1 week Ago By Katelyn Umholtz
By Katelyn Umholtz Major events coalesced in a busy Boston this weekend. Families dined together for religious holidays. Throngs of tourists followed behind pantaloon-wearing tour guides for the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
And destinations like the North End saw its usual crowd of visitors ready for arancini and lasagna. But make no mistake: This weekend belonged to the Boston Marathon . And the runners were taking it all in the weekend before Marathon Monday — specifically carbs.
If you were one of the thousands of other visitors not running Monday, your chances of snagging a table at one of Boston’s many Italian restaurants — especially in the North End — were probably poor. Carla Gomes, owner of Antico Forno and Terramia Ristorante , put it simply: “The North End is known for its pasta.” At her restaurant on Sunday afternoon, red sauce covered plates of various noodles at multiple tables with marathon jacket-donning guests.
They were here to carbo-load, which is when runners or other endurance athletes increase their carb intake so that they’ll have energy when running a 26.2-mile course. Per the crowds in the North End on Saturday and Sunday, it appeared many Boston Marathon runners went the Italian cuisine route when it came to carbo-loading.
Visiting from Wisconsin, qualified runner Aimee Simpson was eating well Saturday. First, a calzone from Galleria Umberto , followed by a pineapple and coconut ice cream cone from North End Creamery that dripped on her hand on Boston’s hottest day of 2025 . The calzone from the storied Umberto’s is the definition of carbo-loading thanks to the bread.
As for the ice cream? “I don’t really care right now,” Simpson joked when asked if this was allowed. She’d been taking in the sights in 80-degree weather, so she deserved a little treat. Emma Asterike-Davis said Saturday is the best day to carbo-load with pasta, so she and 12 other family members went to Aqua Pazza to do so.
“I’m not sure it’s truly a nutrition habit that I preach or believe in terms of helping me, but my family definitely embraces it,” Asterike-Davis said. “Honestly the Sunday before the race, I like to eat as simply as possible.” Outside the restaurants, lines of desperate diners formed outside of places like Neptune Oyster , while other frustrated visitors could be heard giving up over trying to find a North End restaurant that took walk-ins this weekend.
Sokha Dugger knew better. In 2009, when she ran her first Boston Marathon, she learned then that a reservation is a must. “We were not good planners,” Dugger said of her and her husband, Scott.
“We thought we could go into any Italian restaurant, a table for two, we could sit at the bar. [Most restaurants] laughed in our face and said ‘Good luck.’” Then they came across L’Osteria , a family-run restaurant going on 40 years.
Owner Daniele DiPietrantonio’s mom was able to set the Duggers up with a table in the corner of the restaurant, and they’ve been loyal ever since. DiPietrantonio, who was preparing to feed nearly 100 reservations on Sunday alone, said it’s common that the same runners come back to her Salem Street restaurant every year. “Instead of customers, you’re making friends and family,” DiPietrantonio said.
At another table, six runners grabbed their final dinner together before the big day. Some came as far as San Diego and Boulder, Colorado, while one runner traveled up the East Coast from Jacksonville, Florida, to meet up at their usual spot of L’Osteria. Sure, it’s fun to eat well with old friends, but Jeff Tomaszewski said his Sunday evening plate of linguine bolognese is crucial to preparing for tomorrow, his 16th Boston Marathon.
“It is actually beneficial,” Tomaszewski said. “I stick to low protein and high carbs [the week before].” Married couple Ian Knox and Ana Yanez, both running tomorrow, wore their matching Boston Marathon jackets while perusing the pasta section of Antico Forno’s menu on Sunday.
They’d likely both get a bolognese, which is what Yanez also had last night, in addition to copious amounts of bread. “I’m actually 18 weeks pregnant, so I’m just trying to get as much nutrients and carbs as possible,” Yanez said. “I gotta hoist this little baby over the finish line tomorrow.
” Though this would be Yanez’s first Boston Marathon, most of the runners carbo-loading in the North End were veterans of this course. Sharing a four-cheese pizza and complimentary bread with his wife, Hilda, and granddaughter, Sadie, Richard Jonardi said there’s something special about the Boston Marathon that brings you back. The 2025 Boston Marathon would be Jonardi’s 16th Boston Marathon.
“It’s the premiere marathon in the world,” Jonardi said. “When I was fortunate enough to qualify for the first time, I thought ‘How long could I keep my streak going?’ Here we are, 16 years later.” Katelyn Umholtz Katelyn Umholtz covers food and restaurants for Boston.
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