Fastest may/June marathon

Anyone?

go north. maybe Grandma's Marathon or Ottawa. but you are still rolling the dice in term of weather. i doubt you'd get 40s at either but these are probably your best bet.

slo-twitch wrote: go north. maybe Grandma's Marathon or Ottawa. but you are still rolling the dice in term of weather. i doubt you'd get 40s at either but these are probably your best bet.

Those can both be very hot as well. I would look on Marathon Guide and see if there's anything in the northwest?

JustWondering?? wrote:

I need a fast marathon in may or June. Prefer flat and 40-50's. ideas?

I did Fargo a few years back. Good race.

This site has the average temperatures for races and classifies them by hilly, flat, etc.

Eugene isn't a bad option. Weather is usually around 50. Very flat course utilizing bike paths. Finish on Hayward.

They're offering some prize money and comped entries for elites this year but the depth has been decent the last several years.

yes this does look about 10 degrees cooler than Grandma's or Ottawa

Foot traffic flat marathong. 4th of july on sauvie island in Portland Or. Very very flat but can be hot.

patrick thistle wrote:

Foot traffic flat marathong. 4th of july on sauvie island in Portland Or. Very very flat but can be hot.

I didn't know about this. That sounds absolutely brutal. Its probably early in the morning, but its not super rare to see 100+ degree days in the summer. That could be absolutely brutal

The Eugene Marathon is in early May.

Vermont City Marathon is the last weekend of May. It is a hilly course, but the last few miles are on a bike path that is on a gentle downhill. Weather is as much of a crap shoot as Ottawa and Grandma's. They had to shut the race down last year after temps hit the 80s. But they have also had snow flurries. They get a lot of good runners and it is a cheap race. Hotels and restaurants are cheap.

Precious Roy wrote:

Vermont City Marathon is the last weekend of May. It is a hilly course, but the last few miles are on a bike path that is on a gentle downhill. Weather is as much of a crap shoot as Ottawa and Grandma's. They had to shut the race down last year after temps hit the 80s. But they have also had snow flurries. They get a lot of good runners and it is a cheap race. Hotels and restaurants are cheap.

Thumbs down to Vermont City. I ran it a couple of years ago. Horrible course.

Rock N Roll San Diego is decently quick

Christchurch.

Rock N Roll San Diego is not a fast course. There is a mile uphill at 20 miles plus race temps are usually in the low 60s at best.

Observer II wrote:

Rock N Roll San Diego is not a fast course. There is a mile uphill at 20 miles plus race temps are usually in the low 60s at best.

Agreed. I live in SD, have trained on most of the course at one point or another, and have run the RNR Half. The marathon is regarded as a pretty tough course. Overall its a net elevation decrease but that's a bit deceiving. There is a big 250ft downhill around mile 14 that can beat your hips and mess up your pacing. Then there is a 250 ft climb at mile 20 which, as Observer II pointed out, is pretty brutal. It does finish on a 3 mile downhill though, so that's nice.

A good bit of the course is along major roads which are pretty boring. Yeah, I know, if your running it for a fast time you probably don't care much about the scenery. But I personally find running along the side of a major road to be a bit of a mind fvck and it does impact my performance. Crowd support is limited once you break off the half course around mile 8.

The weather isn't ideal by San Diego standards but I would say they are overall favorable. Maybe a bit warm for an optimal performance but low humidity, marine layer (cloud cover) that sticks around till late morning, and light winds until late morning make it pretty bearable. The weather is consistent too so the odds of getting rain or high heat is pretty low.

The marathon is kinda a side show to the Half. The Half is really good. Mostly flat over the first 8 miles and downhill over the last 5 miles. It's a net 200 ft elevation loss. The only remotely challenging aspect of the course is a 100ft hill around mile 4 and a short, steep hill in the last mile. It's maybe a 25ft climb but, you know, last mile and all. My pace didn't really slow but it hurt. The long downhill between 9 - 12 can beat up your hips a bit too. Spectator support is good and the course is interesting. Overall a super fast PB course.

Ojai Marathon

http://www.mountains2beachmarathon.com/marathon-info/marathon-course/

First three miles has a modest incline, but then you are warming up anyway, then about 600' mostly drop to the beach.