Has anyone run this? Advice on the course?/?
Has anyone run this? Advice on the course?/?
Get ready for some hills and pray to God the wind doesn't blow. Start conservative and don't expect a p.r. as well. Other than that, the scenery is nice.
I have never raced it but I am running it this year. A couple of weeks ago I did a long run on the CCM course from miles 1 - 22. I've read the history and I've talked with a number of people who've run it. The number one lesson that you hear from the course seems to be this: Respect the hills. More so even than the Boston Marathon, respect the hills.
The first 8-9 miles are almost completely flat so it's easy to go out fast. Then the hills start. They're never big hills, just gentle rolling ones, but they go on for more than 10 miles. Towards the 20 mile mark they get a little more intense.
Once nice thing about the course is that aside from the first and last few miles, it's all down shaded roads and really gorgeous.
Save your energy for the second half. Try to negative split it, knowing that the second half is much tougher than the first half. The hills aren't that bad if you haven't wiped yourself out!
It's a nice course. Very scenic, not many people around
(field capped at 1500, I think). Not too many spectators;
infrequent groups of people, but that's probably what you're
expecting if you're signed up for it. The lighthouse is
as pretty as it's supposed to be, but after the hills from
mile 17-23, I wasn't in much shape to appreciate the view.
Well organized. The chowda afterwords is tasty (best post-race free food I've had, actually). It's nice to see they've moved to chip timing for this year, definite improvement. Got snowed on (very lightly!) two years ago; weather can be
touchy.
Don't expect a PR from the course alone, but expect a great overall experience.
How do times compare to Boston? Faster, slower, same?