Anyone else running Rocket City Marathon next weekend?

Nope, you'll be running it solo. Good luck!

Don't stop until you cross a line labelled "finish"!

Thanks for that solid advice.

Am I the only Letsrunner doing this one?

One more bump before I realize no one else on this board is going to Huntsville.

Good luck to you Haji.

I haven't run it , but have talked to several

people that have. Everyone liked it. They tell

me that it is generally flat, which surprised me

initially, because the town has several pretty

steep hills.

The only bad thing I've ever heard about the course

is that it has a lot of turns.

The weather should be great this Saturday.

did it last year. a very well done event. good runner swag.

fair course, very gently rolling. there are lots of turns, but well marked and manned. the "big hill" in the 2nd half is very easy, very gradual. there is one funny spot in the late miles where you cut across a parking lot and a yard and down the sidewalk and across the street. last year there was a stretch where the pavement was torn up - imagine that's all fixed by now.

looks like it will be cold again, but not as bad as last year - it was in the low 20's

I ran it last year. It is a great small marathon that is very well organized. The course is flat and fast but there many turns on the route so many that I lost count. The turns are pretty rough at the end of the marathon but didn't bother me at the beginning. Last year it was cold in the high 20's at the start but I was able to stay inside the host hotel until just before the start of the race. You might not have much company during the race I was just under three myself last year and towards the end of the race I was pretty much running solo.

Good luck to you.

Thanks for the 'good' replys everyone.

I was hoping to have some company toward the end to help with the finishing push. But hopefully all those solo long runs will help me mentally.

you might get lucky.

RC is a pretty fast marathon... it usually has a high percentage of sub-3:00 finishers. but it isn't that big

good luck!

I've been under 3:00 three times there (2:50, 2:41, 2:40). For the 2:50 there was a decent group around me because we were near the lead woman, but this was several years ago. The last two years (2:40, 2:41) I've been mostly by myself for the second half of the race. The volunteers along the course are really good about cheering and your name will appear in large print on the number so you'll hear your name often. it is true that there a lot of turns, but I've rarely thought that hurt me much. The torn up street was annoying last year so hopefully that is fixed. Hopefully you're staying in the host hotel becuase the logistics of that are perfect. You finish, they usher you into the hotel, you can grab some food and then go to your room and collapse. Good luck!!

I'm planning to run it and hoping to be under 2:50. Any suggestions for staying warm but not too warm? I've done most of my training runs in mid-50's weather, now it looks like it's gonna be a little cooler than that!

Long sleeves? If so, loose or spandex?

Shorts, tights, etc?

Would it be a good idea to warm up, work up a sweat, then dash back into my hotel room and change into dry race clothes?

stayingwarm? wrote:

I'm planning to run it and hoping to be under 2:50. Any suggestions for staying warm but not too warm? I've done most of my training runs in mid-50's weather, now it looks like it's gonna be a little cooler than that!

Long sleeves? If so, loose or spandex?

Shorts, tights, etc?

Would it be a good idea to warm up, work up a sweat, then dash back into my hotel room and change into dry race clothes?

I'm running a marathon this weekend as well with predicted weather of about 30 at the start warming to low 40's during the run. I run often in this type of weather. I stay in full warm-ups, tobagan and gloves until heading to the line. Then I strip down to shorts, long sleeve shirt, running cap and gloves. I'll ditch the gloves at around 6-8 miles. This plan seems to work well all around. Not sure if it will for you but it gives you an example of what others do.

If its suppose to be below 30 for much of the race I'll add on half tights under my shorts and maybe a sweatshirt for the first mile or two.

Good luck Haji! I have the same time goal in Charlotte this weekend.

Are you doing a spring race?

I'm thinking of doing Knoxville on April 1st, but haven't decided for sure.

MTH wrote:

Good luck Haji! I have the same time goal in Charlotte this weekend.

Are you doing a spring race?

I'm thinking of doing Knoxville on April 1st, but haven't decided for sure.

I haven't decided on a spring race yet. I hear Knoxville is a nice race but not fast due to the hills. Maybe I'll do the Derby City Festival in Louisville, at least it's close to home.

Stayingwarm - It has been so warm lately that today was my first run in the 20s. Not sure if I'll want to go with pants or not. But definitely will be wearing a long sleeve cotton throw away shirt to ditch after 3 or 4 miles. I will definitely be wearing gloves and a headband, once you warm up you can either toss or tuck into your shorts (you may need them later).

I'm leaning toward just wearing shorts but I'm just not acclimated yet to sub freezing temps. I will definitely be keeping an eye on the weather forecast though.

I didn't get in the host hotel but got a room just a block or two away.

Anything to do in town besides the Space Museum? My wife and two sons (15 and 12) will be with me.

any pictures yet for Rocket City?

Pictures of WHAT??!

Pictures of Lily wrote:

Pictures of WHAT??!

Good point.

I haven't seen anything posted to their website yet.