Fastest half marathon courses?

Philly

philly is probably your best bet.

depending on the weather, the NYC half in august is a flat/fast course. Geb usually runs there.

5k marathons tend to be faster than your standard marathon.

The competition hasn't been the best for a few years, but the River Run Half Marathon in Berea, OH (Cleveland suburb) is pretty fast. Paved the whole way, treelined, and a net downhill. The course is definitely what you're looking for but the competition won't be at the sub 1:05 level.

Houston, Philly, 3M.

cadillac wrote:

..... Paved the whole way, treelined, and a net downhill. The course is definitely what you're looking for but the competition won't be at the sub 1:05 level.

Do net downhill half marathon count as qualifying races?

Thanks for the reply's so far. That's helpful.

Regarding downhill courses, I think courses are allotted 3.25m/km, which is the average drop of Boston. That works out to ~450ft for a marathon, and ~225ft for a half marathon.

River Run is 170ft drop and besides a little neighborhood loop, is a nice gentle downhill. There may be a few guys shooting for 105/106 range next year as well, so keep it as a possibility.

OT Hopeful wrote:

Regarding downhill courses, I think courses are allotted 3.25m/km, which is the average drop of Boston. That works out to ~450ft for a marathon, and ~225ft for a half marathon.

It's actually 1 meter per kilometer.

You may want to take a look at the Indy Mini in early May. It is typically won in 1:02-1:03, and last year there were 6 guys under 1:06, 8 guys under 1:08, and 16 under 1:10. The course is very flat and fast.

if you think about it yeah, 450ft is A LOT... 1 meter per kilo sounds more accurate but im just guessing here.

I'm pretty sure that 1m/km is the threshold for record-eligibility, and is an IAAF standard. 3.25m/km is the rather arbitrary number that the USATF came up with as their own standard for 2012 OTQ. Coincidentally, it is almost the exact drop of Boston.

From the USATF site:

Qualifying Guidelines

1. The qualifying mark must be made in a race on a certified course recognized by USA Track & Field or a member federation of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The course must be USATF/IAAF/AIMS certified with an active course certification and have an elevation loss no greater than 3.25 meters/km. Marks from events on the track must be made in competition on a standard outdoor track.

http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-Marathon-men/entry/qualifyingStandards.asp

mrb - I agree about the Indy Mini. It is very flat and fast, and fairly competitive. I've ran it before, and it's definitely on my short list.

OT Hopeful wrote:

I'm pretty sure that 1m/km is the threshold for record-eligibility, and is an IAAF standard. 3.25m/km is the rather arbitrary number that the USATF came up with as their own standard for 2012 OTQ. Coincidentally, it is almost the exact drop of Boston.]

That's no coincidence.

You should try Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon at Virginia Beach, Virginia at the beginning of September. You have to start training hard though because this is an international race and some of the top athletes in the world line up every year-the likes of Paul Tergat, Martin Lel, James Kwambai etc. You do also have to run good times in shorter distances for your qualifying time or else you might start with the masses and fail to attain your goal.

I ran the RnR in Va Beach. You don't have to worry about "starting with the masses". Even someone with a 1:15-1:20 should get a number for the first corral. Once in the first corral, move to the front of it and suddenly you're starting about 10 feet behind the professionals. I did this and basically started right with the professionals (they went out slow for the first 1/2 mile) even though I only had a 1:10 entry time.

It's a good race- extremely flat. Negatives are that it has a lot of turns in the middle miles(not a huge deal), and can get pretty windy. This year, the wind on the boardwalk was tough to deal with in the last mile, especially if you're running alone- and shooting for 1:06, you'll probably be running alone in the last couple of miles.

The Big Sur Half Marathon in November usually has a few guys under 1:05 and is relatively flat.