Marathon Runners Arrive, Warm-up and Carbo-Load

Participants in the Boston Marathon may not run through Milford, but they bunk down and carbo-load here in preparation for the race.

The 115th Boston Marathon is Monday, and begins in staggered starts in Hopkinton, just a town away. 

Runners and their families started arriving in local hotels Friday. By Sunday, as many as half of the local hotel rooms were occupied by runners. As guests go, they're easy.  Their requests are pretty simple: recommendations for restaurants serving pasta, and fruit and water for breakfast on race day.

Runners who stay in Milford say they like the proximity to Hopkinton. Local hotels appeal to runners by offering shuttle service to the starting line.

Chris Procaccini, 49, of Berkeley Heights, N.J., stayed with his family Saturday night at the . He and his wife, Tracy, were planning to stay near the finish in Boston Sunday, to take part in the city atmosphere.

On Saturday night, the family, including children Shaun, 14, and Jason, 11, rested in Milford and enjoyed a big meal. Distance runners traditionally eat pasta, or other carbohydrates, to give them energy reserves to help cover the 26.2-mile course.

"Everybody ate pasta last night," Procaccini said, laughing.

Procaccini, who qualified for Boston by running another marathon in 3:18:00 hopes to run a "sub-3:00" Monday. It is his first Boston Marathon.

As a runner, he had plenty of company in town. About 25 runners and their families are checked into the Fairfield Inn this weekend. The staff is calling around local restaurants today, to make sure runners have options for dining that include pasta dishes.

has more than half of its 152 rooms taken by runners or their families. The runners are asking for recommendations for places to eat out, and also for places to warm up for the race.

Staff have directed them to for the warmups.

Area restaurants, meanwhile, expect the athletes to request pasta dishes, and so are preparing their kitchens. 

At  Carrie Peckham, one of the managers, said no specials are directed at runners, but they usually show up Sunday night before the race. "We have a large variety of pasta dishes," she said.