The Local Race Experience

Participating in a marathon in or near your hometown can be a very rewarding experience for lots of reasons.

First, you save money on travel. You don’t have to worry about airplane tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars. While I love a good road trip, with the economy being what it is, it’s easier on my wallet to race close to home (I do have an out of state destination race coming up but it might be the only one I run this year).

Local races are great because you can run the trail during your training runs. Being familiar with the course could help you run a good race. There won’t be any surprises. I chose not to do that for the Glass City Marathon because I like variety and surprises. The course covered areas I run on a regular basis but had plenty of streets I’d never ventured down. It was nice to explore new areas of my community and it kept things interesting.

Local races mean your friends and family don’t have to travel to cheer you on. They just have to get up early in the morning, but we’re worth it right?

Running in your hometown means sleeping in your own bed the night before the race (I really like this perk). I think I sleep better in my own bed than in hotel rooms. Familiar surroundings are comforting and relaxing. For GCM, I was well rested race day because I slept in my own bed.

Local races come with local bragging rights. The average person may not have heard of a “little” race like the Boston Marathon, but if you mentioned you ran (fill in the blank) race, they’ll know what you’re talking about because of the local news coverage or the traffic delays due to race road closures.

Since the race is in your backyard, you have an opportunity to help put on a quality event. Organizers are always looking for volunteers to assist with race preparations, work the expo or help out along the course. I volunteered at the expo for the Two Cities Marathon when I lived in Fresno a few years ago. It was nice to talk to the runners as they picked up their race packets. It was interesting to learn how far people traveled to be in the race. I developed an appreciation for all the hard work and organization it takes to put a race together. It also made me appreciate how hard volunteers work. Now I’m always gracious when I pick up my race packet or walk through a water stop. Good volunteers are essential and should be celebrated.

If you want to do more, you could join the race organizing body. From marketing and sponsorships to course logistics and website development, there’s so much to be done. The skills you use every day at work could benefit the race organizers. You never know until you ask.

What do you like about local races?

Glass City Half Marathon Recap

So…let’s just say I’m a little excited about how my race went yesterday. The rain held off and I ran well setting a new personal record of 2:01. I seem to improve with each half marathon – this is my fourth – but this one was different from the rest.

It was the first half marathon I trained for mostly on my own. I had one long run with a friend and those tempo workouts during the Thursday night group runs but other than that, I ran alone. I was outside logging miles in below freezing temperatures and when it was dark I ran on the treadmill. It seemed like I was running a lot but when I looked at my 2009 running log, I was down about 50 miles compared to this point last year.

Also this was the first half marathon I did in my hometown. All my other races were destination races where I traveled with friends or family and talked running all weekend. I think it made a difference on my ability to sleep the night before the race. Usually I only get about an hour or two of sleep despite going to bed early. I tend to lay there in the dark hotel room, my mind racing from the excitement. This time I was able to get about 6 hours of sleep. I woke up about 2 hours before my alarm was set to go off but I stayed in bed and rested.

Similar to my first half marathon, this was a smaller race – only 1500 runners in the half marathon portion. Given the smaller size, the expo was smaller but it was nice. It had a health fair with cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, a few regional race representatives and the local running stores had nice booths with great deals on running shoes and apparel.

Race day went well. My husband dropped me off so I wouldn’t have to worry about parking and I walked to the start. The corrals were set up by pace so I joined the 9:00 minute mile group and made small talk with the runners. The horn blew at 7 a.m. and we took off. I couldn’t tell where the actual start was so I was a few seconds late starting my watch. Since I didn’t know the people around me, I randomly selected a lady that was running well as my bunny. That’s how I get through races. I pick people to pass up and when I get pass them, I selected a new target. This bunny was a formidable competitor although she didn’t know it. I started out averaging a 9:30 pace for the first few miles with my bunny in my sights. Around mile 3 or 4 I was running a 9:15 average pace. When I hit mile 8, I was able to pass her but she caught back up to me while I was walking through a water stop. I sped back up, my pace hovering about 8:45 – 9 minute miles and passed her again around mile 10. I ran another 2 miles before she passed me again for good. She had a kick during the last mile and I couldn’t catch her. She finished at least a minute ahead of me. When I finally crossed the finish line, I couldn’t believe my time. I was hoping to run a 2:05 but when I saw 2:02 on the race clock, I knew I had it beat. I was jumping for joy when they posted the results and I saw 2:01:06. It’s only a matter of time before I reach my sub 2-hour goal. Who knows? Maybe it will happen at Rock ‘n Roll San Diego in June.

Don’t Rain on My Half Marathon Parade

On Sunday, I will complete my four half marathon at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio. I’ve been training since February for this race and I think I’m ready. I had a few low mileage weeks due to my crazy work schedule. But I was still able to do three 10 mile long runs, weekly tempo workouts and a few speed workouts.

The only thing that really has me worried is the weather – the weather forecasters are predicting rain. While thunderstorms don’t appear to be on the radar, I’m not looking forward to running for two hours in the rain. Now I’ve run in the rain several times before but it’s not my favorite past time and it was usually for less than an hour.

Rain can change my whole game plan. It makes me question what I’m going to wear. I usually wear black Capri tights and the race’s technical tee but now I’m not so sure. It is suppose to be in the 50s but if it rains, I’ll probably be chilly. But if I wear long sleeves or a jacket, I’ll probably get hot after 3 – 4 miles. Most likely I’ll end up wearing a black jacket and wrapping it around my waist. Plus I’ll throw on a visor to help keep the rain out of my face.

There are so many unknown variables with rain. How will the wet clothing and shoes affect my pace? I think most of the race course is paved so I don’t think I’ll have to deal with mud but what about puddles? I was hoping to shave a minute off my previous half marathon PR of 2:06 but we’ll see. Check back on Monday to see how it went. Wish me luck!