Any Updates On Miami Beach 1/2 Marathon: Goucher, Flanagan

Agreed.

Kara was running easy yesterday, even making conversation with other runners between miles 7 and 10.

She wasn't happy with the pace on the causeway heading back, and she took off at mile 11 even though it meant fighting the wind by herself. She didn't care whatsoever because she had a lot left in the tank.

You're misreading the elevation. Start is 37 feet and maximum is 75 feet. That means there is a 28-foot change in elevation.

Ooops, 38-foot change.

mr Toad RIP wrote:

They were not out for a marathon training run, even if that's what thier coach and Kara is saying. Look at their expressions after finishing, their body language...etc...

As an athlete and coach I have to totally disagree with you on this one. I looked at all the pics I could find and both Shalane and Kara appeared to be very within themselves at the line. What construes a supreme effort to you? Sweat?

The vertical clearance of the MacArthur Causeway is 68 feet.

The Julia Tuttle Causeway has the same exact vertical clearance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Causeway

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_195_

(Florida)

The challenge on Sunday wasn't so much the causeways - it was the very stiff, unrelenting ocean winds out of the east.

Jackie Stiles ran 1:24:20. That's pretty impressive for the soon-t0-be 33 year old former pro basketball player that has had 13 surgeries.

Keep in mind, the people on these boards saying the hills are "big climbs" are Miami local runners. Many of them are not accustomed to even 68 foot hills. But rest assured, the course is not pancake flat and the winds were a bit tough.

Well, at what elevation do the bridges start? Do they start at sea level and rise to 68 feet? Or do they start somewhere above sea level? That makes a difference.

Adam C wrote:

Jackie Stiles ran 1:24:20. That's pretty impressive for the soon-t0-be 33 year old former pro basketball player that has had 13 surgeries.

She ran 1:19:16 in November at White River Half Marathon

Can't say for sure from one person's results, but maybe the conditions were bad out there.

redux wrote:

Well, at what elevation do the bridges start? Do they start at sea level and rise to 68 feet? Or do they start somewhere above sea level? That makes a difference.

It does, but I think he was trying to demonstrate that the elevation chart is obviously wrong.

Of Jackie Stiles' 13 surgeries, how many of those were boob jobs and/or other cosmetically enhancing?

Well, the graphic does look wrong, but the numbers not so much. If the bridge tops at 68 feet and the highest point was 75 feet, the bridge could start at an elevation of 7 feet. The elevation is supposed to go as low as 3 feet. With that there's a 73-foot rise. So both bridges can fit within the elevations given.

This is not a big brain posting.

I think vertical clearance is for boaters so they know how tall their ship can be and still pass under the bridge without scraping off their masts. So if the clearance is 68 feet it would stand to reason there are a few more feet of concrete above that.

Yeah. So, that's ~68 feet from the water. Let's say the water is 30 feet below the road. That's only 38 feet for the bridge.

FYI , they wanted to run in similar weather as possible as the trials as well as on cement. Long way to time trial yes , lets see how this falls to be a stroke of genius or a dump move....

My take : Shalane is on track , Kara is short by about one month , none of the guys will be factor at the trials.

redux wrote:

Let's say the water is 30 feet below the road.

No, I have the LIDAR data for all of Miami-Dade County in ArcGIS. (I recently worked on a site selection for a radio tower.) The roads are only 6-8 feet above sea level before they start going up the bridges. We're splitting hairs here but it was so easy for me to check, so why not?

Thanks. So, you run ~60-62 feet to crest that bridge? What's the grade? Is it really steep or just windy?

Do you think a steep is better/worse than long in a half?

Maybe you can calculate the grade for me? I measured all five hills:

Hill #1 (right after mile 3) - @ Alton Rd to I 195 on ramp. Elevation changes from 2 feet to 21 feet in 208 meters of running.

Hill #2 - (at about mile 3.5) -Julia Tuttle's first (and smaller) bridge: Elevation changes 6 feet to ~40 feet in 83 meters of running.

Hill #3 - (right after mile 5) - Julia Tuttle's second (and higher) bridge: Elevation changes 7 feet to 75 feet in 454 meters of running.

Hill #4 - (at about mile 8.5) - MacArthur's first (and higher) bridge: Elevation changes from 5 feet to 75 feet in 464 meters of running.

Hill #5 - (after mile 11) - MacArthur's second (and smaller) bridge: Elevation changes from 8 feet to ~40 feet in 402 meters of running.

Unless I'm wrong: Grade = (rise/run) * 100

Hill 1 - (19/862.414) * 100 = 2.784

Hill 2 - (34/272.309) * 100 = 12.485

Hill 3 - (68/1489.501) * 100 = 4.565

Hill 4 - (72/1522.309) * 100 = 4.729

Hill 5 - (32/1318.897) * 100 = 2.426

Feel free to check.