About the course / Getting there

It's twisty, turny, rocky and unmarked.   It's cheap and fun. 

DCR Blue Hills Reservation is located about 10 miles south of Boston, covering an area of about 11 square miles.  The course starts and finishes at Houghton's pond (880 Hillside Street, Milton, MA).  There is a large parking lot there.  

On Google Maps go to: 

42.2098426997593, -71.0962704139831.  There is easy access from exit 3 (Houghton's Pond/Ponkopoag) off of Rte 128/I-93 to the south of Boston.

The first 31 miles are pretty hilly covering most of the three main sections of the DCR Blue Hills Reservation (located 10 miles south of Boston).  The last 19 are overall more tame if you are doing the 50 miler and stretch to the two farthest east sections.   

It's pretty slow.   Josh Katzman and Matt Picard own the 50K record at 4:45.  No one is running 3:30 on this course!   Josh ran 8:10 for 50 miles and may have gone even lower with Scott Traer if they didn't get into a ruckus with a dog on the course.   The course has many turns and navigation is as big an obstacle as the rocky hills for new runners.   If you can't train on the course your best bet is to follow someone on race day that has run before (although many returnees still manage to get lost).