Summer Marathons with 2:30-2:40 Contingent

Grandmas is the latest competitive “spring” marathon I can think of.

Not sure your time frame but: 5/27 Vermont City, 6/2 Newport (OR), 6/3 RNR San Diego, 6/10 RNR Seattle, 6/16 Grandma's, 6/30 Gold Coast Marathon, 7/4 Foot Traffic, 7/29 San Francisco

A 2:30-2:40 can do very well and even win some of these. It's tough to find a good summer marathon. Vermont City is early but they usually bring in a decent local elite field that has some people gunning for 2:19 and then a contingent in the 2:30s. Newport (OR) is small and you'd likely be running alone but 1st was 2:30ish and 5th was 2:46 last year. No clue how deep the RNR races are, I try to avoid those. Grandma's is a safe bet and usually has good weather. Gold Coast is usually very fast if you're able to travel...Foot Traffic is super flat in the Portland area on the 4th. SF Marathon is another one you might be by yourself but there are half marathons at that one so maybe that would help.

Maybe Bayshore in Traverse City

As far as courses go, Newport (OR) is pancake flat and the weather is usually solid but it's a small town race on the Oregon coast. Grandma's can be fast for folks. It'll definitely be a good option because there are people to run with and it's in the midwest, but there are some hills. Gold Coast usually sees some fast times on the elite side, I'm assuming the course is fast. Foot Traffic is going to be pancake flat. The others are going to have some hills. Vermont City is going to function like Grandma's but on a smaller scale. You have some hills, but there should be someone to run with.

Did the research on this. I believe the best depth is found at Grandma’s and Ottawa. Some of the others mentioned have runners in the 2:30 to 2:40 range, but not the same depth. In North America in late spring, I think those are your best bets.

NERunner053 wrote:

The others are going to have some hills. Vermont City is going to function like Grandma's but on a smaller scale. You have some hills, but there should be someone to run with.

Fake news! Vermont City is a lot smaller up front and a lot, lot hillier than Grandma's. Vermont City has a monster hill a couple miles after the halfway point. Out of 12 courses I've run Vermont City is 2nd hardest, and I'd put Grandma's as 8th hardest. Both can be hot as balls.

Grandma's is point to point, which means that there are no spectators until you get to town at like mile 20 or so. About 5-6 miles of Vermont City is on a highway with no spectators, but it's early enough there should still be a good crowd.

Use LRC as a start, then finish research on marathonguide.com

Yea, marathonguide.com is a good pace to look. I searched for puff pieces about spring marathons and Boston qualifiers, and then researched more at marathonguide.com.

North America actually has a surprisingly small number of marathons with good depth under the 2:40 range. Off the top of my head, you have the Majors (Boston, Chicago, NYC), Cali International, Houston, Grandmas, Ottawa, and Toronto Waterfront. What else is out there with at least a few dozen runners coming in under 2:40?

I’m biased, but I also find the Indianapolis Monumental to be surprisingly deep because it has a growing reputation for being a fast course and is a cheaper, lower hassle fall alternative to Chicago/NYC (31 runners under 2:40 in 2017).

I think the non-majors are attracting a growing number of fast runners because the cost and hassle of the Majors is becoming too much.

vivalarepublica wrote:

I’m biased, but I also find the Indianapolis Monumental to be surprisingly deep because it has a growing reputation for being a fast course and is a cheaper, lower hassle fall alternative to Chicago/NYC (31 runners under 2:40 in 2017).

Philadelphia is another mid-major that holds its weight. It consistently has ~50 under 2:40, even in the poor weather conditions of the last 3 years.

Oattmeal wrote:

vivalarepublica wrote:

I’m biased, but I also find the Indianapolis Monumental to be surprisingly deep because it has a growing reputation for being a fast course and is a cheaper, lower hassle fall alternative to Chicago/NYC (31 runners under 2:40 in 2017).

Philadelphia is another mid-major that holds its weight. It consistently has ~50 under 2:40, even in the poor weather conditions of the last 3 years.

Yea, just looked that up after I posted here.

Frankly I wouldn't bother. I'd take the opportunity to mix up the training and find a fast half.