are probably some buses running that are probably closer to home, but between the lack of info on your site, and wallowing through the MBTA site (it doesn't help when you don't have a big system map that you can refer to in order to learn the system...learning it piecemeal online is tricky), I just can't find them.

I have to say that this situation shocks and surprises me.  The Boston Marathon is the granddaddy of all marathons.  Why it doesn't have better spectator information on its site is incomprehensible.  Maybe next year you could make some tweaks to your website to make it a little easier on all the people who are trying to figure out how to watch for the first time.

Thanks for your time.

Your pal, Jill