Lance Armstrong ran his first Boston marathon is a respectable 2 hours and 50 minutes. Boston was Armstrong’s third marathon after running New York twice. Boston was a harder course, and a much different experience because of the closeness of the spectators, Armstrong said.

“It’s just much tighter,” he said. “It’s louder and more intense and I think it plays well for all the runners, not just the leaders. ... Everybody feels that.”