So... where are the hills?

I was always under the impression that the Boston Marathon was really really hilly. Growing up, I heard all about Heartbreak Hill, and swore I would never run up it. After I registered, I clicked on the course map (this is not the link from the BAA website, because I can't open that one, and this one is much cooler) because, despite growing up ~20min north of the city, I had never seen the first 23 or so miles of the marathon course (yes, the first time I saw Heartbreak Hill was when I ran up it). And, to my utter surprise, I found out that there is actually a 480ft net drop in elevation from start to finish... and it looked like you spent more time running downhill than uphill. Sweet, maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I thought! So, to answer the question posed in the title of this post:  

• The first 4 or so miles of the course are definitely downhill, then there is a short climb to mile 5, then again downhill for the next 2 miles, and a short uphill to the 8th mile.
• For the next 6 or so miles, it's mostly flat, with some slight ups and downs.
• There's a short uphill at the 15th mile, followed by a good downhill to the 16th.
• Then up and up and up (yes, there are 3 hills), all the way to the top of Heartbreak Hill, which is a little past the 21-mile mark.
• Then down and down and down until the 25ish mile mark.
• The last mile is mostly flat, giving you a chance to "sprint" it out to the end.

Ok, in my opinion, Heartbreak Hill (88ft, 0.4miles) isn't nearly as bad as it's built up to be. Sure, it's the last of three hills, and those hills aren't easy, but neither is running at the WakeMed Soccer Complex or from Umstead to the Art Museum (167ft, 2.25miles). And, none of these hills compare to Turkey Creek. By comparison:

• Main Campus Dr. (161ft gain, 1.34miles)
• Leonard St. (121ft gain, 0.75miles)
• Turn-around at Ridge Rd. (118ft gain, 0.6miles - until Glen Eden)
• Final City of Oaks Hill (89ft gain, 0.53miles - from Cates to Nazareth)
• Centennial Pkwy (85ft gain, 0.45miles - from Avent Ferry to Oval Dr.)
• Clarke Ave (72ft gain, 0.46miles - from Smallwood to Oberlin)
• Washington St. (72ft gain, 0.38miles)