Which one would give me best shot at fast time? Or is there a race I'm forgetting that would be better? Looking for ease of travel from Texas, good temps, and flat course.
Which one would give me best shot at fast time? Or is there a race I'm forgetting that would be better? Looking for ease of travel from Texas, good temps, and flat course.
what time are you shooting for? Eugene doesn't have much "up front"
competition...mostly flat course, too much concrete
Grandma's is run on almost the longest day of the year. Sun is up real early. Heat has been becoming a problem lately.
Shooting for sub 3. Also looking at Pocono. Grandmas weather scares me.
Want2getfaster wrote:
Which one would give me best shot at fast time? Or is there a race I'm forgetting that would be better? Looking for ease of travel from Texas, good temps, and flat course.
Grandma's has been rough the past two years because of heat/humidity/sun. Other years it is cloudy and the low 50s.
Ottawa (Memorial Day weekend) is an option to consider.
Eugene course is pretty boring and you will risk not having people to run with. Grandmas is much better.
A quick look at marathonguide.com shows:
Eugene typically has 30 runners in the 2:5x range. On average the runners are 20 seconds apart.
Eugene's average finish time is 4:08 to 4:12.
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Grandma's has about 70 runners in the 2:5x range. On average the runners are 9 seconds apart.
Grandma's average finishing time is 4:12 to 4:16
(the average is slower because Grandma's has 6,000 more runners giving it a higher ratio of hobby joggers)
But in the hot year of 2016 the average at Grandma's was 4:44 for 7521 finishers.
This year (hot again) the average finish was 4:31 for 6439 finishers.
106 runners in the 2:5x range, but 1100 fewer finishers.
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The weather at every marathon is something of a crap shoot. But Grandma's has a big variance.
Why not run a marathon during the winter months in the west or the south? Best chance for weather not being a problem.
Running Houston January 2018. Looking for a follow up race 16-20 weeks later.
BUFFALO!!!
Buffalo?
Anyone else?