Memphis Marathon

Don't be impatient.

I've run it, but I don't really remember anything significant about the course. It shouldn't have much impact on your race. Go for even splits is about the only thing I can say.

Thanks for your nonsarcastic response (referring to previous posters)... I am trying to run around 2:57 and have run 2:59 at Boston so we'll see

I ran this race 2 year ago. It's relatively flat

with just enough "terrain" to make it interesting.

There were some rough patches and a bit of road

"slant" but it wasn't a big issue (some of it may

be better after 2 years of possible repair...)

I ran both Chicago and Memphis in 2004 and was

about 4 minutes slower in Memphis with 8 weeks

in between if that gives you any indication.

I've run the half marathon twice and am running the full one this weekend.

Start with the weather (Hemingway said). The weather will be right around freezing, I gather. I suspect it will be clear. Probably sunny. One year it was both cold and breezy, and breeziness may happen if that wicked cold front coming through on Thursday night hasn't fully "landed." But I suspect it'll be pretty calm. 2003 was the cold breezy year. 2004 was cool and sunny.

I'll agree with a previous poster. The course isn't dead flat, but the rises aren't much to worry about. There's an elevation chart on the race website and it would be a good idea to take a look at that. The final mile of the half is a gradual downhill, but I'm not sure how the marathon finishes. You finish by entering the stadium (baseball) in right field, then swinging right around the warmup track and finishing on a stretch between third base and home plate.

I've heard that there are camber issues in the final six miles--some complainer on the Marathonguide website--but I'm camber-sensitive and I didn't have any trouble in the half.

Good luck.

The course map and particulraly the Elevation chart (www.stjudemarathon.org/marathon.htm#courseinformation) are very interesting. As I recalled, the final mile--actually, final two miles--of the half marathon are downhill. That's miles 12 and 13 of the marathon. Mile 14--I'm talking marathon now--is a short loop around through midtown. The steepest one-mile elevation change, about 50 feet, comes between mile 14 and mile 15. Each of the next three miles has a very slight rise. The highest elevation of the race is the 18-mile mark. From there until the finish it's essentially a long slow decline, although there's a tiny rise from mile 24 to mile 25.

We're not talking mountains here. The highest point of the course is 310 feet; the low is 210 feet.

Here's another way of thinking about the course that is slightly more sobering: Except for miles 12 and 13, which are a steep decline, every single mile between the 5-mile marker and the 18-mile marker is a very gentle uphill, with the exception of mile 15, which is a steeper uphill. The first five miles are a wash. And the last 8.2 are a long downhill coast.

What does this tell me--and you, perhaps?

Well, I remember running the half two years ago and pushing a little too hard in the stretch between miles 5 and 9, so that I was forced to slow just after mile 9. Won't make THAT mistake again. WATCH OUT FOR THE GENTLE RISE BETWEEN 5 AND 11.

Miles 12 and 13 will feel deceptively good. You'll pass the halfway point feeling good. Mile 14 will feel pretty good. MILE 15 IS THE BIG HILL. MILE 15 IS THE ONE TO WATCH OUT FOR.

Miles 16-18, though, are also ones to watch out for. IF YOU'RE PLANNING A SECOND-HALF SURGE, WAIT UNTIL YOU HIT 18 MILES.

Please excuse my ALL CAPS, which make it seem as though I'm SHOUTING. I'm basically talking to myself.

See you at the races.

Assuming there's not much of a breeze, the sun will help a little. In the past I've worn two longsleeved polypro tees, tights, and gloves. A toss-away hat might be nice for the first few miles but probably won't be needed for later.

I have run the memphis marathon twice and trained on the course and the 1st half is pretty quick but the second half is a little rough. Basically it comes down to the fact that you just don't see folks along the course from just after 13miles until you get close to mile 17 or 18. And the second half is rolling which makes it a bit tougher. And then there is the 180 degree turn just b/4 mile 25 which then is followed by an uphill and hard right turn onto 3rd street which has a profile that looks like a bacon strip.

As for the finish you take a right turn on Madison and get a good downhill to mile 26. Right after mile 26 you turn right onto fourth the right into the back of redbirds staduim then right onto the warning track and follow that around to the finish.