What to do next? I need to get my act together and pick a spring race. Not only do I need to start training, but I need to block off the weekend so my husband's band doesn't book a show. So, I have been scouring marathonguide.com trying to figure it out. I am running the National Breast Cancer Marathon in February as a training run and I am looking at April or May for my "main" run. I'd prefer to keep it earlier as an 80 degree day would really stink. I at least think I have it narrowed down to 3 weekends:April 6: Athens Marathon (OH) - tiny race, but is billed as flat and fast. I don't need spectators, but I am worried about running too much of it alone. Of course I can pretend I am Ryan Hall if I get lonely out there :). MG gave it great reviews.
May 4: Eugene, OR (MG review) , Bayshore, NJ (MG Review) or Flying Pig (MG Review). Eugene looks awesome, but the furthest away and undoubtedly the most expensive. Bayshore looks fast, but NJ?!? Flying Pig isn't billed as the easiest course, but it looks like the hills are in the first half and it is supposed to be an awesome race.
May 24 and 25 - Bayshore, MI (MG Review) or Madison Marathon (MG Review)- I really don't want to do Madison, but it is my local race. Bayshore is also reasonably close. I worry about this being a bit late in the season (think: TCM repeat). But this is a good weekend if 5/4 is a bust.
So that narrows it down, aye?! ;) Anyone have any experience on any of these courses? I am looking for a fast course. This is my last season for a long time to put in heavy miles and I don't want to put those miles to the test on a really hard course.
3 comments:
A friend of mine has run Athens in the past and is a big fan. He says the field and support are pretty small, but a lot of the course is rail-to-rails and very flat. I have not run it. He runs it as a tune-up for Boston.
If you want flat and fast, Athens seems to be the best pick of the bunch. I'd bite the bullet on New Jersey (literally) and go there as well, if you're looking for a fast time.
Well, I'm giving some thought to go to Flying Pig to do their 5k--it's RRCA Nat Champs in May. Of course, the pig is large and the course is somewhat rolling, but hey, it's supposedly a well put together race.
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